Schrader's Humble Heritage

You may have noticed that Schrader has been subtly nodding to its Heritage in our marketing communications this year. The Schrader brand is turning 175 years old in 2019 and in anticipation, we have been appreciating our history and what got us to where we are today. 

When first putting together the idea behind this campaign, we conducted a brainstorming session to ensure that we communicate one key message throughout the entire 2-year project. During the session, the whole team was a bit overwhelmed, because there are a lot of messages that can come out of celebrating such an exciting milestone for our company.

In our brainstorming session for this campaign, I asked our marketing team, what does it mean for a company to remain relevant for 175 years?Here is the list we came up with:

1. Trustworthy – Our customers know that we are an honest company that delivers high quality products and services.
2. Innovative – We are the leading OE TPMS manufacturer in the world and are continuously coming up with new innovations and bringing them to market. Our customers know we develop the latest and greatest in TPMS.
3. Adaptable – Schrader has stayed relevant through changes in the market as well as changes in ownership and management. Our customers always remain our priority and our devotion to innovation and quality product does not waiver.
4. Dependable – Our customers can rely on us to provide great product, training and category assistance to ensure their success.
5. Quality Product – If the product is not consistently great, our customers wouldn’t keep returning throughout the years, keeping us as the world leader in TPMS.
6. Culture – Schrader has a culture of openness, dedication and passion. Schrader attracts some of the best minds in the industry and that translates to impeccable product and service we deliver to our customers.

All of these are valid reasons to be proud to work for a company that has managed to remain a leader for the better part of 2 centuries. To pick just one reason was very difficult and it proved to be a challenge for our marketing team. Choosing just one excludes so many good points and characteristics that make this brand great. We really had to step back even further to see what our ultimate goal is with this campaign. 

Looking at a wider picture we discovered that there is one commonality amongst all of these attributes. There is one piece of Schrader that was present in all of the phases of the business, all of the other characteristics and in every success and milestone we have accomplished. It was our customers.

We realized through this exercise, that you simply can not have a business that lasts 174 years, without having the best customers in the world. You can have the best product, the best people, a strong brand and be the most innovative company in the world, but it means nothing if you don’t have the right customers who are equally passionate and dedicated to quality and service. Our customers are very special, because many have stayed with us for decades. It is extremely humbling for our company to look back at almost 175 years and see many of the same customers pushing us forward and supporting our brand.

So thank you to our customers! This two year-long Schrader Heritage Campaign is about you. Schrader wouldn’t be what it is today without the strong, energetic companies that make up the Automotive Aftermarket. We are humbled and honored to service this exciting, passionate and ever-changing industry. Thank you for the first 174 years, we look forward to working with you for many more years to come!

7/5/18