ATLANTA, GA – Crescent® Tools, the flagship professional hand and power tools brand of the Apex Tool Group (ATG), has named Atlanta advertising agency BarberWarren its advertising agency of record.
As part of the agency team, Lewis Media Partners, Richmond, VA, will handle media strategy, planning and buying, including digital, social and traditional. LMP and BarberWarren have a close partnering relationship with several agency and LMP clients.
The agency review was the result of a phased re-branding of several other leading ATG professional tool brands under the Crescent name. Wholly owned by Bain Capital, Apex Tool Group is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of professional hand and power tools, serving the industrial, vehicle service and assembly, aerospace, electronics, construction and serious DIY markets.
“BarberWarren has strategy-driven, out-of-the-box thinking and a compelling creative product,“ said Curt Weber, Crescent Senior Director, Brand Management.
“We chose them because, like us, they’re not here to do things like every other brand. We’re here to shake things up. Really shake them up – from inventing new and better ways to do a job to how we earn the trust of the pros.”
In addition to legendary Crescent hand tools, Apex Tool Group has expanded their premier brand to include Crescent Wiss® snips, scissors, shears, knives and trade tools; Crescent Lufkin® measuring tapes, rules and wheels; Crescent Nicholson® files and saws; Crescent H.K. Porter® heavy-duty cutting products; Crescent JOBOX® on-site storage, flammable liquid storage and truck storage solutions; and Crescent Apex® industrial fasteners.
“The BarberWarren team has a long and successful history, not just in hand and power tools, but in the trades we serve,” said Bob Heisner, Vice President, Global Marketing, Power Tools Division, “They’re already working with us to engage and leverage key retailers.”
“From our very first meeting,” added Susan Spalding, Senior Director, Global Marketing, ATG, “they embraced our thinking and stretched it in very healthy ways.”
Apex Tool Group and Crescent are headquartered in Sparks, MD, with brand and marketing personnel also based in Apex and Charlotte, NC, as well as Lexington, SC.
“Not only does Crescent represent the rare opportunity to re-define and re-energize a legendary brand,” concluded Bob Warren, BarberWarren CEO, “They want to re-define and re-energize how they communicate and bond with their customers. They want to do what we do best – create brand activists.”
BarberWarren is a uniquely modeled, full service Atlanta advertising agency, founded in January of 2013 by Bob Warren, CEO, and Hal Barber, Chief Creative Officer. Clients include Artisanal Brewing Ventures (Southern Tier & Victory brands), BlackFin Square, Coca-Cola, Crown & Caliber, Gant Medical, Police Security Flashlights and pro-bono clients Global Paint for Charity and Beats The Streets.