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Cincinnati Machine "Battles" In a New Arena of the
Manufacturing Community
Sponsorship of BattleBots Team Provides Unique Marketing Opportunities
Along with the sponsorship of NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Inc., Cincinnati Machine has partnered with yet another highly successful and visible team very popular within the manufacturing community - Mutant Robots! Mutant Robots, based in San Diego, California, is one of the leading competitors featured on the highly successful Comedy Central television show "BattleBots" (airs Tuesdays at 10PM, Saturdays at 9AM and 11PM). The cable network's second highest rated program, which reaches nearly two million viewers a week in four different countries, pits intricate combat robots against one another in an arena full of destructive hazards until only one robot remains functional. The BattleBots program, along with the Mutant Robots team, is entering its fifth season and has been featured in all forms of national media, from USA Today to American Machinist to The Tonight Show.
The leader of the Mutant Robots team, medical engineer Donald Hutson, is one of the most innovative, experienced builders featured on BattleBots. Tazbot and Diesector, the two robots that Hutson designed and built, have finished at the top of their respective weight classes for the past few seasons.
"We see this as a new and exciting way to put the Cincinnati Machine name in front of an intelligent, technically oriented audience," says Kevin V.G. Bevan, Vice President and General Manager of Cincinnati Machine's Value Machine Business. "Demographically, the audience is a key target market for our products."
Additional marketing opportunities for Cincinnati Machine include the company logo appearing on both robots during all national television and newspaper appearances, along with prize packages awarded to key customers for show tapings in California.
Working alongside Hutson as part of the sponsorship agreement, Cincinnati Machine recently manufactured several weapons for the 'Bots, including aluminum hammers, protective bumpers and durable wheel rims that were designed by Hutson. The parts were machined on the new V-CNC 500 vertical machining centers. These parts, the Diesector and Tazobot robots, along with the V-CNC 500, will all be on display in Cincinnati's booth 8101 at IMTS 2002. "With the capabilities of Cincinnati Machine technology, the possibilities we have now are virtually endless," says Hutson. "We are producing CNC-machined parts out of solid chrome alloy or titanium, utilizing exact tolerances. It is that technology which can help design and build what we think are the ultimate fighting machines".
Since entering into the sponsorship agreement in May 2001, Cincinnati Machine has received positive feedback from some of its top customers regarding the partnership. Many senior level executives from top manufacturing corporations are reportedly building their own robots and plan to compete in upcoming competitions, further proof that Battlebots is hitting the key demographic profile of Cincinnati Machine customers.
"We have received numerous phone calls from some of our high-profile customers who expressed their support of BattleBots. And these are people we had no idea were involved with the sport prior to our sponsorship," says Bevan.
According to Bevan, sponsoring Hutson's team has been more than just a way to get the Cincinnati name in front of a technically based audience. "Not only is the affiliation with the up-and-coming sport a good strategic fit for our marketing efforts, but it also provides our employees a sense of pride in seeing the parts they manufactured prominently displayed on the robots in front of almost 2 million TV viewers. That just adds to the fun."