Hempel – The Steel Dilemma

Strategi

Every year, corrosion destroys more than $2.2 trillion worth of steel worldwide and replacing it drives up to 9% of global CO₂ emissions.

Hempel’s Avantguard technology is a proven anti-corrosion solution, that helps fight the enormous consequences of corrosion. It extends the life of steel structures by up to 50% while cutting maintenance costs by 30%.

But having a breakthrough technology isn’t enough if the decision-makers don’t know about it and don’t see coatings as part of the sustainability equation.
In an industry where coatings are treated as a commodity – not a strategic decision – the business challenge was never the product. It was changing how people think about corrosion protection altogether.
And that meant reaching two very different audiences. Consulting engineers, who specify how steel structures are protected. And steel fabricators, who produce and coat the structures. Different roles, different needs, different buying logic. To grow Avantguard commercially, Hempel needed a digital marketing programme that could reach and influence both audiences simultaneously – with differentiated messages, through different touchpoints, but within one coherent strategy.

To build that strategy, Hempel conducted in-depth interviews with 20 customers and subject matter experts – international and national contractors, steel specialists, and sustainability advisors – supplemented by research with AI-generated digital personas modelled on real audience data. The insight was clear: everyone understands that steel is strong and necessary – but few connect the fact that unprotected steel is also a sustainability problem.

Building on this, Hempel developed The Steel Dilemma: a concept built around a fundamental contradiction that reframed corrosion protection from a commodity purchase into a sustainability imperative. The answer to this dilemma came in the form of “It’s Time to Avantguard” – a communication platform that gave decision-makers across the value chain a reason to act.

The goal: use integrated digital media and marketing to build demand across the full value chain and convert it into measurable Avantguard sales growth.

Løsning

Hempel built a fully integrated digital marketing programme to reach both audiences through a holistic mix of digital media channels.

At the centre, two tailored digital experiences. For consulting engineers, Hempel created a campaign hub built around the Steel Dilemma story featuring the hero film, downloadable whitepapers, and educational content explaining how corrosion protection contributes to long-term sustainability. A three-week email nurture series was designed to convert awareness into specification action. For steel fabricators, Hempel built a dedicated Avantguard product hub including the Avantguard Coating Selector, a digital tool helping fabricators identify the right coating system in seconds, alongside application guides, productivity resources, and educational content showing how Avantguard's benefits can make fabricators more competitive in their own projects.

Around these digital foundations, Hempel activated a holistic digital media strategy. Paid LinkedIn campaigns drove targeted awareness with differentiated creative: consulting engineers received sustainability-led content around the Steel Dilemma; steel fabricators saw product proof points, real-world case stories, and productivity data. Social selling through Hempel’s technical experts extended organic reach and built thought leadership within professional networks. Gated content, including in-depth whitepapers, captured high-quality marketing leads. A structured email nurture programme converted interest into sustained engagement over weeks, matching the long decision cycles of construction procurement. Google Ads captured search demand generated by upper-funnel digital media activity, closing the loop between brand-building and intent-based conversion. Trade fairs brought the digital narrative to life in person, with sales teams armed with engagement data from the digital media touchpoints.

And what was also important was that the organisational process matched the ambition of the digital marketing strategy. Marketing and sales met bi-weekly to review lead progression, refine targeting, and ensure every digital media touchpoint fed directly into commercial dialogue. This was not digital marketing running parallel to sales, it was digital media and marketing embedded as a growth engine across the full value chain.