We’re not toying with you! Eaton’s cornered the market on IT desk toppers

Oct 17, 2022

With the holiday season fast approaching, toy manufacturers are gearing up to release the latest-and-greatest in games, dolls and action figures. But if you’ve been around our company for any length of time, you probably realize that the Eaton elves labor year-round creating our very own brand of playthings: the memorable and highly distinct desk toys.

Bringing character to the IT channel

From the eternally optimistic Googly-Eyed Monster, to the sweet and loyal Never-Fail Robot, to the smooth, secretive evil genius that embodies Devil Duck, our eclectic entourage has been lining the desks of IT pros for more than a decade. But what you may not realize is these unexpected brand ambassadors were not originally expected to live so long.

When Eaton first began leveraging desk toys in the IT Channel 13 years ago, we were seeking a unique way to promote our (rather lackluster) product category. Let’s be honest; power management typically garners little excitement. So we opted to treat it lightly and infuse a little humor – hoping the move would not only get us noticed, but simultaneously differentiate our messaging, which has always been focused more on business outcomes than features and benefits. We even chose to refrain from including product photos in our campaigns in an effort to further emphasize results over actual products. Instead, we highlighted the plight of an eclectic group of desk toys who yearn for the old days when they spent long nights and weekends with their beloved IT pros – before Eaton solved all of their power management challenges.

Helping keep our messaging simple

From festive website banners and email campaigns to engaging trade show displays and promotional items, Eaton’s desk toys have become an integral part of a dynamic campaign that is constantly being optimized and infused with fresh creativity. At the same time, the collection of fascinating figures embraces three major objectives: to increase brand familiarity, brand preference, and lead and contact generation. As the toys became a focal point by which we could illustrate our messaging, we also found a unique and fun way to engage our audiences. Even more, because we recognize that our product category has little mindshare with IT channel partners, we’ve been laser-focused on the effectiveness of our messaging. That includes making sure our pitch can be delivered and understood in less than 30 seconds – the average timespan our partners designate for something that is most often not core to your business.

Established… and expanding

This strategy has served Eaton well; not only have the desk toys developed into an inherent part of our overall identity, they are something our channel partners have come to expect when engaging with us. In fact, it was overwhelmingly positive partner response that prompted our decision to keep the toys around for the long haul. (I mean, who doesn’t love a charismatic, trouble-making monkey that’s also determined to achieve data-center efficiencies? Or a philosophical dinosaur who longs for simpler times gone by?) This motley crew of desktop decorations is now associated so closely with the Eaton brand that we even called on them to differentiate the various floors of our new remodeled hub in Raleigh.

Although the campaign has been around for awhile, don’t expect the desk toys to start gathering dust on a shelf anytime soon. Like Eaton, they are in it for the long haul. Eaton is committed to continuously evolve its crew of play things with fresh and innovative concepts, evidenced in our new Wizard of Light toy that was introduced to help promote the vast connectivity and peripheral catalog we acquired with Tripp Lite. Let the fun continue!