HIAB: Developing a strategic influencer campaign for the world crane championship

Client: HIAB

Scope: Media & Communications

Understanding the client

Hiab is a leading provider of intelligent and sustainable load-handling solutions and a long-standing client of CWA.

The group’s biennial HIAB World Crane Championship challenges crane operators from around the globe across a custom-built race track of eight obstacles, which must be conquered in a set sequence with precision and maximum speed. The global team at Hiab approached CWA to deliver a strategic influencer campaign to push awareness of the WCC 2022 event alongside the Hiab brand and products.

Gathering insights and expertise

The WCC was the first time Hiab Global had collaborated with an industry influencer for an event, providing CWA with an opportunity to showcase the power of a successful and well-thought-out influencer campaign. We worked with the team to understand the requirements, identify the obstacles and explore how we could use a targeted influencer campaign to boost event awareness and online engagement, reaching new and untapped target audiences on TikTok and Instagram.

Collaborating to meet objectives

We researched and sourced a key industry content creator that could connect with the brand and engage with new hard-to-reach operators. Hiab Princess (real name Samantha), a truck driver, crane operator and leading influencer in the industry, boasts over 275,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram.

The influencer campaign aimed to harness the power of influencer marketing, social media content creation, and social media strategy and roll-out. The objective was to use the audience pull of Hiab Princess to further grow Hiab Global’s following across both social media platforms and help generate conversations and positive comments around the World Crane Championship 2022 (WCC).

Hiab Princess already had great success with the brand in the UK and is well respected for her craft and knowledge of the sector. Her primarily UK-based audience could have been a potential barrier, but as an internet personality, her own brand has travelled internationally.

Delivering added-value results

By strategically harnessing the power of Hiab Princess’s social media platforms, CWA ensured that the right audience saw and positively engaged with the WCC content, boosting brand awareness for Hiab.

The collaboration included an incredible 15 TikTok videos, five Instagram reels, two TikTok live streams, 13 Instagram stories, 11 Instagram grid stories and a Hiab merchandise competition, generating positive dialogue around the Hiab brand – all in less than 5 days.

The attention-grabbing results showcased the power of a successful influencer campaign.