Driving Challenger Brand Momentum in Ag Equipment
DKY helped CLAAS grow market share with a bold, insight-driven campaign for North America.
CLAAS Partnership
The partnership we built with CLAAS has been strong and collaborative, from aligning on strategy to delivering campaigns that make an impact.
Together, we’ve worked through challenges, embraced opportunities, and celebrated meaningful successes.
195M
433% of Media reach goal
10,566
111% of net audience growth goal
$1.4M
1300% ROI* in ad equivalency
563
94% of Media placements goal
5,761
Dealer posts (Thumbstopper)
118M
Social Media impressions
725K
151% of engagements goal
SITUATION
CLAAS is a globally respected brand with a powerful product line and deep engineering credibility.
But in North America, the company faces low brand familiarity and unaided awareness—just 11.5% and 47.4% respectively.
In a market dominated by category leaders like John Deere and Case IH, CLAAS had a unique opportunity: to show up not as a follower, but as a Challenger—a brand capable of disrupting expectations and earning attention through a distinct voice and smarter activation.
THE SOLUTION
CLAAS engaged DKY to lead PR and social media efforts, with the aim of building greater awareness, preference, and engagement.
Our strategy centered on:
- Deep discovery and brand positioning research
- Building a “challenger” brand narrative based on innovation, intimacy, and value
- Localizing messaging and visuals to authentically reflect North American producers
- Creating scalable content systems for both corporate and dealer channels
THE WORK
Our first year of collaboration delivered a breadth of high-impact efforts:
- Discovery: A two-day immersion and strategy session with the CLAAS team to align on goals and accelerate momentum
- PR: 563 media placements in top ag outlets, amplifying CLAAS innovation stories
- Social Media: 681 posts planned and published, leveraging user-generated content and influencer strategy
- Dealer Content Syndication: Thumbstopper deployment across 100+ dealers, ensuring consistent brand presence
- Event Activation: At the National FFA Convention, we created a unique digital engagement experience using collectible cards and Augmented Reality (AR) experiences to connect with the next generation of farmers
For discovery, we started by immersing ourselves in the brand. For CLAAS, this meant strategy sessions, competitive audits, and field visits to learn from dealers and producers. It’s this hands-on learning that sets the foundation for insight-driven storytelling.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
With 563 media placements and 195 million impressions, we amplified CLAAS’ innovation narrative in the publications that producers trust most. Our focus on earned credibility paid off with a 1300% ROI.
SOCIAL MEDIA
We created 681 posts — a blend of influencer stories, product highlights, user-generated content, and thought leadership. Engagements exceeded goal by 151%, with meaningful audience growth.
We worked closely with the marketing and product teams to plan content, navigate a range of creative assets, and craft stories that resonate. By connecting with the community and leveraging user-generated content, we brought the CLAAS story to life across platforms.
DEALER CONTENT SYNDICATION
Through Thumbstopper, a local content distribution platform, we activated 5,761 posts across more than 100 dealer pages. This ensured consistent messaging while optimizing content based on data insights.
EVENT ACTIVATION
At the National FFA Convention, we launched a digital collectible card experience featuring 3D CLAAS machines. With 6,000+ cards distributed and over 1,500 QR scans, the activation created memorable brand connections with future farmers.
WHAT WE HEARD
The partnership we’ve grown together has been extraordinary, from the onboarding process to the ongoing collaboration that drives results.
We’ve become true partners, working together to solve challenges and celebrate successes.
Every week brought new opportunities and strengthened our work.
CLAAS Team Feedback
“From day one, DKY brought a level of insight, responsiveness, and strategic focus that helped us elevate our PR game. They understood the complexities of our industry and worked with us to create meaningful stories that resonated with ag media and producers alike. The earned media results speak for themselves.” – John
“The DKY team took the time to understand our brand, our voice, and our audience. Their collaborative approach and creativity made it easy to build a content engine that not only delivered strong engagement but also connected authentically with the CLAAS community.” – Alyssa
“Thank you, guys, for getting all these posts together! All the content looks great 😊 ” – Kacy
“Thanks SO much again – I am very impressed with all you have created and am really excited about it!” – Michelle
DIMENSIONALIZING “MORE”
Show how CLAAS innovations tackle real-world challenges head-on, with each development inspired by farmers’ needs.
This video explains the opportunity to connect with farmers on an authentic, relatable level by acknowledging their unique drive and dedication. It reinforces that CLAAS understands their goals and challenges. Our commitment to “More” is about supporting them in tangible ways.