Growing Together by Building a Culture of Constant Collaboration

How one project led to a partnership 14 years and counting.

Donaldson Company, Inc.    |    Evolving Together

Blue dust explosion

donaldson logo

New relationships always start with an element of uncertainty. But they’re often driven by the mutual recognition of opportunity.

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The story of DKY’s relationship with Donaldson Company, Inc., a global leader in the filtration industry, started with an RFP in 2010.

DKY was selected as one of three finalists from a group of agencies vying for the Donaldson business. After a comprehensive process and presentation, DKY was chosen to support the industrial filtration business unit – Donaldson Torit.

There was no way to know then that nearly a decade and a half later, the DKY-Donaldson relationship would still be going strong. From that first project for industrial filtration, the partnership continues to evolve and expand, spanning an ever-growing range of products, business units, and countries.

CONTINUOUS COLLABORATION THAT GROWS EACH YEAR

The secret? A mutual commitment to continuous collaboration, built on strong capabilities, adaptability, and a high level of service.

Over the years, we’ve both accumulated and contributed to a growing vault of valuable institutional knowledge of the Donaldson brand, its culture, and its customers.

This deep understanding of Donaldson’s market and business goals flattens the learning curve for each new project, enabling us to efficiently execute creative marketing solutions that support Donaldson’s business objectives.

Donaldson filters

BREADTH
OF WORK

Brand Development

  • Brand Strategy
  • Communications Planning
  • Market Research
  • Concepting + Design

Brand Storytelling

  • Content Marketing
  • Technical + Copywriting
  • PR + Media Relations
  • Sales Collateral
  • Video + Photography

Advertising

  • Media Planning + Buying
  • Print + Digital Advertising
  • Digital Marketing
  • Events + Trade Shows
  • Product Launches
Donaldson PowerPoint
MILESTONES OF SERVICE

Our first assignment was to help the industrial business team – at the time called Donaldson Torit – tighten up their brand positioning and value proposition. The DKY team worked with cross-functional leaders to build out their customer segmentation and align Donaldson’s brand positioning to connect in a more authentic way.

 

Project elements included:

  • Client team brand workshop
  • Donaldson and competitive brand audit
  • Primary customer research
  • Brand strategy development

 

The result was a comprehensive brand positioning and architecture strategy that was documented, approved by leadership, and rolled out internally to drive future marketing work.

Donaldson combustable dust ads

SUPPORTING MAJOR INNOVATION/PRODUCT LAUNCHES

As an industry leader, one constant from Donaldson is new products and innovations – and DKY is often called in to help position, design and build launch campaigns. Some notable examples include:

  • Internal and external launch of Shop.Donaldson.com
  • PowerCore® Dust Collectors – multiple models/configurations
  • iCue™ Connected Filtration Technology
  • Smart Collector
  • Donaldson Torit® Fume Hood
  • Rugged Pleat Baghouse
  • Dalamatic® G2
  • Downflo® Ambient Tower Weld Fume Extractor
  • Downflo® Evolution Pre-assembled Small
Laptop, iPad and Phone mockup of new Donaldson website

LEADERSHIP CONTENT MARKETING

Donaldson is a leading global brand in filtration technology. Innovation is part of the company’s DNA. To leverage this strength, DKY and the Donaldson marketing teams built and launched what today is a robust content marketing strategy. An early success story from this effort was an integrated campaign around combustible dust – a significant risk that manufacturing customers need to understand and address.

The campaign includes integrated content in the form of whitepapers, technical articles, webinars, advertorials, SEO, social media and media relations. This added-value content is high-quality, and it drives demand for Donaldson products and service. The brand is recognized and sought after by prospects, customers and the industry as a leading authority on combustible dust mitigation.

Donaldson earned media examples

FIGHTING COMMODITIZATION WITH BRANDING

One consequence of success is the inevitable rise of “me too” competitive options entering the market. To combat margin erosion and the commoditization of Donaldson products, DKY worked with the Donaldson Engine marketing team to concept, design and launch a premium product line brand. The effort included a market and competitive analysis, naming and design exploration, brand architecture and messaging development.

Donaldson Blue ads
A LASTING IMPACT

Thanks to a partnership aligned around a purpose-driven and people-first culture, Donaldson has afforded DKY the opportunity to evolve from a service provider into a seamless extension of the Donaldson team.

14

years as agency partner

10

Donaldson divisions served

50+

projects underway at any given time

20+

articles placed annually in trade media

10+

major product launches supported

83%

increase in client’s gross revenue over our 14-year partnership

We are proud of the trust we’ve earned and the impact we’ve had so far.

As Donaldson looks forward to celebrating 110 years in 2025, DKY looks forward to continuing to help tell its global story of leadership and innovation.