Clockwork Home Service’s Vice President of Marketing Chris Buitron talks to Plumbing & Mechanical about working on the reality television series and how it would benefit Clockwork’s franchisees and their customers.

Clockwork Home Service’s Vice President of Marketing Chris Buitron (left), President Scott Boose and Group President of Consumer Services Rebecca Cassel on the set of ‘The Pitch.’ Photo credit: AMC.


[UPDATE: Clockwork Home Services selected an ad campaign from "The Pitch" series. You can read the full story here.]

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning and Mr. Sparky - franchise brands of Clockwork Home Services - were featured on a May 7 episode of AMC’s new reality series “The Pitch.” The series chronicles the high stakes and tight deadlines top advertising agencies encounter when they set out to win new business.

Before the episode aired, Plumbing & Mechanical interviewed Clockwork’s Vice President of MarketingChris Buitronabout working on the reality television series and how it would benefit Clockwork’s franchisees and their customers.

PM: How was the “pitch” made to Clockwork to participate in this reality TV series?
CB:“The Pitch” was presented to us by our agency, Pitts Consultancy, out of New York. We work closely with Pitts Consultancy to identify unique opportunities that are both relevant and engaging to our customers. This show met our criteria and also helped us to achieve a very timely objective

PM:What made you decide to go forward with it?
CB:We believed our brands had matured to the point that we could make a splash nationally. While the brands have been on TV in several capacities before, “The Pitch” seemed different. It’s more documentary than reality show. Plus, there was the possibility we could come away from the show with a great idea and the chance to work with a top-notch agency.

PM:Is this the first time the three brands have looked for a national advertising platform rather than regional/local?
CB:No. However, the uniqueness of this endeavor is that it will be the first time we promote all three brands together in the same campaign.

PM:How will national ads benefit the individual franchise businesses?
CB:Having a national audience learn about our on-time promises, our guarantees and the respect we show customers for an hour is always a good thing, but we made it clear to the agencies that the objective of any campaign we run is to make the phone ring at our franchises and company-owned stores. A secondary goal is to increase brand awareness, which will benefit all brands by decreasing our cost to acquire a new customer.

PM:What was filming the episode like?
CB:I had been part of TV programs before, but this was a little different. We got a so much done in a short period of time, including making an important decision for the brands. The producers and crew were very professional and made all of us feel very comfortable. I’m very interested to see how they edit the hundreds of hours of footage in to a 42-minute episode.

PM:We don’t want to reveal any spoilers, but were you pleased with the results once finished ad campaigns were presented to you?
CB:The agencies had to learn a lot about our industry in a short time, so we did have to make some adjustments so that our locations could execute the campaign, but I do think we ended up with something that’s never been done in this industry and will make an impression on the marketplace.