Oil-Dri Corporation, a leading manufacturer of sorbent mineral products, launches brand campaign focused on reliability

Brand Positioning | Print and Digital advertising | Trade Show Marketing | Sales Tools | Technical White Paper

OIL-DRI CORPORATION OF AMERICA

The Challenge

Revamp Oil-Dri’s creative strategy for its fluids purification brands, communicating key differentiators in the edible oils market and its recent expansion into the renewable diesel industry.

The outcome

After launching its new brand strategy, and in tandem with Oil-Dri’s top-notch sales team, the fluids purification division drove the company’s robust revenue growth by X%. Sales for the division hit $X million, a % increase prior to its new marketing efforts.

Oil-Dri Corporation, a leading producer of specialty sorbent products, engaged Clarke Creative to revamp its advertising campaign and various brand materials for their fluids purification division (a key segment of Oil-Dri). With rising competition in the edible oils sector, Oil-Dri aimed to highlight their unique selling points and promote their complete product range. In addition, they sought to boost brand visibility and sales in the burgeoning renewable diesel market for their new and innovative Metal-X and Metal-Z products.

Our Creative Approach

We knew that credibility and accuracy would be the foundation of a successful strategy for Oil-Dri, so we made the deliberate decision to immerse ourselves into their industry. We met with senior executives to understand how each of their products are produced, from the moment they’re mined to final shipment. We peered through trade publications, read technical white papers, and reviewed internal presentations to grasp the nuances of their technology and its applications. To top it off, we conducted a deep dive into competitors’ positioning to identify message opportunities.

This rigorous discovery process led us to Oil-Dri’s Reliability Campaign, which continues to serve as the bedrock for its creative strategy. While brand headlines continue to evolve, Oil-Dri remains rooted in its reliability brand promise.

AN ADVERTISING EVOLUTION

Oil-Dri’s former ad campaign for its product B-80 served its time. Oil-Dri needed a new promotional approach highlighting its corporate mission and full suite of products for the edible oils field.

Enter its Reliability Campaign.

Our first ad campaign targeting the oil and fats industry played on the idea of consistency. Consistency in baking is just as important as consistency in customer support and technical performance. This ad campaign blends emotion and function, making a technical product relatable through a moving experience. ​​The ad’s visual narrative goes beyond telling viewers what the product does—it shows what it enables: connection, trust, and reliability.

As time passed, Oil-Dri asked Clarke Creative to refresh its advertising, but maintain its core tenet of reliability. They were seeking a more universal advertisement that promoted all industries served by their fluids purification division - edible oils, diesel and renewable diesel.

With careful crafting and keeping true to its brand promise, Oil-Dri’s More Than a Mineral ad campaign was born.

We developed a unified, high-level advertisement centered on a single, striking visual: a clear magnifying marble resting on a bed of stone, symbolizing the natural essence of Oil-Dri’s adsorbent mineral products. By anchoring their product in a symbol of clarity and depth, we positioned Oil-Dri as more than a vendor—it became a trusted visionary partner.

TECHNICAL MARKETING

Beyond advertising, Clarke Creative offered marketing, design, and technical writing support for Oil-Dri for its AOCS Conference, which it served as a sponsor. At this event, it wanted to soft launch its newest products for the renewable diesel industry, Metal-X and Metal-Z. In collaboration with Oil-Dri’s team of scientists, Clarke Creative wrote and designed a white paper to be offered to conference attendees, as well as presentation materials for its suite of adsorbent mineral products.