When I stepped in to lead Empire Level, the business had a solid legacy, but we needed a bold evolution. While we had always sold Empire-branded levels alongside our private-label work for Sears (which at one point made up nearly 85% of our business), the writing was on the wall. Sears was fading, Home Depot and Lowe’s were on the rise, and the stakes for building a strong, distinct brand had never been higher.

We made the decision to reinvest in and refresh the Empire brand, and Sales Factory was the partner that helped us get there. This was our first time diving deep into structured consumer research, and it was a game changer.

Sales Factory started by doing something simple, but often overlooked: they asked questions. Before reaching out to retail buyers, they worked to understand how we, the Empire team, saw our brand. We were proud of our product, and rightfully so. We believed we had the most accurate level on the market, and we could prove it. But Sales Factory pushed us further: was accuracy the only thing that mattered to buyers?

To find out, we visited jobsites, threw levels off rooftops to test durability, and surveyed contractors to understand their real-world needs. The findings were simple. Accuracy was critical, but durability and readability were equally important.

We learned that colors like red, green, and blue are the easiest for the human eye to detect, and blue is the most universally liked color across all demographics. Armed with that knowledge, our engineers worked with Sales Factory to create the True Blue® brand: a line of levels featuring our patented blue vial, designed for improved readability and ultimate jobsite accuracy.

It stood out. In a sea of yellow vials, True Blue® was impossible to miss, and impossible to mistake for anything else. The design was rooted in anthropology, human behavior, and practical jobsite application.

We paired that innovation with a targeted communications strategy developed from segmentation research. Different types of level buyers had different priorities, and we built messaging that spoke to each of them directly. From premium pros to price-sensitive DIYers, we had the right message, at the right time, in the right retail channel.

To keep the feedback loop alive, we created the True Blue® Club – a Facebook community of verified pros who tested products, shared jobsite photos, and offered real-time feedback. Sales Factory helped us organize it, fuel it, and keep it connected to our development pipeline. It was our first major step in bringing pro voices into the heart of the brand.

This approach ultimately helped make Empire the #1 level brand at The Home Depot. Fast forward to today, and I’m proud to say that this same philosophy lives on in Trades ProPulse™ – the evolved version of that early pro-led innovation model.

At Sales Factory, we’ve taken the principles behind True Blue® and built a scalable, turnkey system for brands that want to earn the wallet share from pros.

With Trades ProPulse™, you can:

  • Validate product design and packaging before it hits the shelf.
  • Refine messaging and merchandising to drive conversion at the store level.
  • Connect with your end-users and drive sales with trusted content.

If True Blue® was our transformation, then ProPulse is the playbook. It’s how we help brands today do what we did back then.

Let’s talk about how Trades ProPulse™ can help you build what the trades actually want.