When you’ve been around for over 120+ years like Orkin has, you garner quite the reputation. Yes, you’re a leader in your field, but with younger audiences, you’re also seen as the boring, stuffy old pest control company your dad only calls up out of sheer necessity. Simply put, up-and-coming new homeowners don't see Orkin as a relevant brand to them.
What consumers didn’t realize is that Orkin is full of excited, relatable Pros absolutely brimming with knowledge and expertise. After 120+ years, Orkin’s agency team was tasked with helping build THAT reputation.
We had two key goals: increase brand awareness and relevancy with the young homeowner.
Our solution was simple: this is no longer your grandpappy's pest control brand.
We went all in on the younger generation of homeowners by finding them where they’re actually going for advice – on TikTok. We put knowledgeable and relatable Orkin Pros front and center in our video strategy in order to build community and emotional connection.
Out of the Basement and into Pop Culture
If sharks can get their own week of primetime attention, why can’t bugs? In 2023, we launched Orkin’s inaugural "Bug Week" on TikTok, through five days of educating homeowners on the weird and wonderful world of insects.
#BugWeek tapped into internet pop culture through freaky fact-filled bug ASMR videos, a sports-inspired “Bug Bracket,” and even a custom TikTok beat and dance supported by influencers like @TwinSauce.
By using TikTok as the primary platform for #BugWeek content both organic and promoted, and partnering with some great agency partners in DDB, Horizon Next, Drumline, and Jackson Spalding, Orkin and Acadia garnered over 6.8 million views total, with the bug ASMR videos receiving 1.6 million views and counting during Bug Week.
Building a Colony of Fans
Ants are social creatures, and so are we. If we’re truly going to be a brand that young homeowners care about, we recognize that we can’t just speak AT them but WITH them too.
Since launching Orkin’s TikTok, we’ve totaled over 50K engagements alone outside of our owned channel through community management. If you’re posting about bug problems, new homeowner woes, or even your toilet exploding – we find it and hop in the comments to offer advice, commiserate, or help you get the pest control you need.
And when an influential TikTok artist challenged us to donate some services to three families in need, we jumped at the chance to help out, getting an Orkin branch manager to reply in person and make good on that promise in less than 48 hours.
Making 120+ Years of Knowledge Accessible
Whether it’s educating audiences on the role of entomologists via our favorite Barbie doll, dropping our knowledge about what the rattiest city in America TRULY is (surprise: it’s not New York!) or giving hockey fans details on why you might see plastic rats taking over at a Florida Panthers game, we’ve spent the rest of our year making our expertise accessible and engaging.
We utilized a smart mix of in-house content creators, UGC creators, and the Orkin Pros themselves in order to create a TikTok presence that’s fully engaging and always full of surprises.
Throughout it all, we’ve seen not only social growth with our target audience but TRUE brand growth too.
Our brand awareness overall with U.S. homeowners 25-34 has increased from 55.2% to 71.7% in the span of just one year.
Within that first year of revitalizing Orkin’s presence on social media, the results speak for themselves.
