Pyramid adopts new media to tell its story

The companies that make up Pyramid Molding Group have been around for 50 years, but to tell its story, the company is embracing new tools including video and social media.

Rockford, Ill.-based Pyramid Molding Group, which is made up of custom injection molder Pyramid Plastics and mold maker Industrial Molds, hired Jaclyn Kolodziej as its marketing manager in September 2020 and cast a wide net to upgrade its image.

In addition to updating websites and logos, Kolodziej has been taking advantage of LinkedIn and other platforms to get Pyramid more recognition. A new YouTube channel features both employees and technology, all with a look to show what the company can do, using different methods to get the message out.

"People are less likely to read a long case study or article, but will watch a two-minute video," Kolodziej said.

Kolodziej knows that a lot of small to midsize businesses don't have personnel to address a massive branding effort, but Pyramid offers an example of one way that processors and suppliers can use social media and new technology to raise their profile in the industry and with potential customers and employees.

Pyramid Plastics and Industrial Molds operated as individual businesses, but with extensive ties through shared ownership. Chief Operating Officer Andrew Peterson said creating the umbrella company of Pyramid Molding Group made sense for the company and its customers.

"The decision to combine the talent and expertise of toolmaker and injection molder and offer a holistic approach to our customers was simple," he said.

Pyramid Plastics does an estimated $15 million in injection molding sales, placing them at No. 327 in North America, according to Plastics News' estimates. Industrial Molds is No. 59 among North American mold makers with an estimated $9 million in sales in PN rankings.

Since arriving at the company, Kolodziej has been working to not only build the brand and upgrade its messaging, but also seek out new connections. Using LinkedIn is one example, she said.

"Every time I've had an opportunity, I'm connecting with that plastic community," she said.

An updated website and video channel are other tools. The key to making them all work together is to have a strategy about the message and getting that message out on different platforms. In addition, companies need to have executives and employees alike buy in and help boost posts through their own social media threads or via email.

"A lot of times, if you put a post up, there's no structure, there's no plan," Kolodziej said. "So when I came in, I mapped out an entire strategic marketing plan, based on what we've looked like, what our branding was, how the companies work together, what the messaging was."

Different formats — whether using traditional media or social media — can be used to tell the company's story in different ways.

"Every layer — whether its visual or video or social media — you're peeling it back," she said. "It's really about making a great conversation starter and taking it to the next level with our customers.

"It's like an onion. So you start with the core, which is the topic. And then you add on each layer, so social media is that spin on that topic," Kolodziej said. "LinkedIn, then Facebook, then video. They're all layers."

Kolodziej had little experience in editing video when she took the job but gave herself the challenge as using it to tell Pyramid's story. Since she started showing up on the shop floor with camera in hand, toolmakers and press operators have gotten excited to see their work being showcased. They come to her when they have some new project coming up and suggest ways to shoot the manufacturing process.

She is planning a Q&A video series featuring company experts who might otherwise be out of sight.

"Working with the different employees, the goal is to share some technical knowledge about our capabilities, our departments, but then also put that personal touch to it by having our workers, our programmers, our machinists talking to you and answering those questions," she said.

Kolodziej has a year's worth of content mapped out to continue telling Pyramid's story and continue using traditional and new media platforms.

"Whether it's visual or a content for social media posts ... it's a really great conversation starter," she said. "And then we can take it to the next level to connect with our customers."