The Steel Dilemma

With The Steel Dilemma, Hempel shifted corrosion protection from a commodity purchase to a value-creating choice – and proved it through significant market results. A sharp full-funnel campaign targeted consulting engineers and steel fabricators with one clear message: extend the life of steel. The result was documented demand, sales, and growth well above market benchmarks: 9.2% YoY revenue growth against a market growing at 3%, volume up 17%, a 38x marketing ROI, and a direct path from digital content to a landmark contract in the Middle East.

Every year, corrosion destroys more than $2.2 trillion worth of steel worldwide and replacing it drives up to 9% of global CO₂ emissions.

Hempel’s Avantguard technology is a proven anti-corrosion solution, that helps fight the enormous consequences of corrosion. It extends the life of steel structures by up to 50% while cutting maintenance costs by 30%.
But having a breakthrough technology isn’t enough if the decision-makers don’t know about it and don’t see coatings as part of the sustainability equation.

In an industry where coatings are treated as a commodity purchase – not a strategic decision – the business challenge was never the product. It was changing how people think about corrosion protection altogether.
And that meant reaching two very different audiences. Consulting engineers, who specify how steel structures are protected. And steel fabricators, who produce and coat the structures. Different roles, different needs, different buying logic. To grow Avantguard commercially, Hempel needed a digital marketing programme that could reach and influence both audiences simultaneously – with differentiated messages, through different touchpoints, but within one coherent strategy.

In the insights phase Hempel conducted in-depth interviews with 20 customers and subject matter experts – international and national contractors, steel specialists, and sustainability advisors – supplemented by research with AI-generated digital personas modelled on real audience data. The insight was clear: everyone understands that steel is strong and necessary – but few connect the fact that unprotected steel is also a sustainability problem.

Building on this, Hempel developed The Steel Dilemma: a concept built around a fundamental contradiction that reframed corrosion protection from a commodity purchase into a sustainability imperative.

The answer to this dilemma came in the form of “It’s Time to Avantguard” – a communication platform that gave decision-makers across the value chain a reason to act.

The goal: use integrated digital media and marketing to build demand across the full value chain and convert it into measurable Avantguard sales growth.

Around The Steel Dilemma and the It’s Time to Avantguard concept, Hempel built a fully integrated digital marketing programme. The dilemma framing the problem and the concept delivering the answer. The programme was designed to reach the two audiences shaping steel structures with differentiated content, through a holistic mix of digital media channels, and convert awareness into commercial outcomes at every stage of the buyer journey.

At the centre, Hempel built two tailored experiences for its key audiences. Consulting engineers were directed to a campaign hub centred on the Steel Dilemma story, combining the hero film, whitepapers and educational content on how corrosion protection supports long-term sustainability. Steel fabricators were served through a dedicated Avantguard product hub, featuring the Avantguard Coating Selector, application guidance and productivity resources to help them identify the right coating system quickly.

These foundations were activated through an integrated media and engagement strategy. Paid LinkedIn campaigns delivered differentiated creative to each audience: sustainability-led messaging for consulting engineers, and product proof points, case stories and productivity data for fabricators. Hempel’s technical experts extended the campaign through social selling, building credibility within professional networks, while gated assets captured high-quality leads. Email journeys then nurtured interest over several weeks, reflecting the long decision cycles of construction procurement. Google Ads captured intent generated by upper-funnel activity, and trade fairs brought the narrative to life in person, with sales teams equipped with engagement data from earlier touchpoints.

Crucially, the organisational process matched the ambition of the digital marketing strategy. Marketing and sales met bi-weekly to review lead progression, refine targeting, and ensure every digital media touchpoint fed directly into commercial dialogue. This was not digital marketing running parallel to sales, it was digital media and marketing embedded as a growth engine across the full value chain.

Sustained over two years, this programme established a new standard for how Hempel can use integrated digital channels to influence complex, multi-stakeholder buying decisions. From first exposure through nurture, into sales dialogue, and ultimately to purchase.

The Avantguard programme set a new standard for how industrial companies can own their digital marketing execution – and turn it into a growth engine. The results prove it worked from awareness to revenue.

Awareness and reach: More than 8 million impressions in 2025 – exceptional reach in a niche B2B segment where the total addressable audience numbers in the low thousands globally.

Lead generation: More than 600 whitepaper leads from consulting engineers – the people who shape project specifications – connected directly to commercial conversation. In a market where a single specification can influence millions in coating purchases, every qualified lead carries outsized commercial weight.

Conversion and pipeline: 263 sales-ready opportunities passed to Hempel’s commercial teams – each a qualified contact connected to active construction projects, with full engagement context from the digital journey.
Commercial impact – three times market growth: In 2025, Avantguard delivered 9.2% growth year-on-year, exceeding the commercial target of 7% by more than two percentage points. Against a market growing approximately 3%, this represents roughly three times market growth.

Volume growth: +17% versus the previous year. The strongest performance came from EMEA Infrastructure, driven by the Middle East – exactly where the campaign was most concentrated – with volume rising to 49.5%.

Return on investment: Over two years, a total digital media investment of €130,000 contributed to driving €5M in incremental revenue – a marketing ROI of 38x.

From content to contract: A landmark LEED-certified island development in the Middle East, designed to coexist with a fragile marine ecosystem, needed steel structures built to last. Hempel was chosen because The Steel Dilemma narrative opened the door, and It’s Time to Avantguard programme showed how to solve it – directly attributed to two years of building credibility through digital marketing.

What started as a digital marketing initiative is now the blueprint for Hempel's global go-to-market strategy.