The AVS Group has assisted Trane in designing an annual custom calendar for distribution to commercial customers. The custom calendar highlights fourteen Trane customer case studies and a wide range of Trane product applications and market types.

Over the past several years, Trane has produced over 75 customer case studies. These are real-world examples of Trane installations of commercial comfort equipment. The stories cover a wide range of products and markets—schools, healthcare facilities, offices, government buildings, and recreational facilities. Case studies explain design challenges, installation techniques, equipment selection, startup experience, and system operational history. These are used in print form, on the Trane Web site, and in the form of news releases to trade journals.

The AVS Group was asked to develop concepts for a Trane system custom calendar to be distributed to the company’s commercial customers. The AVS graphic design team developed several options, and the choice of Trane was a wall calendar that used as its primary content the existing library of case studies. This approach would leverage the existing positive messages about actual installations. This customized calendar would encourage viewers to learn more about these applications.

Trane’s requirement was that the calendar be colorful, attractive, and focused on the interests of building designers and owners. Also needed was a balanced treatment—by market, by geography, and by product type. Trane asked that the product be both a practical and economical calendar and a strong marketing tool.

A major part of the challenge was the need to provide accurate summaries of each story, illustrated by photos and graphics that accurately reflect each story. For an audience that had a wide range of interests and technical backgrounds, the Trane calendar needed to instantly capture a system concept in a brief presentation.

The graphic design developed by The AVS Group and enthusiastically accepted by Trane was a 17" by 20" display size. The design was small enough to fit on an office cubicle wall, but large enough to attract attention. A saddle-stitched binding helped minimize production cost and made the calendar faster to print and easier to ship to Trane’s 100+ distribution points. Additionally, The AVS Group recommended a custom calendar design with an extended-flap option to permit local personalizing, a choice taken by many users.

The case-study content allowed the AVS graphic designers to use existing project photography, supplemented by existing product photography and stock images. Before the project could go to print, content approvals were needed from Trane’s various manufacturing units and from the customers featured on the customized calendar pages.

A successful coordinated solicitation of these approvals allowed the calendar to go to press weeks earlier than previous years. The customized calendars were completed and were distributed to field offices, this pleased Trane users and their customers.

Over 11,000 colorful Trane system custom calendars are now displayed in the offices of important customers, influential designers, and key comfort-system contractors. The customized calendar pages describe interesting projects and offer tools to get more information on each project, along with an invitation to ask the local sales office for design and selection information.

“AVS developed a comprehensive project schedule at the outset and managed the new variables (such as local customization) in stride. It demonstrated AVS’s attention to detail and ability to work with Trane contributors and editors—providing the extra reassurance that this high-profile piece would be successful.”

Beth Wegener
Manager of Global Brand Marketing, Trane