BACKGROUND How did you get started in the industry?My father is a professional Labrador Retriever trainer and has been since 1966. When I was young, he traveled about 35 weekends a year and I knew I didn’t want to travel as much as he did.

After I graduated high school, we received a call from Invisible Fence Brand—they were recruiting new dealers and wanted to experienced trainers such as myself. I partnered with my dad for the fi rst few years and signed my fi rst contract in 1990.

Over the years we’ve developed really strong, long-term relationships with our customers. I still have my very fi rst customer. There are about 350 independent dealers across the nation and our dealership serves about seven counties just north of the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Tell us about the Invisible Fence Brand product?Invisible Fence Brand has evolved over the years. In the early days, Invisible Fence Brand was developed to keep a dog contained in the yard.. Now, we have a more sophisticated line of wireless products that involve a receiver and transmitter. Not only can we help customers keep dogs in the yard, but also out of specifi c areas like pools and fl ower beds. Inside the house, we have an avoidance technology solution where we can set up “shields” to keep dogs out of certain rooms.

Overall, there is a huge variety of Invisible Fence Brand solutions. It ranges from a residential customer just having The Doorman to our largest customer, who owns 1247 acres and uses our GPS product to keep the working dogs within property boundaries as they protect the livestock.

CHALLENGESWhen did you start using E-Z UP® Instant Shelters?I bought my very fi rst E-Z UP in the early ’90s. We would go to events at dog parks like Barktoberfest in Benton and needed to look professional. That fi rst pop-up canopy was not branded but we had our banners displayed on the sides of it.

When I saw what could be done to the Instant Shelters as far as customization, I bought a fully branded one that fi rst year and have bought another one since.

What challenges have you faced when promoting your business?Invisible Fence Brand has become such a household name that now people are using it as a generic reference for every similar product that’s out there. It’s a challenge for us to explain to customers that we’re a brand and distinctly different from other brands that may offer similar things. E-Z UP® helps with that customer education. Because of the branding we’ve done on things like the portable tents, umbrellas, and tables, people are starting to know us as a specifi c company.

INVISIBLE FENCE OF GREATER DALLAS USES A VARIETY OF E-Z UP PRODUCTS TO BUILD STRONG BRAND RECOGNITION

CASE STUDY | INDUSTRY : PET SUPPLY SERVICES

“The Instant tables are the best thing we invested in. They’re lightweight and super easy to set up.”

ezup.com

ORGANIZATION: Invisible Fence Brand ofGreater Dallas

FEATURED CUSTOMER: Bobby Swan, President

RESULTSWhat has your experience been like with the E-Z UP products? There’s versatility to the E-Z UP products and we’ve bought a few different types:

• The custom canopies provide a very nice, professional look and are really easy to use. The tents are also very sturdy. We have our E-Z UP secured down with sandbags or tent stakes, but other people’s tents are fl ying through the air. If it’s raining, I can zip up the side walls to completely enclose the products and protect them. I still have my very fi rst E-Z UP that I bought in 1991.

• The Instant tables are the best thing we invested in. They’re lightweight and super easy to set up.

Did purchasing the custom canopy help with brand recognition?It absolutely helped. When people come up to us at events and tell us they have one of our products, it’s because they’ve recognized us through our display branding. They recognized our uniforms, our vans, our banners, and our E-Z UP tents .

Invisible Fence Brand has a great reputation; nationally our success rate is 99.6%. I’ve learned that the more a company can do to hammer on its brand and get that brand recognition, the better it will do all the way around.

#1 INSTANT SHELTER® BRAND IN THE WORLDSince 1983, E-Z UP provides instant shade solutions for consumers and helps companies grow their business and create brand awareness with an innovative line of portable instant shelters, sidewalls, railskirts, tables, table covers, fl ags, banners and more. With hundreds of thousands of customers in over 50 countries worldwide, E-Z UP is proud to be the #1 Instant Shelter® Brand in the World™. The company has an unparalleled reputation for quality, service and support, and takes pride in the fact that they’re the shelter of choice for small businesses, all branches of the United States military, and billion-dollar corporations.

For more information on how E-Z UP can help your

organization with Custom Shelters or Any Other

Quality E-Z UP® Instant Shelter® Products & Accessories,

Please Visit www.ezup.com or contact

International E-Z UP, Inc. at (800) 45-SHADE

CASE STUDY | INDUSTRY : PET SUPPLY SERVICES

LEARN MORE ABOUT E-Z UP® INSTANT SHELTER® PRODUCTS FOR YOUR BUSINESS AT ezup.com

10’ x 10’

“When I saw what could be

done to the Instant Shelters as

far as customization, I bought

a fully branded one that

fi rst year and have bought

another one since.”

Do you have any advice to businesses just getting started?

Remember that the fi rst fi ve years are always the hardest, and above all, take care of your customers. Maintain a high level of professionalism, hammer on your brand, and keep putting quality products out there.

“ When people come up to us at events and tell us they have one of our products, it’s because they’ve recognized us through our display branding. They recognized our uniforms, our vans, our banners, and our E-Z UP tents.”