A challenging industry and a unique method with multiple audiences: EscaTEQ PR case study

Sep 19

4 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

Symmetrical escalators in a dark station glow with white and red neon lights, creating a sleek futuristic mood.

EscaTEQ PR case study

Client: EscaTEQ, the company that created the handheld escalator tread cleaning category, and the developer and steward of the EscaTEQ Method, an openly published escalator tread surface maintenance methodology that it maintains and updates as the field evolves.
Sector: Facilities management, building services, cleaning technology.
Services: Trade media relations, editorial programme, press release writing and compliance, campaign reporting
Markets: UK and Europe
Duration: Four months

Black-and-white photo of a bald man with a backpack riding an escalator in a modern building, looking upward in a stark scene

The challenge

Despite over one hundred years of escalator use, worldwide, there is no widely adopted framework that exists for routine escalator cleaning. In response, EscaTEQ developed the EscaTEQ Method, a structured operating framework designed to introduce clarity, repeatability and controlled application into escalator tread cleaning.

Developed over 10 years of field deployment and operational refinement, EscaTEQ was ready to share their operating methodology with engineers and vertical transportation (VT) industry professionals, starting at Interclean Amsterdam 2026.

EscaTEQ were keen to get the industry talking about the absence of any documented standard for escalator tread cleaning, and the benefits of a consistent, documented framework to address the challenges. To help with this, they employed my services to secure trade press coverage and help spread the word.

A wide-reaching issue

Nobody buys escalator tread surface cleaning on their own. Facilities managers, property owners, transport hub operators, building consultants and cleaning contractors all have a say, and each one reads different magazines, cares about different things and judges value differently.

One story aimed at all of them would have reached none of them.

There was a second problem. EscaTEQ sells into buildings where safety rules are strict, so the company has its own manual setting out what it can say publicly and how.

Bright white subway station with long escalators, a few riders, and poster-lined walls receding into a tunnel-like arch.

The approach

A three-stage campaign with one story told in different ways to several different audiences, each in the language they already use.

Interclean Amsterdam 2026. A press release was written, checked against the manual and pitched to seven different trades across the UK and Europe, with a separate pitch for each rather than one email sent to everyone. This was the first push, making industry professionals aware of EscaTEQ's attendance at the event, where they would start the conversations that needed to be had. Timed for when the industry's attention was on the show.
A series of articles, one per audience. Six original articles were written (though not all of them pitched and placed), each aimed at a different reader: facilities management, property, building consultants, building operations, the cleaning trade, and transport hubs including airports, rail and hospitality. All were bylined by Willem de Roeper, VP Global Sales, EscaTEQ's spokesperson for this campaign. Each made the case in the terms that reader cared about, whether that was cost over the life of the equipment, tenant experience, downtime or safety rules. A separate technical piece was written for readers who wanted the detail on how the system fits with maintenance software. This stage kept EscaTEQ in the trade press and built the argument for the EscaTEQ Method before the method itself was announced.
Launching the EscaTEQ Method. Once the full documentation and supporting case studies were ready, a second press release went out in two versions. One was written for engineers and vertical transportation professionals, with the technical detail that that audience expects. The other led on what the method does rather than how it works. The same announcement, pitched two ways, so neither audience got a story written for somebody else.

Empty escalators in a bright modern glass atrium, with warm light reflecting on sleek metal rails and walls

The key foundations – for everything

Rule-alignment: EscaTEQ had a communications manual* and every piece of copy was checked against before it went out. The rules in place made the decisions, which made both the writing and sign-off quicker.
Knowing what editors will print. Trade PR lives or dies on the difference between genuine news and an advert disguised as thought leadership. This line was front of mind throughout the campaign, ensuring each written piece stayed publishable without losing the commercial point.

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The results

Coverage in eight trade magazines, across four different industries, all of it earned.

Trade titles

Industries

450k

Combined audience

15.3k

Estimated views

Eight trade titles: TwinFM, Airports International, The Cleanzine, CHT Magazine, BFM Magazine, PFM (Premises and Facilities Management), Facilities Net and EE Journal
Four industries reached from one story: facilities management, airports and aviation, cleaning and maintenance, and engineering
Both versions of the launch announcement were placed. BFM Magazine ran the story for a facilities management readership. EE Journal ran the engineering version, including the classification system, the operating sequence and the invitation for engineers and consultants to test the method and say where it falls short
Four separate hits from one magazine. TwinFM ran the article, put it in its 10 April newsletter to 30,000 subscribers, recorded an audio version for its YouTube channel, and its founder Laurence Allen shared it from his own account
A week on The Cleanzine's homepage from 19 March, far longer than an article usually stays visible, plus a share from editor John Austen
Seven shares across X, LinkedIn and YouTube from magazine, founder and editor accounts, reaching a combined 81,212 followers
An estimated combined audience of 450,000 and 15,350 article views, with an average domain authority of 44.
Every piece earned. Nothing paid for

Empty twin escalators in a sleek blue-gray subway station, rising toward a bright exit, with a wheelchair sign at the base.

“Rob was communicative, responsive and quick with updates throughout the project, and a pleasure to work with.” – Ori Rosenbaum, Founder, Inventor, Director, EscaTEQ

For advice and guidance on reaching multiple buyers all reading completely different press, get in touch with me at rob@robphillimore.com.

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To learn more about EscaTEQ, visit escateq.com

*EscaTEQ’s communications manual has since been updated. Every article written and piece of coverage landed was aligned with the manual at the time of this campaign. This PR case study has been reviewed and approved by EscaTEQ.