S2:E34: Roofing Road Trips with Heidi – IKO's Asphalt Shingle Portfolio

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

Learn how to get the most out of your digital marketing videos.  

Heidi J. Ellsworth, RoofersCoffeeShop® (RCS) partner, sat down with Jack Gottesman, the marketing services manager for the U.S. at IKO for this installment of Roofing Road Trips with Heidi. They talked about the prospective future of roofing and the value of digital marketing.  

Jack grew up in Chicago and is an avid Cubs fan. Baseball aside, Chicago also taught him the importance of careers like roofing and how their value lies in protecting what matters most: your home and everyone in it.  

“Chicago is really a city that has four seasons...It becomes a part of you, those four seasons. And when you get old enough to start paying attention, you realize that the things in your life need to be able to withstand those four seasons. All the things that keep us safe. These things that we use every day,” said Jack.  

“When those icicles are showing up and you're 12, you want to throw a snowball at them. When you get to be a little bit older, you realize that there's a lot of potential damage that can happen with all that moisture, all that precipitation that's taking place right on top of your roof and roofs everywhere. And then...when we flip to the summertime, it's hot and it's humid. And that roof really needs to be able to withstand everything...In a city like Chicago, I'm able to appreciate how hard a roof needs to work in order to keep people safe.” 

Jack and Heidi also talked about the future of the roofing industry and their bright visions for future roofers and roofing contractors. Jack believes the roofing industry is one of the most exciting industries to join, especially now as millions have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I think that people should really become roofers. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that roofing jobs will increase by 12% between 2018 and 2028. And as things continue to grow, there's no more exciting space to be in. And there's no more exciting company to be at than IKO.” 

Jack is on the marketing team at IKO and his main goal is to help people realize how satisfying a career in roofing can be. To better communicate this message to people, Jack utilizes the technological tools available to him like video marketing.  

“Anything and everything is at your fingertips,” said Jack. “You can learn and see things about roofing and communicate messages in ways that we never could have imagined.” 

Hear more tips from Jack Gottesman by listening to the podcast.