Milwaukee Packout – you know of it, right? Packout is Milwaukee’s line of tool storage products.
Milwaukee launched the Packout product line back in 2017. Yes, it’s been around for just 6 years – doesn’t it feel like longer.
I have been wondering about how impactful a name can be in selling a product.
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I recently conducted a Google Trend search for 3 terms – Milwaukee Packout, Milwaukee Tool Box, and Milwaukee Pack Out.
There are some searches for Packout using the Pack Out misspelling, but not many.
What’s interesting is that there are far more searches for “Milwaukee Packout” than “Milwaukee tool box.” I have yet to see anything like this for other brands.
And will you look at that upwards interest trend?! I conducted searches for other tool storage brand names, and Packout stands out in how it ramps up.
If you look at the search interest trends for say Craftsman VersaStack vs Craftsman tool box, it’s nothing like the trend for Milwaukee’s Packout.
What you see here for the Craftsman product is typical, and you will see similar for most brands’ lines of modular tool boxes. It’s the very high interest in Milwaukee’s Packout as a brand that is not.
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Is there something about “Packout” that made it more memorable?
What’s so special about Packout that isn’t true for ToughSystem, Stack Pack, Stack, ModBox, MakPac, VersaStack, Tstak, CaseStack, TradeStack, or other such names for tool brands’ storage lineups?
Packout simply dominates, even against longer-established brand names such as Systainer.
Google search trends can be fickle to analyze – it’s difficult to draw conclusions without first making a lot of assumptions.
But in this case, it’s clear that Milwaukee Packout is special.
Tool users are still searching for generic terms such as “Milwaukee tool box.” That “Milwaukee Packout” is a more popular search term than “Milwaukee tool box” is an excellent example of effective branding.
Packout is also well on its way to becoming a generic trademark. I occasionally hear “Packout” being used to describe other brands’ modular tool box storage systems. It might not be long before Packout becomes the moniker for any brand’s tool boxes, similar to what happened with Milwaukee’s Sawzall brand of reciprocating saws.
I don’t think that smart branding is solely responsible for the success of Milwaukee’s Packout system, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
PW
How much of this is because some of Milwaukee’s biggest competitors (DeWalt, Craftsman) have myriad options under many sub brands? Craftsman doesn’t just have Versastack, they have all kinds of tool boxes. Some interlock. Some do not. I can’t even remember which have which monikers.
The other thing is that “Packout” is easy to say and write AND is descriptive. Those are key for a great brand. “Tough system” is both harder to enunciate and less descriptive – it could be about literally any product that wants to sound “tough”. What the heck is a “Tee stack”? Wait Tstack? T-Stack? tStack? Heck I can’t write any variation (even the correct one) without autocorrect trying to mangle it.
People like to deride how ridiculous Milwaukee is with their marketing, but they absolutely get this kind of thing.
If I want “the powerful” Milwaukee power tool I look for “fuel” on it. Otherwise it’s “not the best”. Meanwhile I’m stuck figuring out the difference between “Power Detect” and “Flexvolt Advantage” with team Yellow.
I think Milwaukee is a little breathlessly overrated sometimes but they do know how to do technical marketing.
Rog
I agree 100% with this assessment.
Milwaukee is a fanboy’s wet dream, in large part because they absolutely know how to market. Dewalt operates like a giant pharmaceutical corporation with their various lines(TM)*, brand names(TM)* and submodels(TM)*
JR Ramos
DeWalt only exists because of marketing – they came into being and revolutionized that aspect of tool sales precisely because of this. They have always been “fluffy” with the marketing and because of their success/new competition, eventually other brands were more or less forced to follow suit. Milwaukee maybe took it next level under TTI, Makita, Bosch, most others keep it a little more tame.
We talk about Milwaukee really “getting” its user base and responding with features or addressing problems, but that kind of began with DeWalt as they turned the BD Kodiak and Professional lines into yellow tools with added warranty/return times (far greater than anyone else at the time), then followed up with “innovation” after buying and rebranding some ELU tools a few years later.
The naming schemes and “tech” claims have always been kinda stupid. It’s a little odd how the entire world of consumer marketing exploded into professional tools the way it did, but here we are 30 years later with people still sometimes thinking that 20v is better than 18v and wondering what’s special about “red” lithium…
Nate
Milwaukee gets technical marketing and branding. There’s a small subset of consumers (of which I am one) that this sort of marketing rankles. I don’t have Apple or Milwaukee precisely because their marketing overrates their product (who can really live up to that level of hype) and generates a rabid fanbase. I will concede that both Milwaukee and Apple have a number of exceptional. It’s just that I find their “fanbois” so annoying; I also understand reaction may be working against my own interest if I need specialty tools. For my limited uses, there are other brands that can cover my needs.
Skylar
This is very amusing to me.
You’d purposefully avoid buying a particular tool specifically because it was Milwaukee in order to signal to others that you’re not a “fanboi?” Do you really care that much about what others think of you?
Peter Unlustig
Giving up on caring what other people might think makes ones life better.
imho that is of course.
Nate
Not really. I just don’t like overhyped marketing. I generally don’t care what others think about me. As a trained psychologist (but not working as one) I am fully aware how weird we humans can be. So, here’s a bit more amusement for you…
Beyond the specialty tools, I haven’t really found anything super exceptional in Milwaukee. Lots of great tools, but not necessarily meaningfully better than alternatives. If I was a plumber or electrician, I would just accept it and buy their stuff. They are truly class-leading there. Everything else is just quite good, but not necessarily meeting the level of hype.
And there’s a lot of silliness in my reaction. I have Festool dust collectors, the domino, etc. That company does a lot of hyped marketing, though my same logic applies: their dust collection, sanders, and the domino are exceptional. I do want class leading performance in thise areas.
Accepting and acknowledging this might be my first step in recovering from the Milwaukee reaction. 🙂
Eliot Truelove
Getting the best tool, or in this case, box, for the trade and for what you prefer in terms of ergonomics, speed, power, and precision is the way to go. Some take speed and power, others prefer ergonomics and precision. Packout is a great system for sure, and Milwaukees electrical, plumbing, and nailers are truly great, but other companies as you say do other things way better than Milwaukee. I have DeWalt lasers and Milwaukee nailers but Makita everything else, and id loves some Festool if I could ever afford it. I may try Metabo HPT for some other things.
As for modular storage though, the subject of this editorial, Packout is King, at least for now.
Ashton
Sorry man anyone in the trades kniw that mikwaukee is the powerhouse making specialty tools that last and outperform all Competitors. Dewalt is for wood work only. Not a single thing they do is specified for any of the trades. Milwaukee time and time again produces specialized tools for all trades. They are not cheap in manufacturing or quality so their prices match that. Comparing them to Apple is insulting. Apple is more like dewalt. Unnecessarily boring and never innovating anymore.
fred
I did a bit of database crunching today to look at what brands I used to buy for myself compared to what I’ve been buying lately (mostly to respond to wish lists generated by my progeny.
I looked at the small power tools that I purchased in the first years (the 1960’s onward) when I started building up my shop and tools for my home and hobbies. Based on what records I have – my top 5 brands were Porter Cable (39%), Craftsman (18%), Makita (11%), Bosch (10%) and Skil (9%) – with B&D and Milwaukee making up most of the rest – where the percentages are based on dollars spent. Fast forward to the last ten years – and my top brand purchases were Milwaukee (41%). Makita (17%), Bosch (7%), and near ties at about 5% for Festool, Lamello, Mafell, Metabo and Ryobi.
The stark swap in position from Porter Cable to Milwaukee is not surprising considering how SBD tool the PC brand down-market vs. how TTI has built Milwaukee into their flagship. TTI’s marketing has certainly impacted what I buy as gifts – as it seems that Christmas wish lists often cite Milwaukee or Ryobi tools by model #.
Mr. X
Spot-on commentary.
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are and your reputation is merely what people think you are.” (John Wooden, UCLA Basketball coach)
The way you use your tools is your character and how people perceive you by the tools you own is your reputation.
Chris
Stuart
With SBD brands, the relationship between say Dewalt ToughSystem and Craftsman VersaStack online exists at the corporate level. It’s like the relationship between Pepsi and Lipton Ice Tea.
Most end users don’t look at the corporate side of things, and often aren’t even aware.
Like you said, “Packout” is easy to remember, with free spelling variations, but I think it’s more than that.
Scott K
I agree and I think this demonstrates the effectiveness of their marketing. I definitely find their lines easier to navigate than some other brands’. Ryobi really only has their standard line and high performance. But they fall under the same TTI umbrella which may have an impact on their offerings and branding.
Collin
I think “forge” batteries are a miss in terms of branding. First they were late to the “next gen” battery tech. It seems like “stacked” cell batteries, derived from DeWalt’s PowerStack batteries, has locked on as the preferred term for referring to “next gen” batteries, even if they aren’t using pouch cells and instead tabless cells.
Stuart
I agree that PowerStack seems like stronger branding that Forge. Then again, look what Milwaukee did with “Fuel.”
Dewalt went with 1.7Ah and 5Ah, Milwaukee is starting with 6Ah.
Until every brand has a full range of pouch batteries, there’s no such thing as being late to the game.
Although… If Makita launched 18V batteries with 21700 cells now, that’d be late to the game.
Remember, Dewalt ToughSystem was on the market for 6 years before Packout came out.
Mr. X
Spot-on commentary.
Tom
I’m think part of the key to Packout’s success is being a descriptive name.
It describes and emotes a purposeful action, one which most tradespeople do every day.
Sawzall is a similar word, being both descriptive and emotive (who doesn’t want one saw that can do it all?).
I hope there’s some proud marketing gurus out there that got paid well for those two words.
OldDominionDIYer
Yeah I think Milwaukee hit a home run with the Packout System, many brands are now copying them (flexstack) and Milwaukee does seem to know how to advertise as well as make some of the best power tools while keeping them simple to relate too. I am very happy with my choice in Milwaukee.
fred
Hmm! I tested it out. I first cleared my Google Chrome browser history and cache, then I typed “Milwaukee” into my search line. Google suggestions came in this order:
1) Milwaukee Tool. 2) Milwaukee Bucks, 3) Milwaukee Brewers, 4) Milwaukee (city in Wisconsin) – and as #5 “Milwaukee Packout”
Michael F
What Milwaukee got right was twofold. The term “packout” both makes sense as a descriptor of what the system does (packs your tools to head out) and is easy to remember. In addition, Milwaukee is a brutal marketing machine. The term PACKOUT (in all caps!) is prominent in all of their marketing and they don’t stray from it. They don’t have a PACKOUT2 or mini-Pack system. It’s just PACKOUT, period. They are a laser-focused brand and it’s a great business strategy.
fred
I also suppose that having Home Depot promoting it doesn’t hurt.
Birdog357
Packouts are in both bigbox stores and local Ace Hardware. They have massive visibility. And they have a superior latching system. They are very popular with off road guys because the base can be made with a simple flat sheet of .125 metal. All the active components are in the box itself. I’ve never even seen a systainer box…
Jason
Home Depot but what’s the other big box?
Birdog357
Both, as in the bigbox and local places not two bigboxes. I worded it awkwardly.
S
The other big one is trade specific stores. Milwaukee is in electrical supply houses, as well as plumbing supply houses.
Putting product directly in front of those that you want using it is a great move. Klein, I don’t even know where to get their packout system, DeWalt can’t be bothered to push for the trades, and festool is too fancy for framing knuckle draggers
TomD
Try searching “craftsman tool box” vs “craftsman Packout” – I bet the term is almost in danger of being generalized.
xu lu
All Milwaukee has done is to create a sub brand here for a product class which no one has tried with serious intent to brand. They are fairly disciplined about staying on message and leveraging the sub brand. Dewalt is scattershot with not enough dollars to support each sub brand. Are there any other players of consequence?
Lynyrd
Well, now the other’s are about to dilute the Market Share amongst themselves; DeWalt, Ridgid already behind, then Craftsman, and now Flex, Klein and Tough-Bilt.
Most importantly a system is only good if it stays around.
While the new Tough-Bilt has some cool innovations, I figure Milwaukee is in a position to “copy” any good idea and adapt it to Packout.
TZ
The problem with Dewalt is they have too many lines of tool boxes, with too similar names. It’s so messy that even retailers label some of them wrong.
ToughSystem
ToughSystem 2.0
The first ToughSystem wasn’t given a 1.0. That means any search for the original would bring up the 2.0. Some search engines don’t like symbols like the period, and even if they kept the name they should have kept is simple as ToughSystem2. Adding spaces between words and numbers also creates issues with some search engines.
TStak
TStak is good in that it’s a new line without any numbers. The bad part is they kept the same 2 letters, T and S as it’s syllables. In many communities, specifically online, products get referred to by their syllables, in this case TS. Which unfortunately for Dewalt, are the same as ToughSystem.
ToughCase
ToughCase+
Again Dewalt has two iterations with the same name. To make things worse they used the ToughCase name on many products that aren’t even the same form factor. They probably need to learn more words aside from ‘tough’. When they decided to turn it into more of a real system as ToughCase+, they should have renamed it instead of just using a +. Those symbols don’t always work well in search engines.
The obvious problem with so many tool box systems is they get mixed up. Searches turn out the wrong ones, and in some cases retailers get them wrong. And the more places that get it wrong, the worse search results become. For instance, the medium ToughCase+ is sold as “DEWALT TSTAK Tool Box, 8-Compartments, Clear Lid Organizer” on Amazon with 3,000+ sold in the past month. Needless to say, there are reviews of people complaining about the size, and about how it’s not compatible with TStak boxes. They’re basically selling a lot of products, and people only know what they’re buying if they knew what they were looking for ahead of time.
PW
It really is a mess over there at SBD. I think they’re suffering like GM did in the 80-90s: Too many brands, too many “brand managers”, too much duplication, and dilution of resources doing the same thing in different divisions.
Oh and they also can’t figure out how to run a modern factory either.
Joe H
If I ever develop a line of modular tool boxes I should name it the StackyStack just to double down on the trend.
Rog
Is PackStack trademarked yet??
Johnez
If it isn’t it will be now lol
Charles Wick
This makes me think of the tik tok type videos also. There’s one with a plumber in his truck and his walls are lined with packout. Diy’ers see these videos and the tools that the “pros” use and want to be like them.
JR Ramos
A couple of weeks ago (maybe in the ToughBuilt article) I used lowercase “packout” as a generic reference. I actually thought about that as I typed it and just decided it was an easy term to use. Like “sawzall” mentioned here, and band-aid and velcro and so many others…whatever Milwaukee did with “Packout” sure struck a chord with people and appears to have stuck and will probably turn into the new sawzall, for better or for worse (for them).
DeWalt’s schemes often feel like they’re almost alpha-numeric in the way they just don’t make plain sense and roll off the tongue simply. Packout and MakPac do. Sometimes naming success is as simple as this and sometimes it just follows the actual popularity of the product in user’s hands and then no matter what it’s called that name will stick and spread.
The pedantic among us will dig in their heels and force us to read “modular portable tool box system” for years to come.
Zachary Christian Bigger
Honestly, after a year and a half getting into the welding/fabrication industry, I finally sucked it up and got into the modular Toolbox trend… started with a craftsman tradestack that I very quickly returned in favor of milwaukee. The modularity is legitimately the best for the price, and everyone I know calls every system a packout system. Well deserved generic brand as far as I’m concerned