BRADENTON -- On the surface, Tab Hunter and his company, The Surfin’ Plumbers, seem to be all about fun.

Hunter wears a T-shirt and flip-flops to work every day. His employees wear bright yellow Hawaiian-patterned shirts and his plumbers drive around in neon-colored trucks with cartoon beach scenes that resemble Scooby-Doo’s van.

And when Hunter and his staff appear at public events, which happens almost every weekend, visitors are treated to games of cornhole with a toilet as the target.

But a closer look at The Surfin’ Plumbers shows that Hunter’s attachment to games and the beach is actually part of a multi-pronged, carefully planned marketing strategy that encompasses everything from social media, to contemporary pricing structures, to market research, to maintaining a connection with old Florida.

“This business has traditionally been so Yellow Pages-driven but I’m doing things differently, using today’s technology and hiring an event coordinator,” says Hunter, who founded The Surfin’ Plumbers after leaving a suit-and-tie, jet-setting position at Clockwork Home Services. “We won’t be the biggest plumbing company in town, or in other towns, but we’ll be the most recognizable and the most memorable.”

Plumbers in today’s market need to do more marketing than ever before because of the severe downturn in new home construction since 2008, says the leader of a home service contractors’ union based in St. Petersburg.

“Four years ago, a lot of our contractors didn’t have to do a whole lot to market themselves because there was so much business and they were in such demand, just a referral was sufficient,” says Cheryl Harris, executive director of the Florida Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors Association. “Now that the market has turned, plumbers are looking at websites, mass marketing and other avenues to get their name out.”

Hunter, who has a long history of successful marketing moves, has taken on the newly competitive market with vigor. The “surfin’” theme is the most visible aspect of his campaign, even though Hunter himself has little experience with surfing.

In addition to the shirts and the vehicles, including a ‘69 Volkswagen van poised at the front of company headquarters along 53rd Avenue and 17th Street Ct. E., The Surfin’ Plumbers has surfing-themed names for all of its employees -- Kamikaze Kim, Kona Kathy, Lala Liz, Jammin’ Jerry, and Tim the Big Kahuna).

The company’s Facebook page is packed with surfing trivia including the definition of “goofy-foot” -- a surfer who leads with the right foot instead of the left and “ankle busters” meaning small waves. Soon, Hunter will install a grass roof and bamboo accents on the company’s main building. Hunter’s pursuit of “fun” -- for both customers and his employees -- is what drove him to connect with the surfing culture.

“We know that nobody likes to call us. Nobody wakes up and says, ‘Great, I’m bringing the plumber over today.’ So let’s at least give our customers something to have fun with.

“And work sucks, I’m sorry. It really doesn’t matter what you do for a living. So let’s at least make our work enjoyable.”

But Hunter’s marketing plan goes deeper:

After this weekend, Surfin’ Plumbers will have appeared at 11 public events since February including Lakewood Ranch’s First Friday, the Sarasota Boat Show, and the upcoming DeSoto Heritage Festival Parade.

Hunter researches traffic patterns and makes sure to park at least one of his company’s eye-catching vehicles in a highly visible spot in the days following each event.

The name “Pritchard” is placed strategically throughout The Surfin’ Plumber’s branding material: in a billboard above its headquarters, on several trucks, and in the greeting employees use to answer the phone. That’s because Pritchard Plumbing is the company Hunter purchased and it had a 30-year history of building a strong reputation throughout Manatee and Sarasota counties for quality service.

Hunter steers every customer possible to his Facebook fan page, where surfer lingo education is accompanied by updates on the company’s next public appearance and continuous acknowledgments from community members -- each of whom receives a free Surfin’ Plumbers T-shirt.

Instead of offering just a $25 coupon toward future work, The Surfin’ Plumber offers customers a choice of using their $25 discount toward a department store, chain restaurant, home repair store, or gas station.

A visit from a Surfin’ Plumber technician means not only repair or service, but also a sinkful of dishes washed, the garbage taken out, treats for the family pets or some other extra service. “We spend a lot of time on the ‘personal experience’ factor. It’s all about, ‘What are you doing that someone isn’t expecting, or that no one else out there is doing?’“

Surfin’ Plumbers charges by the task and provides quotes before the service, rather than charging by the hour.

All of the special touches earn regular praise from customers including Fred Moore, who described how a Surfin’ Plumber technician spent “more time than I expected him to” replacing his dissolved water heater filter and explaining the impacts of not having one.

Pritchard, who remains on Hunter’s team as his executive manager, is pleased to leave his family’s company in Hunter’s hands.

“The marketers are the guys who are going to take the day,” Pritchard says. “Not only is Tab a marketer, he’s also a master plumber, who has great knowledge of the trade.”