‘Glidden trade premier makeover’ for ICI Paints AkzoNobel by Tangerine PR

Summary
In 2010, the paint industry was suffering at the hands of recession. ‘Value for money’ brands like Glidden Trade from ICI Paints AkzoNobel offered customers the right price, but in a largely  commoditised market, achieving cut through and positioning the brand ‘front of mind’ at grass roots level was essential to sustain market share.

ICI Paints AkzoNobel turned to B2B PR specialist, Tangerine PR, to develop a campaign that would ensure Glidden – the ‘value’ range of products in its portfolio – became the brand of choice.

Research revealed that, while many trade publications serve the painter/decorator audience, mainstream media was the only way to really gain traction.

Tangerine set about transforming the ‘dry’ B2B subject of ‘value for money paint’ into a high-profile PR campaign that would capture the interest of national press, digital and SM channels.

At its heart was the ‘Premier Makeover’ competition, which Tangerine developed for the News of the World – a key title for painters and decorators. Targeted at amateur football teams, the competition to live ‘like a Premiership team’ ran in the publication over four weeks and achieved unprecedented coverage for the brand across national, regional and social media channels.

About glidden trade
Glidden Trade, the value brand in ICI Paints AkzoNobel‟s portfolio, offers a range of quality, professional coatings, which are purpose designed for projects with limited budgets. Offering a wide range of interior and exterior finishes, the brand has been used by painting professionals for over 17 years.

Strategy
The paint industry as a whole has been affected significantly by the downturn in the construction market. Decorating professionals,  ‘at the coal face’ continue to struggle with increasingly tight budgets and rising customer expectation, while manufacturers have to compete for market share in an ever more competitive landscape.

As such, the ‘value’ brands from manufacturers like ICI Paints AkzoNobel have played a crucial role in supporting painters’  and decorators’ businesses, so Glidden Trade, the only ‘cost-effective’ range of products within the ICI Paints AkzoNobel portfolio, was a key priority in
2010.

While Glidden Trade is well established, the ‘value’ paint market is largely commoditised, with purchasing decisions primarily based on price. ICI Paints AkzoNobel recognised that for Glidden Trade to achieve cut through and sustain and even grow its market share, it needed a high profile, strategic and sustained PR campaign that would ensure the brand became front of mind with value conscious painters and decorators at grass roots level.

It turned to Tangerine for a solution. Tangerine is a B2B specialist with in-depth knowledge of the building and construction sector that understands the decision making and purchasing process, and the importance of effective targeting and message segmentation.

Research confirmed that while there were many trade publications serving the painting and decorating sector, mainstream media offered a more effective channel to engage them.

Tangerine developed a strategic PR campaign for Glidden Trade that would position the brand right at the heart of its key target audience, by taking the ‘dry’ B2B subject of ‘value for money paint’ and transforming it into a high profile story that would capture the interest of national and regional press, digital and SM channels, and the trade.

At the heart of the campaign was the ‘Premier Makeover’ competition, which Tangerine developed in a bid to secure high profile coverage in the sports section of a leading „red top‟ publication (particularly popular with painters and decorators). This type of national coverage would normally be out of reach for a trade B2B brand, so this was a tough challenge.

As part of the strategy, Tangerine planned to capitalise on this leap into national media by disseminating the ‘Premier Makeover’ story across SM channels, as well as the trade and some regional titles to keep the brand front of mind across primary and secondary target
audiences (see below).

Campaign objectives
1. Make Glidden Trade the value brand of choice.
2. Raising Glidden Trade brand awareness by achieving cut through in a commoditised market.
3. Break out of the ‘trades’.
4. Help to sustain and, if possible, grow market share.
5. Build brand personality – ‘friendly’, ‘in your community’, ‘understanding your needs’.

Target audience
Primary:

  • Professional tradesman – painters, decorators, „white van men‟ and multi-skillers.

Secondary:

  • Local communities.
  • Homeowners.
  • Construction workers.

Media channels and techniques used
Overview
The conception of ‘Premier Makeover’ was impeccably timed by Tangerine to coincide with the formation of the News of the World’s ‘ScoreStars‟, which was a new feature covering news and stories from amateur football teams across the UK.

Not yet launched, the paper was looking for a high profile feature to kick-off the new section and the ‘Premier Makeover’ competition became its inaugural feature, which was heavily promoted in the paper and across its SM channels, resulting in massive exposure for the brand.
Not completely side-stepping the painter and decorator trade media, Tangerine implemented a high profile campaign to promote the competition, encouraging entries and reinforcing brand awareness and the core messages of the campaign.

To enter the competition, teams were required to submit a video of their best goal celebration to the News of the World. The winning team received a prize up to the value of £20,000, which includes:

  • Clubhouse makeover.
  • Executive travel to away matches.
  • Glidden Trade branded football kit.
  • Training session with a professional coach.
  • Kit washing after every game.
  • A makeover for the club‟s ‘WAGs’ and a night out in London.

The prize was won by Fox FC from York, a team created to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Tangerine developed a regional PR campaign in the York area to promote the team’s win and publicise their progress through the ’Premier Makeover’ experience.

Campaign timescales
Research and planning – August 2010
Competition launch – 5th September 2010
Competition closed – 30th September 2010
Delivery of prize – October 2010 (ongoing)

Results

  • Inaugural feature in the News of the World ScoreStars section.
  • Secured coverage in the in-paper supplement for four consecutive weeks.
  • ‘Premier Makeover’ also featured on www.newsoftheworld.com.
  • 10 mentions on the ScoreStars Facebook site and numerous tweets.
  • X 6 pieces of trade coverage to date (Total trade readership: 551,252).
  • ROI of £1: £5.

Client testimonial
“We knew that Glidden Trade was going to be a key brand for us going into the economic downturn. Budgets were becoming increasingly tight for painters and decorators, which meant that purchasing decisions would be driven mainly by cost. We had to make sure Glidden became front of mind if the product was going to work as hard as it needed to for the business. 

“We knew Tangerine was a B2B specialist that had an in-depth understanding of our market, so we tasked them with developing a PR campaign that would give the brand cut through and get straight to the heart of our target audience. The Premier Makeover really caught the imagination of the national press and struck a chord with the trade and wider community resulting in some unprecedented national coverage for the brand.

“The whole campaign has been a great success and Glidden Trade has not just held but increased its market share in a highly competitive environment.” Nicolas Guichard, senior brand manager for Glidden Trade, at ICI Paints AkzoNobel


Related content

Access full article

Propolis logo white

B2B strategies. B2B skills.
B2B growth.

Propolis helps B2B marketers confidently build the right strategies and skills to drive growth and prove their impact.