Summary
In 2015 Woodpecker Flooring, then a sub brand of Kenton Floors, engaged with Stills Branding to go through a rebrand process including a new identity, tone of voice and brand launch campaigns.
Through market and desk research, workshops and undertaking a process called a Brand Blueprint, Stills developed a unique set of values and a big idea to create differentiation and stand out in the wood flooring market. During the research it identified the Woodpecker name had significant brand equity and was suggested this become the overarching brand.
We then embarked on the visual process to create an emotional connection with their customers. A photographic brand identity was developed accompanying their naturally inspired brand narrative to tie their real wood flooring back to nature.
Over the coming months we conducted roomset and location photoshoots, designed new catalogues and marketing materials and their new website was launched. Through email, direct mail and adwords campaigns we successfully launched their new brand which is now achieving record sales performances month-on-month.
About
Woodpecker Flooring is a family run business based in Caerphilly, South Wales, which designs, manufactures and sells hardwood flooring to retailers, builders merchants and the contract market.
It has worked with natural wood for over two decades, from their first small factory up to the 13 manufacturing facilities it has around the globe today. It was founded in 1975 by a skilled craftsman who loved teaching people how to work with wood, his son Nelson carried on the tradition, focusing the then-nine manufacturing facilities on woodworking machinery. In 2003, Nelson Ker took the reserve of woodworking and mechanical experience and applied it to manufacturing high-quality flooring. Understanding the different tree species, grading processes and using centuries old techniques to expertly finish every floor Woodpecker offers unique hard-wearing flooring that’ll last.
Strategy
Woodpecker engaged with Stills in 2015 to develop a brand that would encourage customers to visit their retailers and merchants to purchase Woodpecker flooring. While having good awareness among retailers and merchants, Woodpecker wanted to drive more end users to its retailers and merchants, while strengthening its relationships with them.
Objectives of the campaign
The overall objective was to increase sales which was then broken down into:
- Number of enquiries through the website
- Number of samples orders
- Increase in website visitor views
- Number of searches for retailers and stockists on their website
- To increase in social media engagement and following.
The target audience
The rebrand and brand building campaign was aimed at two different audiences, retailers and merchants and the public, along with ensuring their own employees felt part of the process.
Retailers and merchants: Typically retailers and merchants respond to face-to-face meetings and physical communications, but to cover the breadth of the retailers and merchants across the country Woodpecker and Stills had to devise a plan that would reach each of these without having to visit each outlet. They may not appreciate the reasoning for undertaking a rebrand and for changing names so taking them on the journey was important to get their understanding and feel involved and well-informed throughout.
Public: To reach the wider public where previously Woodpecker wouldn’t have been a household name presented a different challenge. To develop a brand that would appeal to the public and retailers needed to be addressed and the different channels where the public get their information from compared to the retailers and merchants meant we needed to cover many more digital channels.
Employees: As part of the rebrand we want to ensure that the employees of Woodpecker felt involved in the process and would then become brand ambassadors going forward.
Media, channels or techniques used
Retailers and merchants: Email, direct mail and social media
Stills did a series of email and direct mail pieces targeted at the retailers and merchants to inform existing and new customers of the upcoming rebrand. With merchants typically not responding to emails, Stills used both mediums to ensure the rebrand was well communicated to these key audiences.
Public: Social media, YouTube video and online marketing
Through promoting a brand launch video via Youtube and online marketing campaigns involving adwords and remarketing we were reaching a much wider audience that had not been previously targeted by Woodpecker. To reach the size of audience, digital campaigns allowed us to reach these potential customers within a realistic budget. We created a buzz on social media which helped improve engagement with the brand and drove people to the new website.
Employees: Direct mail, email and workshops.
Results
Woodpecker has seen a 22% increase in sales revenue since rebranding. Surpassing its target revenue by 16%.
Website enquiries:
- 68% increase in retailer searches.
- Average of 180 sample orders per month – in comparison to 138 before rebrand and increase of 31%.
Adwords stats:
- 26.9% increase in conversions
- 27% increase in conversion rate
- Cost per conversion reduced by 34.9%
- CTR increased by 14.3%
- Cost per click reduced by 17.2%
Social media stats:
- Twitter followers increase: 922%
- Pinterest followers increase: 135%
- Instagram followers increase: 711%
- Youtube views: 4,721
“After previously working with Stills on several smaller projects I was confident they’d be the perfect partners for something so crucial to our business. This approach means they have an intrinsic understanding of the business goals and we’re confident that our new brand will be the driving force in achieving our targets, having already been contacted by Amazon and Wayfair US, purely because of our branding. The balance of strategy and creativity has made the whole experience a fun and enjoyable one, with the whole Woodpecker team getting involved”
