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Brand Names

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The Great Plans guides were conceived as a way to increase do-ityourself activitY around the home, encouraging the building of decks, gazebos, fences and other two to three day weekend Projects.

Story at a Glance

As d-i-yers become more aware of the benefits in using Pres' sure treated wood Products and systems, marketers have built on consumer Preferences for brand names.

In the forefront of their thinking was the need to keeP construction details simple, as well as easilY understood. The projects were de-' signed to be within the scope of even beginning do-it-yourselfers. The philosophy was that by keeping each construction task simPle, the Projects would, in effect, be training future, highlY skilled and enthusiastic do-it-yourselfers. Good, basic information that would not overwhelm the beginning consumer was stressed. No comPound cuts, no complicated miters, no comPlex joinery were used in the Plans.

"The simpler the Plan, the better. We're out to make friends, not frustrated beginners," notes Paul Goydan, vice President of Osmose Wood Preserving.

Osmose had an advantage in that most members of its management team are skilled do-it-yourselfers. After considerable planning, every project in everY manual was modeled, dissected and evaluated as to its constructibility by members of management.

At that Point, materials were ordered and the group undertook the construction of each project. Osmose writers described each phase of the construction and Photography and video professionals caught the action on film and video taPe.

The end result was a series of Professionally done manuals and video tapes that have caPtured the minds and imaginations of hundreds of thousands of do-it-Yourselfers, according to GoYdan. The steP-bystep Great Plans manuals and videos feature several different styles of decks, fences and gazebos' A fourth manual shows and describes a number of weekend projects like planter boxes, picnic arbors and garden benches.

Retailers providing the Osmose Great Plans booklets and videos to their customers feel that they have been a factor in increasing sales. The company feels that Osmose Wood Products sales have increased with this promotion.

They also credit the incorporation of a toll-free number into the overall marketing program. This direct link between the comPanY and the consumer enables the do-it-Yourself user to pick up a phone and find out about Osmose pressure treated lumber or go over a plan detail that is puzzling. Goydan counts the Osmose hot line as a great asset in making and keeping customers.

The Osmose yellow end-tag on the lumber has been another successful sales ploy used bY the company. "Here is one way the comPanY put itself on the road to overcoming the treated wood is treated wood is treated wood syndrome," GoYdon explains. "lt helped to overcome one of the major hurdles most dealers and manufacturers have to overcomethe tendencY to think of pressure treated lumber as a commodity. Osmose thinks of its Products as packaged goods, and the sales figures tend to underscore the correctness of this line of thinking."

Devices such as the Yellow end tag, advertising the Product with a brand name, showing the consumer how to use the product correctly and offering help increase the likelihood that the product will almost sell itself. "There is a lot that could be said about the Psychology of the American consumer, but one thing that's obvious is that we are a nation of brand name buYers," GoYdon pointed out. "When such a simPle thing as an end tag means the difference in Product identitY and consumer preference, then the products that don't carrY a brand name are giving up a lot in the waY of reputation, trust and, most imPortantly, sales."

Retailers who cater to this Preference for brand names on the Part of the d-i-y consumer will find that they have a lot of suPPort from companies such as Osmose which are proud of their brand name and what it means to the buYing Public. What about you? Do You drive a car or a