(KWP #7) Shelter Marketing

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON

Shelter Marketing

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: INTRODUCTION

Everything Under the Roof The shelter, housing or building industry includes all of those working vices that go into building and furnishing structures for living and working. If you are on the following list (in no order of importance) you

CONTENTS

1.

Architecture, interior design & kitchen design firms

2.

Construction firms

3.

Manufacturers, distributors & retailers of building products

4.

Manufacturers & retailers of residential and office cabinetry, furniture and furnishings

Situational Analysis Target Audiences Issues & Ideas

5.

Building services providers

6.

Commercial, retail & residential real estate developers

7.

Senior housing developers & managers

Case Studies Experience Contacts

WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS and case studies illustrating the strategy and creative solutions developed by Kleidon for companies in shelter. Our experience in marketing for companies in the building industry since 1975 gives us a unique perspective on the marketing challenges facing shelter industry participants.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

Getting Your Share

THRIVING ECONOMY Many competitors marketing aggressively squeeze your share of the market and raise the cost of acquiring market share.

VS RECESSIONARY TIMES Fewer competitors and less spent on marketing leave gaps. Market share is abundant with minimal acquisition cost.1

THE SECRET OF MARKETING IN A RECESSION. It is tough to spend money on marketing in a recession, but, portunity. It is the best perhaps only time to in2 crease market share. Competitors disappear or cut their marketing budgets to the bone. They are out of touch

THE LUXURY MARKET IS ALIVE AND WELL. How does concentrated wealth at the top affect your business?

Luxury spending is fully recovered, with expenditures back to pre-recession levels. The top 21% of earners buy 85% of all the goods and services sold in the U.S.3 In addition, the affluent are twice as likely to spend in every

category, and spend 3.2 times as much when they do. 4 No matter how few affluent are among your customers or prospects, their spend level makes them important.

PROFESSIONAL DESIGN ADVICE like architects and interior designers provide is almost exclusively purchased by those making $250,000 or more (the top 2%).5 However, almost every company can benefit from attracting affluent consumers and making them comfortable with its products or services.

Ask about our recent QuickFacts series on the affluent who they are and how they spend as a guide to positioning your company for the luxury market.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

Preparing for a Recovery AT A GLANCE Domestic housing stocks like Toll Brothers are up 31% January to May, 2012. These stocks according to Jim Cramer of Mad Money.6 In NE Ohio, new and existing home sales were up 27.3% in April 2012 over 2011. (Plain Dealer) 7 Nationwide, existing home sales in April increased 10% over the same period in 2011.

Inventory is down to a 6.6month supply from the April 2011 level of 9.1 months.8

Sumner at Ridgewood, a luxury senior housing community, is on graphics. This invitation was part of a coordinated, successful holiday campaign.

ENCOURAGING SIGNS AT LAST. Jim Cramer of Mad Money looks at the numbers and sees a housing

growth throughout the housing sector, from LouisianaPacific and Sherwin-Williams to Home Depot and Ethan Allen.9 Call or email KurtK@Kleidon.com for a link to

POWERFUL DEMOGRAPHICS. We can add one to our dented level of pent-up demand. All of those 20have to move out some day. Newborns will someday

need a room of their own and a school district their parents like. The Boomers are aging, and many will soon be pushed to retrofit or move. Andrew Kantor reports that construction jobs are up 100,000 from the bottom, signaling that the turn-around may have begun.10 HOW SHOULD YOU PREPARE? Your marketing materials may be out of date. They need to be right for the mood of the country, which has changed, and the new communications channels that consumers and trade professionals use. Developing a marketing plan takes about six weeks, and most marketing materials require 6-12 weeks. The best time to reach out to your prospects is during recessionary times or as the recovery strengthens.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: TARGET AUDIENCES

Understanding Your Target Markets Shelter sector companies generally need to reach the following target markets. To do so, consider what these groups read and watch; where they live, what they value; and how their age, life stage and budgets affect their decisions as buyers. These factors affect the language, design, mailing lists and media choices best for your marketing. Unless you sell strictly B2B, you will need to consider B2C targets as well.

Architects, engineers and specifiers B2B: Architects/ Designers/Builders

Interior designers and kitchen designers Builders and developers Require high design standards and want detailed product information in the jargon they use

B2C: Buyers of

Women and men in $100,000+ households (In 2010, the top 20% of Americans had an income of $100, 066 or more.11 12

Luxury goods

The affluent are projected to spend $162 billion on new homes and remodeling in 2012.13

B2C: X and Y Generations

25-36 Young families, renters and first-home buyers. Not many GenYers are affluent, but those who are will spend $20 billion on new homes and remodeling in 2012.14 37-45 Long wish lists, growing incomes, move-up homes. Affluent Gen Xers will spend $56 billion on housing this year.15 Busy families choosing new brands and moving up

46-56 Top buying years B2C: Boomers

57-66 Empty nesters with upgrades and remodeling in mind Accumulators with no time to spare, the largest demographic cohort. Those Boomers who are affluent are your best target market, with a projected 2012 shelter spend of $86 billion.16 60+ Active retirees

B2C: Seniors

70+ The Quiet Generation Downsizers looking for retirement communities, aging-in-place remodels. As Boomers continue to enter this age group, they will change almost everything about it.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: ISSUES & IDEAS

Increasing Awareness

The human touch is evident in this invitation we room Grand Opening. When you have an event for trade or consumer audiences, use online and offline mailings and public relations to make the most of it.

GIVE VOICE TO YOUR MESSAGE. Marketing needs a human touch. A good writer or designer tunes your message to the wave length of your audience. Engaging buyers on emotional and aesthetic levels gives your marketing communications the power to inspire action.

wide range of products and services.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. They probably belong to one or more of these target markets:

designers and kitchen designers

Women, 25-65 While production in the industry is male-dominated, buyers or purchase-initiators are roughly 80% female.17 Luxury consumers The luxury market drives sales of a

The shelter media Trade and consumer. Print, digital and TV. Local and national.

Professional advisors Architects, builders, interior

RELY ON PROFESSIONALS FOR MESSAGE CREATION. Begin with a team that understands your target markets, how they try to find you, and what it will take for them to buy. Those who know the industry graphic designers, writers, and PR people your side and get it posted when and where it matters.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: ISSUES & IDEAS

Establishing or Extending a Brand

A powerful logo turns trucks into a billboards for Geopfert HVAC services.

This custom corporate identity has been selling Geopfert services for almost a decade and still looks fresh, eye-catching and professional.

to establish or extend your brand is not a matter for novices. Strategic thinkers with experience and an outside point of view can help your company clarify the fundamental nature of your brand promise and communicate it in fresh, engaging ways.

Be sure these basic marketing tools are in place: Website. Make it honest, conversational and easy to navigate. Give various target audiences their preferred ways to learn and connect.

Marketing strategy and creative content are what

content management system, but have a back-up plan in place for ongoing programming and creative content support.

Logos and Product Naming. Your identity should resonate with your buyers; differentiate your company, product or service; and have lasting qualities.

Have it vetted through the Trademark and Copyright Office. This is definitely a project for custom design and writing.

Brand Messaging. Your brand promise should attract buyers and engage their emotions. It also needs a

Whenever you launch a new service, expand into a new community or defend against new competition, your Your website is the hub of your marketing, so it needs brand needs to set in motion a feedback cycle that proregular updating . You can do this yourself through a tects your business and supports its growth. crete crew to do interior design.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: ISSUES & IDEAS

Integrating Campaigns

A quick response (QR) code (in red circle) links an ad in Apartment Guide (left) to a microsite (right). The microsite is optimized for mobile.

REACHING THEM WHERE THEY LIVE. On the one hand, A well-crafted plan and smooth execution ends multi your target audiences are more elusive than ever. They -channel chaos. are savvier and more price-sensitive. On the other hand, Social Media Management. they still need and want to buy your products or services. tion go on without you. With a set-up by a marketing It takes a blend of traditional and new marketing, public relations and content marketing, print and web to pull in the right prospective clients or customers, nurture the COMBINE OUTREACH WITH SMART MESSAGING. relationship and seal the deal.

Professional website programming has huge technical Public Relations. Building awareness is the first step advantages. Just as important is current, creative conin generating demand. tent. Use ongoing support services for creative content development and advanced programming while makSearch Engine Optimization. If they are searching for ing everyday changes in-house with a content management system.

Integrated Print and Online Marketing Campaigns.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: ISSUES & IDEAS

Turning Challenges into Opportunities

Zaremba knows all about transforming a challenge into an opportunity.

Their inventiveness inspired our approach to their marketing, with nostalgia as the ideal mood to communicate the value of the New Urbanism concept and to sell these beautifully reclaimed neighborhoods.

YOUR MARKETING CHALLENGE is in some ways very much like that faced by everyone in shelter and in other ways very different and all your own. To address it successfully requires (1) identifying your point of differentiation, (2) reaching across various media with consistent branding and (3) creating ideas and images that make your message compelling to your buyers.

To transform a marketing challenge into an opportunity to improve your ability to do business, you need New strategies that fit how buying happens today. changes in how buyers behave and in how marketplaces and media work.

Creativity that makes buyers sit up and notice.

Knockout creativity is not a frill. It makes or breaks a campaign, especially in an aesthetics-sensitive field like shelter.

A brand promise that truly differentiates. Your brand messaging must tell your story, not some generalized idea, but yours.

CONSIDER A MARKETING PLAN. Your plan for a year or a campaign should articulate a strategic, coordinated message for use across multiple channels. It should include a timeline, advertising calendar (if applicable) and budget. A full discussion, a Marketing Plan, is at www.kleidon.com.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: CASE STUDIES

A New Market Position for JDM Homes

This custom logo is used in marketing materials for both JDM divisions.

RAISING CONSUMER PERCEPTION FROM SEMI-MANUFACTURED TO LUXURY The result was a clear differentiation between Even though their panelizing process allowed fully custom homes with tighter tolerances than on-site stick building, few consumers understood it. The solution was to demonstrate the luxurious results with beautiful photography and explain the advantages in ways that consumers could understand easily.

intrigues and reassures high-end buyers, repositioning home. Our work for JDM includes marketing strategy, creative collateral, video, color research, advertising, direct mail and signage.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: CASE STUDIES

Effective Advertising for Omega & Kitchen Craft

AT A GLANCE AD Q, an independent research firm, tested our magazine advertisements for Kitchen Craft Cabinetry and Omega Cabinetry, confirming that they excelled in in achieving recall, read-most status and advertiser recognition.17

eye, encourage reading and connect the ad to the advertiser. AD Q tests for these ad qualities by surveying readers. Our magazine advertisements for Kitchen Craft Cabinetry and Omega Cabinetry were singled out every time AD-Q performed a readership audit of advertisements in Kitchen & Bath Design News for 12 years, re-

ceiving 18 consecutive AD-Q Awards for Outstanding Advertising.18 The Omega Cabinetry ad shown here for also won an ADDY from the American Advertising Federation, Akron. Our work for Omega and Kitchen Craft included marketing strategy, advertising, creative collateral, websites, retail and trade show graphics, interview coaching for HGTV, video and public relations

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: CASE STUDIES

Magazine-Style Wish Book for Omega Cabinetry

Interesting stories and beautiful displays of products give consumers both inspiration and information in their favorite format.

POWERFUL MARKETING STRATEGY INCREASES READERSHIP Home decorating magazines remain the medium of choice for consumers planning a major remodeling or

over-sized pages and set a new level of excellence for

new home construction.18 We used that popularity as

kitchen and bath industry collateral. All of the key target

the basis for creating a magazine-like new product bro-

markets

chure for Omega Cabinetry. Fabulous photos, inter-

signers, consumers

kitchen dealers and designers, interior dehad strongly positive responses.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: CASE STUDIES

Launching The Mercato

An oversized brochure, bound like a set of architectural plans, features graphically enhanced site plans. It sold the concept of a new shopping center to retail tenants.

This logo positions The Mercato as an upscale, Tuscan-style shopping destination. It also demonstrates the power of a welldesigned custom logo.

BRINGING A CONCEPT TO LIFE Cedarwood Development wanted to hit the ground running with its concept for an upscale shopping center in Colorado. In such cases, design has several very different challenges. It needs to be grounded in strategy so the resulting images reflect an accurate price point for the development. At the same time, it needs to

images, often from CAD drawings, in order to communicate both the required technical information and the feeling of the imagined development. Lastly, and perhaps most important, it needs to create desirability for a

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: CASE STUDIES

Reaching Architects for Rockwood Door

Roger Schrock, President Rockwood Door

GIVING BUILDERS AND ARCHITECTS INFORMATION THEY WANT IN A WAY THEY APPRECIATE Rockwood Door gave Kleidon the challenge of raising

dimensional mailing using beautifully crafted miniature

its profile

doors. It was exactly what this niche audience likes. Its

getting and keeping the attention of high-

end architects, builders and interior designers. Our first

exquisite design exceeds the high aesthetic expecta-

step was a rebranding with a new logo, brochure and

tions of this audience and is a useful sample to keep

website, followed by an attention-getting, three-

and show to clients.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: CASE STUDIES

Clear Message for Construction Labor Contractors

A COMPLICATED STORY, TOLD CLEARLY CLC needed to support multi-state sales with a brief, clear explanation of staffing services tailored to the needs of the construction industry. This required a careful balance of visual and verbal elements in the lan-

guage used in the construction industry. The resulting corporate identity, website and brochure clarify the offer, support sales presentations, and facilitate training of new CLC sales personnel.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: CASE STUDIES

Content Marketing for the Furniture Heartland

The logo for the association comes in six versions that feature different chairs.

CUSTOM CONTENT MAGAZINE TRANSFORMS CONSUMER COMMUNICATONS The Amish Country Furniture Association, a non-profit

that began with soliciting advertisements and doing

group, wanted to reach consumers in a non-advertising

interviews for articles. Member and non-member adver-

way, provide information, represent many members, and have little or no up-front cost. They also needed to

tion. The results? Instead of consumers overlooking an

reach hundreds of thousands of consumers. Our answer

ad, they sign up for subscriptions

was to develop a custom magazine and website, tasks

stration of the power of creative content marketing.

a dramatic demon-

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: EXPERIENCE

Kleidon: Shelter marketers since in 1975

AT A GLANCE Our first clients were shelter firms, and we have been learning and developing contacts ever since. We connect with the entire shelter media, attend shelter trade shows, research shelter markets and write for shelter publications.

ASID Ohio North Chapter was one of our earliest clients, and we still work with this essential interior design trade group, managing their directory publication, including the direct mail and online advertiser solicitation (shown above) that underwrites the project.

DENNIS KLEIDON, PRESIDENT, CEO & RENAISSANCE MAN -like career. He taught technical drawing, architectural illustration. graphic design, packaging and advertising design at the Universities of Illinois and of Akron. His academic specialty, perspective drawing, led to his development of Designer Grids, a 68-item product line that went international in three years and was ultimately sold also co-

these career highlights to his first jobs on a concrete crew, in a cabinetry shop and as a carpenter. During college in construction management, architecture, graphic design and sculpture, he worked for two Chicago-area architecture firms as a draftsman, designer and architectural illustrator. Since 1975, he has been advising shelter-sector clients about how to promote their products and services.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: EXPERIENCE

Kleidon: Shelter Clients learned from each of these clients and have helped many of them position their companies for greater success.

CABINETRY To say we know the kitchen & bath industry is an understatement. We can market any kitchen & bath product, from naming products and prepping for trade shows to opening new territories. We know the editors and producers in the trade and consumer media in kitchen & bath and furniture & furnishings.

Decora Cabinetry Semi-custom cabinetry with national distribution, Indiana J.M. Kitchen & Bath Two showrooms in the Denver metro area Kitchen Craft Cabinetry Largest cabinetry manufacturer in Canada with sales in Canada and the U.S. Luxe Cabinetry Custom cabinetry manufacturer, California MasterBrands 12 cabinetry companies, largest cabinetry manufacturer in the US Mullet Cabinet Custom cabinetry manufacturer, Ohio Norcraft Cabinetry Custom cabinetry manufacturer, Canada Omega Cabinetry Custom and semi-custom cabinetry through dealers nationwide, Iowa QuakerMaid Cabinetry Custom cabinetry with national distribution, Pennsylvania Stuart Kitchens Four showrooms in the Washington, D.C., area

FURNITURE & FURNISHINGS Amish Country Furniture Association Trade association for furniture retailers Audio Video Interiors Home theater and sound systems Gomillion Furniture Services Museum-quality restoration and refinishing of furniture Homestead Furniture Custom-designed solid hardwood furniture Kichler Lighting Innovative leader in decorative light fixtures, lamps and home accessories Quality handcrafted furniture WCCV Flooring Design Centers Hardwood, marble and granite, carpeting, rugs and tile Winesburg Chair Vertically integrated from lumbering and milling through solid hardwood furniture Yutzy Urban Collection Quality hardwood furniture with a contemporary influence

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT Cedarwood Development, Inc. Commercial, program and residential development, nationwide Greenhaven Development Residential development The NRP Group Development & construction Revere Estates Residential development Zaremba Developer of award-winning New Urbanism neighborhoods

level and its four divisions while maintaining a common brand.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: EXPERIENCE

HOME BUILDER, ARCHITECT & INTERIOR DESIGN CLIENTS American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Ohio North Chapter Professional association Cedarwood Architectural Commercial and residential building design Home Builders Association Serving Portage and Summit Counties in NE Ohio JDM Structures Builder of storage barns and custom homes Lobalzo Design Associates Commercial, institutional and residential interior design Miller Homes Custom homebuilder The NRP Group Multifamily and commercial construction and property management Zumpano Design & Construction Custom homebuilder

SENIOR HOUSING Sumner on Ridgewood Luxury retirement community for independent living and continuing care

COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION Bennett Construction Management General contracting, construction management & design/build Cavanaugh Building Site development and construction Dun-Rite General contractor for commercial & residential building & remodeling Louis Perry & Associates, Inc. Engineers, architects and planners of industrial and commercial facilities The NRP Group Multifamily and commercial construction and property management The Perry Group Commercial/industrial construction and pre-fabricated buildings Tri-C Construction Commercial construction and construction management nationwide Welty Building Company, Ltd. Commercial and industrial construction and construction management

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS & SERVICES All Tech Electrical engineering & construction, instrumentation & control systems Construction Labor Contractors Skilled worker staffing for the construction industry Fiber-Seal Systems International network of fabric and rug care centers The Geopfert Company Commercial HVAC systems Great Lakes Stair & Millwork Co. Custom handcrafted staircases Hastings Water Works Residential, commercial and municipal swimming pool management J.C. Whitlam Chemicals and tools for plumbers and hydroengineers MK Architectural Metal, Inc. Custom fabrication of curtainwalls for commercial buildings Riverview Management Co. Commercial and multi-family property management Rockwood Door & Millwork Manufacturer of architectural doors

Our technical writers develop accurate descriptions for services like All Tech Electric.

Securitec One, Inc. Security systems for residential, commercial and institutional settings Sparkle International, Inc. World headquarters for Sparkle Wash franchisees

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: CONTACTS

Contacting us

Dennis A. Kleidon, President & CEO dennisk@kleidon.com Kurt Kleidon, VP & General Manager kurtk@kleidon.com

330.666.5984 320 Springside Drive Akron, Ohio 44333 www.kleidon.com

MORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE Shelter is one of five sectors in which we have deep industry expertise and buyer insight. To learn more, visit www.kleidon.com or subscribe to our ongoing research, published as Kleidon White Papers, our Marketing Thought-Bites e-newsletter, our blog at www.kleidon/signal, and our trend reports, QuickFacts. ŠCopyright 2012, Kleidon & Associates, Inc.

SECTOR WHITE PAPERS FROM KLEIDON :: SHELTER MARKETING :: RESOURCES

RESOURCES 1.

Financial Times of London, London. March 3, 2008.

2.

Razeghi, Andrew J. Innovating through Recession. The Andrew Razeghi Companies, LLC., Evanston, Illinois, 2008. http://www.scribd.com/doc/7450921/Innovating-Through-Recession-Andrew-Razeghi-Kellogg-School-ofManagement

3.

Consumer Expenditure Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 27, 2011. http://www.bls.gov/cex/

4.

Affluent Consumers in a Digital World. Ipsos Mendelsohn, New York, NY, page 5.

5.

The Mendelsohn Affluent Report: 2010 Annual Report. Ipsos Mendelsohn. New York, NY, page 5.

6.

Cramer, Jim. Mad Money. CNBC, May 10, 2012.

7.

Business, May 22, 2012. http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20120522/FREE/120529947 8.

April Existing-Home Sales Up, Prices Rise Again. National Association of Realtors news release. Washington, DC, May 22, 2012. http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2012/05/april-existing-home-sales-up-prices-riseagain/

9.

Cramer, op.cit.

10.

Varbuzz. Virginia Association of Realtors. May 1, 2012. http://varbuzz.com/2012-05/yes-virginia-there-is-a-housing-recovery/

11. Consumer Expenditure Survey, op. cit.

12. Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States, Current Population: Consumer Income Series, document P60-239. U.S. Census Bureau. September 2011, Table 3, page 11.

13. Mendelsohn, page 13, op.cit.

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid, p. 14 16. Ibid.

17. AdQ Advertiser Report: Kitchen & Bath Design News. Harvey Research, Inc., Fairport, NY, multiple issues.

18. Ibid.