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How new branding and product positioning helped

How new branding and

product positioning

Georgia-Pacific Building Products strengthen their

helped Georgia-Pacific

Building Products

strengthen their

partnership with Home Depot.

partnership with

Home Depot.

The backstory

You might think a brand nearly a century old would no longer have to sing for its supper. But Georgia-Pacific (GP) Building Products still earns every partnership, big and small. Although GP has an existing relationship with The Home Depot, the retailer had yet to make shelf space for one of GP’s more recent innovations, ForceField, a weather-resistive sheathing system that protects structures from water intrusion and unwanted air movement.

Getting ForceField into select The Home Depot stores in Texas would provide much-needed sales uplift for the product and open the door to a broader market launch. But first, we had to help GP prove that ForceField was not redundant with other weather barrier systems The Home Depot carried out by building a compelling case fueled by branding and communications designed to move product.

Agency services:

  • Brand evolution strategy and execution
  • Voice and identity development
  • Digital and traditional advertising
  • Strategic Marcom planning and deployment

Getting ForceField into

select Home Depot stores

in Texas would provide

much needed sales lift.

Product identity refresh and re-positioning

To help GP prepare for their pitch, FARM not only evolved ForceField’s visual identity to attract customers, but we re-authored the product positioning to better highlight competitive advantages. Then, we worked with line-of-business leaders to develop the presentation they would deliver to The Home Depot’s procurement decision-makers.

Logo development

Due to ForceField’s low market awareness, we identified two aspects of the existing ForceField logo we needed to strengthen. First, we increased the visibility of the Georgia-Pacific name and their highly recognizable “tree” icon, so ForceField could benefit from the trust and credibility associated with the GP brand. Second, we abandoned the double “F” abbreviation–which held no meaning for those unfamiliar with the product – to allow for a more prominent product name and a short descriptor. We presented a range of options, recommending the one that best conveyed the parent company, the product, and its purpose.

Expanded messaging

ForceField’s original launch messaging was singularly focused on it being an alternative to house wrap with little attention paid to its advantages. So, we expanded the ForceField story to include differentiators like a faster install that required only a single trade, weather resistance to keep production on schedule, and greater durability to eliminate the costly frustration of blowing and tearing. And since there were competitive weather barriers beyond house wrap, we made the message inclusive of all builders, instead of limiting our audience to just those who used one type of product.

Faster

Easy Installation Saves Time

Easier

Doesn’t Tear or Blow off like House Wrap

Stronger

Keeps Homes Strong and Energy Efficient

In the field

For any building products company, their sheathing acts like a giant business card to influence contractors’ decisions on weather barrier systems for future jobs. While the light gray panels were distinct to Georgia-Pacific, we added content that outlined the ease of installation to reinforce the efficiencies of Forcefield on the jobsite.

On the shelf

The most effective way to persuade The Home Depot to put ForceField on their shelves was to prove it could move quickly off their shelves. To illustrate how ForceField could stand out in a sea of competitive products, we designed eye-catching and compelling in-store materials such as an interactive aisle end cap, a bold in-aisle display, and a tear-away brochure to clearly communicate ForeceField’s advantages to customers to influence their purchase decision. We also developed quick-reference sales materials for Home Depot sales staff, so they could convey ForceField’s benefits to building professionals and homeowners with confidence.

In-aisle bay

Brochure

Aisle end cap

And here's the pitch ...

Georgia-Pacific wanted their pitch presentation created in Microsoft PowerPoint. So, we designed a slideshow that helped GP step through the full Home Depot customer journey, from online research to the in-store purchase. Beyond showcasing the product, we included customer insights for both professional builders and DIYers to convey how our communications could anticipate each audience segment’s needs and help overcome potential objections.

So, how'd we do?

“They thought through every detail to make sure The Home 

“They thought through

every detail to make sure

The Home Depot recognized

Depot recognized ForceField’s value and our ability to

ForceField’s value and

our ability to create an

 create an exceptional customer experience.”

an exceptional customer

experience.”

“Although we had an existing partnership with The Home Depot, the team at FARM treated the situation like an initial, must-win pitch. From the product positioning to the presentation deck, they thought through every detail to make sure The Home Depot recognized ForceField’s value and our ability to create an exceptional customer experience. Our work together ultimately helped to secure ForceField SKUs in The Home Depot stores around greater San Antonio and Austin. The success we’ve had since then has led to our expansion into even larger markets like Houston, TX and Denver, Co.”
- Ashley Faber
ForceField & Wood Product Marketing Manager

You want advertising that doesn’t

You want advertising

that doesn’t sound like

sound like “advertising.” So, let’s

“advertising.” So,

let’s create a campaign

create a campaign that engages your

that engages your

audience on a rational level they

audience on a rational

level they expect – and

expect — and an emotional one

an emotional one

they never saw coming.

  • Digital and traditional advertising
  • Building market awareness
  • Audience targeting
  • Campaign testing, measurement, and data analytics

Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan

Mike Tyson said, 

“Everybody has a plan

until they get punched in the mouth.”

until they get punched

in the mouth.”  So,

So, let’s protect your choppers and

let’s protect your

choppers and knock your

knock your competition to the

competition to the

canvas instead.

  • Strategic Marcom planning
  • Product launches / Go-to-market strategy
  • Customer experience development
  • Identifying market opportunities
  • Customer acquisition and retention

Our Take

Nobody likes to hear people squawk about marketing. So, we wrote it all down for you.

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