The value of national branding

At one extreme end of the retail commercial spectrum, there are guys like Crazy Eddie, ranting and raving about insane low prices.

At the other end is where you’ll find the latest batch of television commercials from True Value. In these spots — which represent a major marketing initiative and a dramatic new approach to branding for the Chicago-based hardware co-op — the blissful scenes of home improvement do most (if not all) of the talking.



In one spot, a mother and daughter prepare for winter. Two friends roast marshmallows in a fire pit, with mixed results. A father and son wrestle in a lush backyard.



These are not your father’s hardware store commercials.



“The primary message is really about empowerment,” said Michael McCann, True Value Company’s director of consumer marketing. “True Value can provide the product and the advice to help people with their project, whether it’s big or small.”



Created by SOLVE, the commercials showcase intimate life moments, shared between friends and family, and centered around a home improvement project — from painting a birdhouse to building a fire pit. And in the closing moments, the products that made the moment happen (hose, paint brush) are displayed.



The advertisements very intentionally target an audience that True Value describes as “young achievers,” McCann said.



“We want to reach out to that younger audience, especially those who are entering home ownership for the first time, and make an emotional connection with that group.”



True Value’s Blake Fohl, senior VP of marketing and chief customer officer, has thought hard about the philosophy behind the TV ads: “It’s not about the paint that goes on the wall,” he told HBSDealer. “It’s the feeling you get when you walk into the baby’s room for the first time.”



In addition to the style of the commercials, the campaign marks a dramatic shift in True Value’s approach to branding. As part of the company’s strategic plan unveiled at the Denver Reunion, the co-op is investing heavily in national television — moving from eight weeks of low-volume air time in 2014 to 21 weeks of spots all over the dial.



Fohl described the breakdown of the ads as 60% price- and item-focused, and 40% building the brand, as in the case of the friends roasting marshmallows.



Five free national event circulars are also part of the effort — a combination of circulars and broadsheets during the peak selling season.



 The dramatic increase in spending is coming without a hike of the co-op’s National Ad Fee for 2015, or a change of the local co-op reimbursement amount of 1%. The investment comes from the co-op and vendors.



Dealers who spoke with HBSDealer consistently described the turbocharged national advertising plan as the most important aspect of the co-op’s strategic plan. “The national advertising is a big deal,” said Brenda Bowling, of Jackson True Value in Jackson, Kentucky. “We needed that.”



Fohl describes advertising as an investment is for the future. “There’s a generation of people who were brought up thinking that the big box was the hardware store of the town,” he said. “I think when you see the creative, you’re going to think, ‘That’s very different for a hardware store.’ ”