Marketing with Martha

There are very few celebrities who combine mass audience appeal and home improvement credibility. Like her or not, Martha Stewart is one of them, and she’s working with Home Depot now.

The nation’s number one home center chain will begin carrying Martha Stewart Living products early next year in an exclusive deal announced on Sept. 14. The three product categories—outdoor living, home organization and home decor—will involve collaborations between Martha Stewart designers and Home Depot merchants “that allow customers to easily coordinate decor and design elements when taking on home improvement projects,” according to both companies.

Products in the outdoor living category will launch in January 2010 in the United States and February 2010 in Canada, the companies said. This line will consist of patio dining and conversational sets. The home organization products, scheduled for a February 2010 debut, will feature a new closet organization system and a versatile nine-cube organizational unit.

The occasion brought CEO Frank Blake and executive VP merchandising Craig Menear on air during the “Martha Stewart Show,” where Menear presented Stewart with a massive Husky stainless steel tool chest loaded with hardware, including Ryobi lithium-ion power tools. Rounding out the triumvirate of home improvement celebrities, Ty Pennington’s brand is available at Sears, and Bob Vila, also a former Sears alum, has his own line of tools.

“Home Depot is smart to leverage Martha Stewart as a life style brand in multiple categories rather than allocating spotty space to less well-known celebrities or expanding existing brands out of their core categories,” said Carol Spieckerman, president of retail strategy firm New Market Builders.

If celebrity translates to sales: It’s a good thing.