Benjamin Moore Debuts Its Biggest Ad Campaign Ever
24 March 2015, Adweek, By Noreen O'Leary.
Benjamin Moore is launching its most aggressive advertising campaign ever, spending $50 million to differentiate the brand in a commodity category where paint increasingly is just seen as color on the wall.
Ron Schuller, who joined Benjamin Moore as CMO last November, said the initiative emphasizes its two strongest attributes: Consumers' perception of Benjamin Moore as a premium brand; and its distribution through smaller merchants, rather than big-box stores.
"In the first phase [of the campaign], we'll talk about product quality where the product is the hero," said Schuller, "while in the second phase we'll focus on our independent, expert retailers who give you the right advice and help you through the process."
The 132-year-old company's pitch, from The Martin Agency, uses TV, radio, print and digital and introduces the brand's new tagline—"Paint like no other." Benjamin Moore previously leaned on a more locally-focused approach. Schuller said the company had to turn up the volume with a clear positioning in a category where there's been "a lot of noise" in recent years, especially as the economy has improved and consumers return to do-it-yourself household projects.
The first phase of the campaign, "Feats of Can," which just broke, highlights paint coatings that correspond to different product offerings. Benjamin Moore lays claim to industry firsts like creating a product that combines paint and primer, and one with zero VOCs (symptom-producing solvents) and no emissions.
