The Magic of Marketing
Your product is only as good as people perceive it to be. In recent years, our competition has gone to great lengths to control the narrative around new construction. Many of the inherent benefits of block are underutilized or unknown altogether. With the Checkoff now in place, we’re able to set the record straight by telling the side of the story that’s been missing.
As producers, you’ve likely dabbled in your own marketing efforts with varying degrees of success. When marketing is but one of the many things on your plate, it rarely gets the time and attention required to do it right. By combining our resources on a national level, we’re able to enjoy newfound purchasing power and economies of scale that preclude us as individual organizations.
To ensure we’re getting the most bang for our buck, the Marketing Subcommittee of the Concrete Masonry Checkoff (CMC) has been developing a series of benchmarks to gauge the effectiveness of our eventual national marketing campaign. We’re looking to make a splash by influencing perceptions and specification of concrete block through advertising, public relations and other promotional tactics. Messaging will focus on the versatility of concrete block, including aesthetics, value over the life cycle, disaster resilience, sustainability, cost savings and security.
With these parameters in place, the CMC has made serious headway in its quest to find the ideal marketing and promotions partner. The Board issued a formal request for proposals in September that garnered more than a dozen responses from firms across the country. Five finalists made the initial cut and were asked to present to a selection task force October 30-31 in Denver, Colorado. Each agency was evaluated on strategy, creative concepts, data analysis and most importantly, ability to execute on an aggressive timeline.
When all was said and done, CLUTCH was selected as the Checkoff’s marketing partner. The CLUTCH business model uniquely captures our need for creativity and construction-specific expertise. Headquartered in Minneapolis, CLUTCH is home to more than 40 branding and storytelling specialists who exhibit deep consumer, business-to-business and even Checkoff experience. Those who attended the November Board meeting were able to meet the core CLUTCH team and discuss their proposed approach.
With our marketing partner now in place, you can expect all ensuing efforts to directly support the Checkoff’s key objectives, including increased market share for concrete masonry units (CMUs) and elevated net promoter scores (the likelihood to recommend CMU to someone else) among designers and engineers. We have also established a subset of strategic objectives specific to marketing and promotion:
- Understand the thought process of the decision-makers in our industry (“target audience”) — architects, engineers, residential and commercial building owners, institutional builders and homeowners.
- Develop a brand and market strategy that resonates with the target audience.
- Grow market share for concrete masonry units in commercial, institutional and residential construction.
Thanks to everyone who played a role throughout the selection process. Given what’s at stake we couldn’t afford to take any shortcuts and are glad for this due diligence.
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