The little engine that could, just did.Rocky Mountaineer, a small train company who thinks and acts

like a global leader, is BCAMA’s 2010 Marketer of the Year.

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Case Study: Phantom Screens Reaches Recession-Conscious Consumers

by rob dawson

Campaign TitlePhantom Screens 2010 Brand Campaign

Relevant DatesApril – June 2010

Companies Agency – Concerto Marketing GroupClient – Phantom Screens

Individual Team MembersRon Somers, VP Sales & Marketing

Jeret Unger, Marketing Communications Manager Rob Dawson, VP Partner

Craig Redmond, VP Creative Director

Courtney Johnston, Client Service Associate

Alexis Kernaghan, Art Director

Clay Olsen, Research Director Campaign Partners Taylor Made Media, JMB Post, Engine Digital, Sprout Creative, HGTV

IntroductionThe global economic recession had hit the home improvement industry hard in 2008 and 2009. Consumer spending was down and consumer confidence at a decades-long low. Phantom Screens, the category leader in the retractable screen industry in North America, had weathered the storm and, heading into 2010, was ready to explore market opportunities again.

ChallengeHowever, with over three-quarters of its sales in the US, Phantom was uncertain how American consumers would respond to its awareness-building efforts. After over 10 years of brand building with Concerto, and consistent growth, Phantom had taken a one-year hiatus from national advertising in 2009 because of the recession. The sales and marketing team was unsure of the true economic climate or how receptive beleaguered homeowners would be to their home improvement message. They also needed tangible results to measure the success of that message when it was taken to market.

SolutionHolding true to its focus on certainty, the team at Concerto knew that any brand-building efforts in 2010 had to be measurable and consumer-validated. With consumers’ mindsets forever altered because of the recession, it was critically important to understand their needs at a deep level in order for Phantom’s message to resonate. A basic television ad would simply not deliver the measurable ROI required. Concerto’s planners developed an integrated campaign strategy that would employ national television and online advertising in content-relevant media. The objective was to intrigue consumers and drive them to a newly developed microsite. Once there, consumers could engage with and experience the product in an interactive and customizable environment. Concerto developed two creative strategies: a bold, bullish and emotive message, and a more cautious, familiar and rational approach. Qualitative research was conducted in Los Angeles and Seattle to test consumer confidence and response to each approach. The campaign team discovered that the American homeowner was nowhere near as optimistic as previously thought. The recession had hit them at a deep emotional level, and few homeowners were unaffected. Any message of optimism had to be supported by strong and pragmatic product proof. A refined creative strategy was developed from these insights – one that delivered, with sophistication and simplicity, a balance between emotional triggers and rational product benefits. Concurrent with the creative development, Phantom and Concerto collaborated to forge a new partnership with HGTV in the US and Canada. The resulting media campaign delivered on the integrated strategy with both traditional advertising and product-placement advertorial. Engaging online ads, including a home page takeover of HGTV’s high-traffic website, demonstrated product benefits while driving traffic to the new Phantom Screens microsite. “We are very pleased with the integrated campaign Concerto developed for us this year”, said Ron Somers, VP Sales & Marketing at Phantom. “Despite a trying economy, we are confident in the direction we took because it was backed by the certainty of consumer insight along the way.”

ResultsThe resulting multimedia campaign proved highly successful in building awareness and encouraging consumer engagement. The campaign delivered over 122 million impressions with the intended target audience – affluent homeowners across North America. Online interactions, measured real-time through analytics, showed website traffic increased by 310% over the course of the campaign. Over 100,000 highly engaged, unique visitors spent several minutes online interacting with Phantom’s products. Traffic was driven from the major urban centres of North America and Phantom’s key sunbelt markets. One of the more popular microsite pages was “where to purchase”, which indicated a strong intent to learn more. Through this process, Concerto provided certainty on the consumer’s mindset,

TV creative balances emotional triggers and rational benefits.

identified the message that would garner the strongest reception, and implemented real-time analytics so everyone involved could measure results. A collaboration of several media, online and production partners ensured the campaign was executed efficiently and with certainty.

Rob Dawson is a founding partner of Concerto Marketing

Group (www.concertomarketing.com), a full-service

research, strategy and brand development firm. An

accomplished strategy consultant with over 20 years’

experience, his specialty is customer-centric marketing.

Concerto employs innovative insights and strategic

intelligence to effectively position brands with certainty.

HGTV online ads and home page takeover drives traffic.