War on popcorn ceilings

Last year, Armstrong declared war on ugly popcorn ceilings and enlisted (amp) to join the fight. We responded with some serious, but targeted, firepower.

The Situation

Our mission was clear — build awareness. Ceilings aren’t what typically come to mind when you think of a consumer packaged good (CPG). But Armstrong ceilings aren't exactly CPGs. And like others, to move boxes off the shelves, they have to convince consumers that the product solves a need. In this case, that solution is a low effort, low cost and low mess way to cover up what is commonly considered an eyesore and thorn in the side of many homeowners: popcorn ceilings.

Armstrong was offering an effective solution for a real consumer need. The problem was most of our target consumers (40+ year old male and other DIY’ers) had no idea this solution existed. Worse, most weren’t looking for one.

Winning Hearts and Minds

Since our targets were not actively looking for a way to cover their popcorn ceilings, (amp) needed to give them a reason to pay attention to our message. We did that with a tried-and-true approach to winning over an audience — we entertained them.

With the help of Leap, (amp) created two 30-second web videos, each of which feature a quirky, everyman character “fixing” a problem by covering it up, then applying that same logic to his popcorn ceiling. In a few, quick cuts, the ceiling is fixed and our dopey protagonist is now the hero. The message: If this dork can do it, any homeowner can.

The spots were filmed completely in-studio, with custom-built sets and the perfectly casted actors. The tagline summed it all up — Armstrong, the easy way to fix ugly.

Watch the Videos

The Battle For Eyeballs

No matter how fun or effective the message is, it can only work if seen. To get the videos seen, (amp) integrated a targeted approach to amplifying its reach through paid search, social media and influencer networks. These branded, awareness-building messages were placed on ThisOldHouse.com, the web companion to the popular TV show. This site was ideal for grabbing the attention of our target audience while in a DIY mindset.

Key influencers also helped promote these videos, giving Armstrong credibility in the décor and inspiration category with an expanded audience consisting of males and females 35+.

Key Tactics

  • Direct pre-roll buy (publisher.)
  • PPC — Paid search and video can drive high traffic to sites with low bounce rates and high video view rate at a low cost, per click.
  • Paid Facebook placement.
  • Influencers — Key DIY and home inspiration bloggers were recruited to promote both the videos and the brand directly.

Mission Accomplished!

The campaign was a huge success by any measure, especially these:

1,527,346 Impressions

30,223 Clicks

90,211 Video Views

5,204 Visits to Site

The Details

PPC:

  • Exceeded click through rate goal by 63%
  • Ads with questions in the title were most effective at not only driving traffic, but in achieving conversions on the website, as well. In total, PPC had 1,495 conversions on website.

YouTube

  • Exceeded 100% video completion goal by 61% (goal=8%, actual completion rate=20.71%)
6 Weeks Total Goal % Exceeded
Video Played to 25% 51.35% 19% 63%
Video Played to 50% 33.69% 12% 64%
Video Played to 75% 27.83% 10% 64%
Video Played to 100% 20.71% 8% 61%

ThisOldHouse.com:

  • Exceeded CTR goal by 29%.
  • Exceeded average completion rate of 50% by 33% (ours was 74.77%)

Facebook:

  • Exceeded average FB benchmark for sponsored ad CTR by 65%.
  • Sponsored posts linking to videos on YouTube creating a very high engagement.
  • Women made 83% of post engagements.

Key Findings:

  • Running two videos kept the campaign from experiencing ad fatigue.
  • Inspiration-focused content resonates with target audience.
  • Top influencers in the home décor and DIY inspiration space increased brand exposure and awareness.
  • Traffic to website and landing page increased dramatically.
  • Created exposure on Pinterest with pins on high profile boards.
  • Females engaged with content at a significantly higher rate than males, and the 45+-year-old demographic was most engaged.
  • In some instances, blog posts were the highest performing posts for the influencers.