by Kathy A Henry

In 2001, the first Glidden Color Tour was transported in a custom-painted van.   It traveled across the country setting up the entire display at each stop.   These stops included Home Depot stores, home centers, and hardware stores who carried Glidden products.   The next year, we wanted to expand the program, but make it simplier to administer.   I spotted an ad for Mobilexhibit and then saw a vehicle shell in January of 2001.

The success and attention we received from the first tour in 2001 suggested opportunities for communicating with consumers on a one-to-one basis, so we considered a more permanent display.  

The cost of the trailer was attractive, considering the life of the exhibit.   We were looking for a vehicle that would be versatile enough to expand venues, and easy to change the design from year-to-year.   We were also looking for a turn-key exhibit program that would be easy for our Glidden representatives who would be staffing the tour.

We wanted to reach the consumer at a grass-roots level to enhance the Glidden brand image and provide them with decorating ideas, colors, and confidence in an attention-getting exhibit.   We also wanted to help establish relationships between our sales representatives, store associates, and store management.  

The Glidden Color Tour vehicle is an excellent innovative way to communicate what the Glidden brand is all about.  

We appreciated the totally customized capabilities of a mobile exhibit. A mobile exhibit can be a way to differentiate yourself in the marketplace and create excitement for your product among your customers.   It is a great tool for sales people to use to communicate brand messages to customers.   It's a perfect opportunity for sales people to interact directly with consumers, help them with choices, and listen to their questions about your product.   Listening to your customers is vital, and the exhibit provides an excellent opportunity in an informal setting.  

As with all marketing initiatives, it is important to know who your customer is, and how they shop.   Through the exhibit, we are able to reach our consumers before they make that trip to the retailer looking for product.   We try to establish our brand before they reach that point.   It's crucial to have a supportive, knowledgeable, personable staff as well as professional drivers.  

Stores hosting the events were extremely supportive of our efforts.   Surveys completed by sales representatives and store management were overwhelmingly positive.   They enjoyed having something special to show their customers - something that was fun and would inspire them to decorate in their own homes.   All said they would welcome the Glidden Color Tour back next year.

Our greatest success has been providing the hands-on opportunities for individuals visiting the display.   The Color @ Home CD-ROM is easy to use, and fun for all ages. Choosing color schemes can be difficult.   We've tried to make it not only easy, but fun.   We want them to feel confident in their color choices - before they paint.

There's more to a decorating project than picking up a can of paint.   We wanted consumers to feel Glidden is there to help with their projects from start to finish.   We offer color chips, ideacards, Glidden Color magazine, and the Color @ Home CD -ROM to help inspire consumers to decorate and to choose color schemes.   We have all the products for their painting projects and, if they have any questions along the way, we're there to help.   These are the messages we sought to communicate on a one-on-one basis.

I especially enjoyed seeing customers try some of our simple faux finish techniques right on the exhibit, and hear them say "that's really easy - and it looks great!"   I'm sure they'll want to try it in their own home.

Another success we enjoyed from the program was having it featured on several TV shows along with our Director of Color Marketing, Barbara Richardson.  

For 2005 we are launching a new version of our CD-ROM, called Color @ Home II.   We're very excited about this program, as customers will be able to bring their own photos to the display and colorize them with the click of a mouse button.

Glidden, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is a leading manufacturer of architectural paints. Products are sold through home centers, paint and hardware stores, and building supply outlets. Glidden is part of ICI Paints, a $3.5 billion global coatings manufacturer with 60 manufacturing sites in 25 countries and more than 19,000 employees worldwide. In North America, ICI Paints produces decorative coatings including Glidden, ICI Dulux, Devoe, Fuller-O'Brien, Sinclair, C-I-L and Liquid Nails caulks and adhesives.

Kathy Henry is Marketing Communications Manager at the Glidden Paint Company.

For additional information, visit www.glidden.com or call the company's toll-free customer information number at 1-800-GLIDDEN.

Click here for more CASE STUDIES