You know the drill. Each year, every major paint brand releases their version of the trendiest colors for the coming year, hoping to persuade consumers looking for a change to put them on their walls. Most brands simply share their selected colors using a short brand video or through inclusion in an editorial roundup of on-trend paint colors. And, of course, updating their color brochures. It's all pretty repetitive and ho-hum. To kick off its 2019 Color Trends Palette of 15 colors, Behr instead decided to harness the power of DIY and home design micro-influencers to show off colors they were first introduced to when the paint arrived at their doorstep (quite literally).
After months and months of curating ideas and inspiration on Pinterest and Houzz, sifting through an endless sea of color chips, and delaying their projects due to an inability to choose, many homeowners are left with a few home painting projects they desperately want completed before the end-of-the-year holiday rush kicks in. Adding some new trend colors without showing consumers what can be done with them isn't extremely helpful, and it certainly doesn't motivate them to get things done.
Our overarching campaign goal was to use our trend color palette to help spark this late paint-season project intent, and it was broken down into measurable objectives:
We needed to encourage homeowners who were running out of time and energy with a list of project to-dos to help them quickly "get after their after" using Behr's on-trend color palette. With a program we called BEHRBox, we sought to:
1) Use partnered influencers to deliver easy-to-replicate project inspirations and practical painting advice in places where they're already looking, from people they trust.
2) Support the brand's overall KPI of sparking project intent, capitalizing on consumer mindset near the end of paint season.
3) Increase consumers' online engagement with the brand through a related sweepstakes component.
After selecting four relevant, diverse DIY and design micro-influencers who met the established criteria of reach, brand fit and design aesthetic, we sent them each a mystery BEHRBox full of colorful supplies and endless possibilities. Armed with paint samples from the 2019 Color Trends palette color – including Behr's Color of the Year, Blueprint S470-5 – a $500 The Home Depot® gift card, surprise inspirational items like hanging air planters and geode coasters and helpful project tools, we challenged our micro-influencers to inspire their readers with an enviable Blueprint-centric project.
Teasing out the BEHRBox challenge on their Instagram Stories, as well as owned posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest, our micro-influencers got their followers excited for the mystery challenge that was to come. And when the box arrived, they got to work, using the on-trend palette to update pieces of furniture, create custom molding and design all-inspiring accent walls – all down and dirty, quick-to-complete and easy-to-replicate projects that addressed consumer needs late in the year.
Project how-to content was shared live on influencers' blogs and social channels, and was featured on Behr's social channels, including a "Get the Look" Instagram Story to drive additional project visibility. Consumers following along were encouraged to visit a campaign landing page to vote on their favorite project and create their own inspired design for a chance to win a gift card to The Home Depot, Behr's exclusive retailer, to tackle their own remaining paint projects.
High involvement from our influencers, spurred by our unique challenge delivery, helped make this activation a hugely successful one for the brand. In addition to helping increase the brand's online share of voice within the second half of the year, potential influencer impressions landed 26% above projections at nearly 3.6 million, representing tremendous consumer visibility for Behr's 2019 Color Trends palette. Influencers helped drive more than 36,000 consumers to the website, where they voted for their favorite late-season project, entered the brand sweepstakes and gained exposure to additional brand messaging and Behr color tools. And BEHRBox brand content saw a nearly 4% click-through rate, more than 200% above benchmark, with Instagram Story content to promote influencer projects (which included the brand's first Story activation) organically reaching nearly 70,000 consumers.
Until Behr's 2020 Color Trends are announced, the brand will continue to leverage Blueprint, other 2019 Color Trends, and the created BEHRBox projects to inspire overwhelmed consumers to get paint on the wall, or dresser, or DIY décor faster.
