Behr Paint has, over the years, positioned itself as a DIY coach, motivating consumers to overcome doubt and take on projects. But as the DIY community quickly grew and became engaged on TikTok, Behr found itself mostly on the sidelines.
The opportunity we saw to get Behr back into the hearts and minds of a key demographic involved a human insight: DIYers are competitive. They don’t want to simply measure up to other DIYers, they want to surpass them – in ingenuity, in creativity, in craftsmanship. Seeing what others have done helps them push themselves to do something even better.
To solve that problem, we created the first-ever, social media-led DIY competition show: To DIY For. The premise was simple: a group of TikTok’s top DIY creators and influencers competing for the title of “Behr’s Ultimate DIYer.”
Over the course of 4 weeks, new DIY challenges required them to use all the skills at their disposal and, of course, Behr products. Weekly winners were determined entirely by fan votes in the comment section– a first-of- its-kind for TikTok, and a brand-new form of community-powered content. The episodes were designed with an eye toward suspenseful, reality-TV-type entertainment, hooking viewers into the personalities of each DIYer as they detailed their projects and strived to reach a finale in front of a panel of DIY expert judges. Once the competition wrapped, “To DIY For” episodes became a foundation for a series of how-to content, fostering even more DIY inspiration and community engagement.
When the results were in, the DIYer crowned “Behr’s ultimate DIYER” wasn’t the only winner. Behr Paint had become – almost overnight – the most-liked and followed major paint brand on TikTok, leapfrogging all competitors with a 66% increase in followers during the campaign period. The campaign garnered 120MM impressions, 108MM video views, 12M engagements and 47K+ likes.
By showing up authentically and entertainingly in the space DIYers are turning to more than anywhere else, and by being the first DIY brand to bring out the competitive spirit that lives within them all, Behr had staked its claim to being THE leader in DIY.
