Marketing Home Products

New Client Partners Leverage Agency’s Interactive and Broadcast Initiatives

ATLANTA (October 2011) – Kleber & Associates (K&A), an Atlanta-based integrated marketing and communications firm specializing in the home and commercial building products channel, recently announced its latest client partnerships: On The House, a national radio show hosted by the Carey Brothers, and Cadreas, an online community that aggregates and organizes critical content from and for all construction project participants.

The expansion of K&A’s Media Integration Division provides its current clients the opportunity to cross-promote their products and services across new broadcast and interactive platforms.

“Specializing in home and building products, it was a logical progression to expand K&A’s resume to include clients who also specialize in this industry channel,” said Steven Kleber, president and founder of K&A.

The agency’s partnership with On The House will primarily include external communication support and design.

“Steve and the K&A team are constant sources of information and energy in the home and building market,” said James Carey, co-host of On The House. “My brother, Morris, and I are pleased to be working with them in a strategic partnership as we combine our mutual passions for industry growth and community.”

The Carey brothers share their 55+ years of experience as award-winning, licensed contractors with millions of people nationwide through a weekly radio program and syndicated newspaper column, both titled On The House. The Carey Brothers’ Associated Press syndicated newspaper column, four-hour radio broadcast and daily radio vignette offer audiences money-saving tips on building, remodeling and repairing homes.

K&A will also play an integral role in growing Cadreas’ online brand presence, providing a marketing strategy and assisting with social media efforts.

Being a source for all data needed for improving design and building project outcomes, Cadreas offers these amenities via a well-organized and easily searchable database on one website with tools that improve the value of the content.

“In today’s economy, it’s crucial to have a strategic marketing partner who knows how to reach our target audiences,” said Steve Goold, vice president of Cadreas. “We chose to launch our partnership with K&A because of their extensive marketing experience, industry knowledge and reputation in the promotion of aspirational home product brands.”

“I’m thrilled about our partnerships with both On The House and Cadreas,” commented Steven Kleber. “Both offer unique perspectives and opportunities to connect those in our industry for a greater good. As an agency, we aim to help promote and grow awareness of both brands.”

About Kleber & Associates
Kleber & Associates focuses on brand development for clients in the home and commercial building products marketplace. An independent agency with more than 24 years of measurable results, K&A is committed to providing its clients with everyday marketing value while maximizing their marketing return on investment. For more information, please visit www.kleberandassociates.com or call 770-518-1000.

About On The House With The Carey Bros.

James Carey and Morris Carey, known as the Carey Bros., are nationally-recognized experts on home building and renovation. They share their 55+ years of experience as award-winning, licensed contractors with millions of people nationwide through a weekly radio program and syndicated newspaper column both titled On The House.  For more information, please visit www.onthehouse.com.

About Cadreas

Cadreas is the design and building industry’s online community. Cadreas aggregates and organizes critical content from and for all construction project participants: manufacturers; distributors; retailers; design companies; build companies; property owners; property managers; developers; trade, green and award associations; municipalities; utilities; and service providers such as banks, insurance companies, appraisers and inspectors. For more information, please visit www.cadreas.com.

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The Wall Street Journal reported recently on the buying habits of tablet owners – namely that consumers who own tablets have higher conversion rates for online sales than consumers shopping from their PCs. While online shoppers on PCs have an average conversion rate of 3%, tablet owners bought online at a rate between 4 – 5%. Tablet owners also reportedly spend 10 – 20% more on each online purchase they make.

Because tablet owners generally have more disposable income than the average consumer and they purchase more online, retailers are (as they should be) making it easier for those consumers to browse and shop on their mobile devices. These consumers with higher income levels are an ideal audience for home product companies, and tablets provide an ideal avenue to reach them.

Many companies have responded to this growing trend by creating mobile apps for consumers to download. But retailers are seeing that more sales are coming from their websites accessed via mobile devices than their apps. While this does not discount the value of dedicated applications, it does emphasize the importance of good web design and a content strategy focused on accessibility. As many people know, most mobile devices do not support Flash, which is all too often used to create visually attractive websites (Flash can also hurt your SEO, but that is another conversation entirely). Mobile devices also have smaller screens than PCs, and tablet users interact with and navigate websites differently than they would with a keyboard and mouse.

Brands looking to make their websites accessible via multiple devices should not think the only way to achieve this worthy goal is to shell out the money to develop an app. Having a separate mobile website has been a popular solution for many companies looking to go mobile, and in many cases it works beautifully, but mobile websites can create a lot of work for the web department in ensuring content is updated on two sites and maintaining compatibility with the hundreds of mobile devices available. Creating a website using responsive design (i.e. the site uses media queries to detect the type of device being used and display a layout that is optimized for that device) can save much headache and out-of-pocket expense. It also ensures that consumers are viewing the same content regardless of their device. Because the layout of the page is focused on displaying the content in the best way possible, consumers do not have to deal with the hassle of navigating site structures not suited for their screen or system.

Of course, one solution does not fit every company. Some companies have appropriate uses for an app that goes beyond the scope of their website. Other companies need a separate mobile site that displays drastically different content from their main website. Most brands just need to make their sites accessible to consumers on the go. Regardless of your company’s position, your mobile strategy should always start with a consideration of what information needs to be conveyed. Picking the best mobile route to go from that point should be a question of how best to display that content to turn a user into a customer.

Have you seen a company with a stand-out mobile presence? I’d like to hear about it!

Remember when we talked about the facial expression reader, an application that collects data about a participant’s facial expressions when watching video ads? Marketers are speculating that this technology – facial recognition – could be the next big thing in marketing. Imagine if experiences were customized based on how you look when reacting to something? If you doubt this clever technology, think about this: some say that facial recognition is already woven into our everyday lives. Take Facebook, for example, which uses facial recognition to automate tagging when photographs are loaded onto the site.

This technology can be leveraged in other ways, too. Studies have shown that when faced with too many choices, buyers will gravitate toward familiar sources. Marketers can use this to their advantage by gaining successful marketing results.

Consider these examples of situations that, when outfitted with facial recognition, could offer consumers convenience:

1. Ditch the password and login to social platforms by simply using your face. Just a glance to your computer’s camera, and you’re in.
2. Walk into a coffee shop, and the barista already knows what you want based on past visits and what you look like.
3. Receive a coupon for instant use on your mobile device when you enter a favorite retail location.
4. Turn on the television and receive a playlist of suggestions based on past use.
5. Login to video games and begin playing spontaneously.

Although most consider facial recognition scary (hello privacy!), marketers can’t get past the myriad of possibilities, especially the chance to get to know their customers on a deeper level.

What do you think? Is facial recognition a complete invasion of privacy, or is it a chance to help consumers develop a personal relationship with their favorite brands?