Case study
Strengthening F. Ball’s leading position
Client
F. Ball
Sector
Construction
Process
Brand strategy and campaign creative
The flooring industry is evolving, with a growing range of competitors and greater commoditisation. F. Ball were keen to ensure awareness of their expertise and product quality – key points of differentiation – remained strong amongst established flooring professionals and those newer to the industry. As a trusted brand of adhesives and floor preparation products with over a century of history, they have a great story to tell.
The approach
A key insight we took from our discovery work with F. Ball was the affinity contractors felt between choosing the right products and doing a high quality job. With many of them owner operators of small businesses, there is a strong, emotional element of trust in why they use certain products or brands. After all, their work is tied to both their professional pride and the profitably of their business.
This meant that across the range of creative materials we produce for F. Ball, we’ve sought to use our relevant + engaging = effective approach to ensure we continue to build the emotional bond contractors feel with this trusted brand.
The work
To date we have worked across a number of key campaigns for F. Ball, helping to launch several new products, raise awareness of the value F. Ball bring to contractors and promote the latest edition of its industry bible, the Recommended Adhesive Guide (RAG).
Kilograms versus litres
Our work to communicate why F. Ball uses the measurement of litres and not kilograms required a highly visual style to get across what can quickly become a complicated message – that despite appearances, 15kg of adhesive was in fact poorer value than 15l.
F. Ball chooses to sell in litres as this gives a clearer indication of coverage, but confusion had crept into the market as a number of competitors sell in kilograms. Without getting bogged down in the details of specific gravities that would simply alienate the audience, we needed to put across that buying in litres was the smarter choice.
This led to a creative concept that used an animated set of scales to show that F. Ball products carried a bit of extra weight – and that this was a good thing, given 15l of adhesive could equate to up to 19.5kg, saving contractors money as the product covered a greater floor area
Adam Lord, Northern Regional Manager for F. Ball comments:
“We found the kilograms versus litres campaign to be really successful in raising understanding of how F. Ball offers greater value than many competitors. Explaining the difference between the two measurements can be complex, but Lesniak Swann have managed to distill the key points into a simple, effective visual that’s been well used across social media and other channels.”
The industry bible
Each year, F. Ball publishes its Recommended Adhesive Guide (RAG®). Available online, on mobile and in print the RAG® is the industry go-to for flooring contractors to check the recommended adhesives for over 6,000 floorcoverings from over 200 leading manufacturers.
By undertaking this detailed, authoritative level of testing, F. Ball help contractors to be certain they are using the right product. Avoiding the risk of flooring being installed incorrectly and needing further expensive work to put it right.
We made this the focus of our campaign – highlighting the sheer depth of technical expertise that goes into assuring contractors they have made the right choice. This helped to reinforce the leading position it enjoys in the market – summed up by the “Tested. Approved. Guaranteed.” strapline.
