Podcasting comes to the coatings industry: an Executive Briefing
An Executive Briefing for European Paint & Resin News (Vol 44, No. 12, December 2006) on how coatings brands including Akzo Nobel's Sadolin and Rohm and Haas began using the emerging medium of podcasting to reach DIY consumers directly.
Many decorators like to have audio accompaniment to help jolly along their brushwork or other DIY activities. So how much better would it be for brand marketers to provide their own guidance for these jobs in an easy to listen to format, such as on the DIYer's iPod?
Through podcasting, a new medium that combines a standard way to publish news content over the internet and the ubiquity of the iPod MP3 player, product marketers are beginning to explore ways to get inside the head of the consumer as they are using, and considering the purchase of, their products.
Akzo Nobel's Sadolin wood coatings brand is using audio to encourage people in the UK to do it themselves, after a survey into DIY styles showed that 41% would rather pay someone else to do the job.
In an attempt to reverse this trend and re-introduce the necessary skills, Sadolin has launched a DIY podcast, specially designed to educate the DIY novice. Two initial audio files are available for download from sadolin.co.uk/homeowner. These guides have been recorded by TV presenter and gadget guru, Jason Bradbury, to make DIY tasks a little less nerve-wracking for the general public.
Lucie Wrench, product manager for Sadolin, said: “The movement away from DIY is well-documented but our survey really prompted us to take action. We hope that the podcast will be less intimidating than written instructions and give the public enough confidence to tackle wood treatment jobs such as varnishing a floor or treating a deck.”
The survey also revealed that 12% of British adults believe that the quick and easy instant makeover is for them, while a further 10% hate reading instructions and just want to get on with the job. It's not all doom and gloom for the DIY world, however, with 34% taking real pride in their work, treating it as a labour of love.
These MP3 audio files are not, as yet, fully subscribable podcasts. However, the company is considering plans to make these shows a regular feature.
Other coatings related podcasts available via public podcast directories include: Interior Design Ideas, produced by Regina Sturrock Design, sponsored by Carpet One Floor & Home (interior-design-ideas.org); Uncle Bobs Tips – a handyman's podcast; while ICIS radio: Chemical News Central, which claims to be the world's first chemical industry podcast.
Rohm and Haas has released its Paint Quality Institute 2007 Home Color Trends forecast in audio form, although, as with Sadolin, it has yet to implement the technology to enable these shows to be subscribed to and automatically transferred to consumers' iPods.
A key aspect of the popularity of the new medium is enabling the free subscription to audio, video or any other type of digital content. Shows can effectively be ‘broadcast’ direct to interested consumers without them needing to revisit a website – so the latest updates are always readily available with no effort required by the listener.
Consumers can find out about topics of interest from websites or via popular directories for such content, such as Apple Computer's iTunes podcast directory.
Producing or sponsoring podcasts would be an imaginative route for marketers to raise brand awareness and, hopefully, re-engage the reluctant DIYer.
Sources: Sadolin, 27 August 2006. Paint Quality Institute 2007 Home Color Trends forecast, 11 December 2006. iTunes.