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GarageWowNow Builds Steam: Exposure Expected to Increase This Fall

© 2007 Door & Access Systems Publish Date: Fall 2007 Author: Tom Wadsworth Page 44

GarageWowNow Builds Steam Exposure Expected to Increase This Fall

After a mild slump in the summer, the industry’s national public relations campaign to promote the new garage door products expects to see a flurry of exposure this fall.

GarageWowNow, jointly funded by DASMA and IDA, officially kicked off in April. The effort is feeding the media with press releases and garage door product information, offering a Web site (www.GarageWowNow.com) that contains additional information. The site promotes the “wow” factor of today’s residential garage doors and openers and includes a find-a-dealer search function.

Here is a statistical review of the progress of the campaign.

GarageWowNow.com Traffic

  • April 11, 2007: The Web site opens, announced by a press release distributed to key media nationally.
  • 3,572 = Visitors from May 14 to June 2 (3 weeks)
  • 3,465 = Visitors from June 3 to June 30 (4 weeks)
  • 2,831 = Visitors from July 1 to July 28 (4 weeks)
  • 3,674 = Visitors from July 29 to Aug. 25 (4 weeks)
  • 13,542 = Total visitors since May 14
  • 1,630 = Total entries in the GarageWowNow Sweepstakes through Aug. 25

The Most Popular Pages Inside GarageWowNow.com

  • Garage Door Styles (1,131 visitors)
  • Find a Local IDA Professional Dealer (793 visitors)
  • News & Design Tips (766 visitors)
  • Before & After Pictures (734 visitors)
  • Sweepstakes (1,560 visitors)

Sweepstakes Survey Results

  • 12% say they plan to replace their garage door within the next six months
  • 9% say “within the next year”
  • 23% say “within the next two years”
  • 56% say “not for some time”
  • 26% say their current door is in bad working condition and needs to be replaced
  • 24% say their door works OK, but looks boring and out of style ·

Media Contacts This Summer

  • On May 29, we mailed 225 press kits about GarageWowNow to newspapers in the top 150 markets and to 75 key magazines.
  • In August, all newspaper home editors who received the press kit were contacted again via e-mail and/or phone.
  • In mid August, we called and e-mailed real estate editors at the top 75 newspapers.
  • In August, two new articles, “Extreme Garage Doors = Extreme Wind Protection” and “Top Ten Garage Door Trivia Tidbits,” were sent to 150 of the top newspaper home editors and 75 of the top real estate editors.
  • On Aug. 16, we distributed via PR Newswire a press release, “Why It Makes ‘Cents’ to Include a New Garage Door in Your Home Remodeling Project.”

Highlights of Coverage

  • A mat release article on GarageWowNow.com, distributed to weekly newspapers in May, has generated 152 articles with a total circulation of 2,492,697.
  • As a direct result of our press tour in June, Handy magazine published a feature story on “Garage Door Designs: We’re Talkin’ Curb Appeal” in July.
  • Since many publications are prepared months in advance, more coverage is expected this fall. This coverage will come from press contacts made during June-August.

Changes to Web Site

  • In June, realizing the appeal of our “before” and “after” photos, we added a link on our home page to a new page called Before & After Pictures.
  • In August, we added six new Before & After photos to this page.
  • We added new product photos to the Garage Door Styles and Press Room pages, also in August.
  • In August, two new articles were added to the News & Design Tips page and the Press Room: “Extreme Garage Doors = Extreme Wind Protection” and “Top Ten Garage Door Trivia Tidbits.”