GarageWowNow to Target Builders’ Show
© 2007 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Winter 2007
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Page 45
GarageWowNow to Target Builders’ Show
GarageWowNow, the garage door industry’s national public relations campaign, will target the massive International Builders’ Show in Orlando in February. The annual event, attended by more than 100,000 professionals in the home building industry, also attracts hundreds of editors and the press.
Pressing the Press
“Our primary target at the show will be the media,” said Dan Nixa, who chairs the industry committee overseeing the program. “These people are the conduit to hundreds of thousands of homeowners, consumers, and builders throughout the world.”
In the last two years, about 800 members of the press attended the Builders’ Show, according to Liz Warin, media relations manager of the National Association of Home Builders.
GarageWowNow will distribute media kits in the press complex and will speak to editors attending the show. The focus at the show, as in the entire campaign, is to promote the “wow” factor of today’s residential garage doors and openers.
Before and After Photos
“Before and after photos have been the single most effective tool to reach both editors and consumers alike,” added Nixa. “It’s the most dramatic and simple way to tell our story.”
Many such photos will be included in the GarageWowNow media kit. Press materials also promote www.garagewownow.com, which includes a Find-a-Dealer function that leads to all dealer members of IDA.
2008 Targets
The remainder of 2008 will be filled with more press releases and contacts with editors and further enhancements of the GarageWowNow Web site.
GarageWowNow, jointly funded by DASMA and IDA, officially kicked off in April 2007, just before Expo 2007 but after the 2007 Builders’ Show. The 2008 campaign will seek to gain exposure in “spring fix-up” stories in all media.
SIDEBAR
Media Exposure Highlights in 2007
Here are some of the best examples of media exposure gained in the first year of GarageWowNow.
· Q&A article: Handy magazine Web site
· Photos: Better Homes & Gardens Before & After magazine (Winter 2007 and Spring 2008)
· Photos: Better Homes & Gardens RemodelingCenter.com, showing our before and after photos
· Photos: Family Handyman (Feb. 2008)
· Photos: Renovation & Décor (Oct.-Nov. 2007)
· Mat release: 221 articles in 28 states, readership of 3,400,000
· Feature story: The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer (Jan. 2008)
· Story: Long Island Newsday (13th largest U.S. daily)
· Visitors: In its first six months, www.garagewownow.com attracted about 15,000 unique visitors.