By Matthew Spieler
DALTON—Shaw Industries is entering 2010 with a new mindset, one it says that matches today’s consumer. And, it wants the country’s retailers to benefit from this by giving them products and programs that match her new way of buying carpet under a new campaign, “Anso? Hope So.”

Mike Leary, Shaw’s director of Anso, said the campaign delivers powerful and relevant materials to Shaw customers by embracing the changing behavior of today’s consumer.

Historically, when it came to the consumer and flooring, one constant was that style and design trumped all other attributes when ranking her most important factors for choosing one product over another. All that has changed thanks to the worst economic climate in generations. As a result, characteristics such as price, and value for that price, have moved up in importance.

“We are always doing consumer research,” he told FCNews during an exclusive phone interview, “and a survey we did earlier this summer told us she was not the same consumer she was as little as two years ago. She’s more cautious, prudent.”

As a result, he explained while the list of more than a dozen attributes remain about the same as in the past, when ranking the importance of warranties, it was “a big mover and they also placed greater emphasis than before on performance. We then surveyed several hundred retail salespeople who not only agreed, they added that communicating a product’s warranty is often the most difficult thing for them to do.”

These two factors combined got the company “started on a journey designed around the theme, “Simplified and Amplified,” Leary said. “We wanted to simplify how our warranties are presented and amplify the benefits associated with carpets made from all our exclusive fibers, but particularly our premium Anso brand.”

In the past, he noted, the Anso message was focused around style, design and sustainability. “The Anso? Hope So campaign not only highlights these important attributes, the program evolves with the ever-changing consumer mindset as it presents Anso carpet as long-lasting, stain-resistant and real life friendly. And the proof is in the warranty.”

Starting in 2010, Shaw is adding limited lifetime warranties for stain and soil, and pet stains to Anso as well as its two other branded yarn systems—EverTouch nylon and ClearTouch polyester— and is also including stairs in the Anso guarantee. Leary said Shaw is the first carpet mill to openly state pet stains are covered.

He added, the extra guarantees are not only Shaw responding to what today’s consumer wants from her carpeting, “tests show our product will hold up to the most demanding applications.” All this is possible because of Shaw being able to oversee the brand from start to finish. “Since we purchased Anso, we can manage it from raw material to care and maintenance.”

An in-store P-O-P kit, available at shawadsource.com, not only highlights the new warranties with updated, easy-to-ready literature, graphical elements include either Mrs. Consumer or her kid having an accident. The new campaign, Leary offered, “goes to her biggest fears and assures her that Anso can handle it and she shouldn’t worry.”

Kathy Young, Shaw’s director of creative services, said, “It’s time to powerfully communicate the durability story of Anso with realistic and attention-grabbing graphics and product performance facts that support the message.”

Food fight

One of the “powerful” illustrations Shaw plans to use as part of its in-store promotion is a new “torture test” that will demonstrate how well Anso can stand up to common household stains.

On Jan. 7, during its Dallas regional market, Shaw will have a special tent set up where it will invite retailers to join employees and volunteers from local charities in the hopes of setting a world record for the largest pie fight. An official from the Guinness Book of World Records is being flown in from London to oversee the event and decide if the current record— just set in September—of 270 people and 1,000 pies gets officially broken.

Shaw is planning on approximately 500 people taking part and has commissioned 1,200 chocolate, cherry and apple pies to the exact measurements and standards set forth by Guinness.

After the fight, Shaw will clean the carpet that night and have a 9 x 9 section hanging at the entrance to its regional market along with a videotape of the fight and subsequent cleaning. The rest of the carpet will be sent back to Dalton to be cut into small pieces and sent to retailers across the country to use with their Anso? Hope So promotions.

Retail rewards

One of the industry’s longest running retail promotions is Anso’s Capture the Spirit Retailer Sales Associate (RSA). As the program approaches its 20th anniversary, Leary said Shaw has changed the process to make it easier to participate and expanded the ways for dealers to earn rewards as well as the rewards themselves. “It’s all part of our Simplified and Amplified message.”

The promotion has been expanded to include Shaw’s two other fiber brands with products from each one now eligible to earn points, which are awarded based on fiber type, with Anso products garnering the most.

When it is time to redeem points for prizes, salespeople will have more to choose from via the Amazon catalog of products.

The new Capture the Spirit program will begin in the second half of January to allow Shaw to transition from the current format.

While performance and warranties have moved up in importance, consumers still place great emphasis on style and design, said Dani Brock marketing and communications manager for Anso. As such Shaw is introducing the Anso Colorwall for its Flooring Network retailers.

Featuring three weights of textures and three weights of twists in a silver/gold/platinum offering, 80 colors are included in the display, which was patterned after the highly successful Kathy Ireland Colorwall.

To learn more about the Anso campaign, contact your Shaw territory manager.