From March Madness and the Grapefruit League to spring sales and rebates, many phrases and terms make their way into the conversation this time of year. Numerous flooring companies gear up for the season by running special springtime promotions, an annual rite of the season. Here are just a few specials being offered.
Anderson
The wood mill’s Great American Road Trip Sale hits the highway from May 1 to July 7 and includes consumer coupons of up to $300 and a $4,000 Road Trip Grand Prize Giveaway.
Anderson will be using social media, from Facebook to Google to promote the campaign along with POP graphics for retailers to use in their stores. All materials will feature a QR tag linking consumers to the promotion coupon.
Mollie Surratt, marketing director, said throughout the promotion, consumers will be encouraged to visit andersonfloors.com to register for the grand prize and download the promotion coupon. Consumers will then be prompted to “like” Anderson on Facebook and share sweepstakes details to qualify for an additional drawing entry. The winner of the giveaway will be chosen randomly from the selection of online participants.
For more info, visit andersonfloors.com/roadtrip.
Armstrong
Education has its rewards: Retailers who complete all four of Armstrong’s eLearning training videos by April 30 will be entered to win one of three cash prizes up to $3,000—and everyone who takes all four gets an Armstrong T-shirt.
These educational tools are full of information retailers can use to learn how to make more money with Armstrong vinyl sheet, luxury vinyl and hardwood products, noted Katie Raymond, independent channel marketing manager. “The eLearning tools are designed to help salespeople create more satisfied customers and help close the sale by getting comfortable with new merchandising and products, and learning how to make the Armstrong brand work even harder for them.”
The videos are on 2012 new/featured products, including Performance Plus hardwood, vinyl sheet, Luxe Plank and Alterna premium tile.
For more information, visit armstrongelearning.com.
Couristan
The company’s annual Outdoor Living Merchandising Promotion runs through June 30 and offers deals on its full assortment of outdoor/indoor area rugs as well as two merchandising display options designed to drive summer sales, noted Larry Mahurter, vice president of advertising and marketing.
Designed to showcase all eight of Couristan’s weather-resistant rug collections, he said the Without Walls Display unit gives dealers the ability to fully customize their featured assortment and provides an easy-to-browse shopping destination in a compact space measuring just over 5 x 31⁄2 x 2 feet.
Also back by popular demand, Couristan is offering its Outdoor Living Merchandising Display Box, which comes free with an initial order of 20 rugs from the company’s Dolce, Five Seasons, Recife, Tides and Urbane collections.
For more information, call 800.223.6186 or contact your territory manager.
Karastan
The mill is extending a strong consumer rebate offer as part of its semi-annual National Karastan Month sales event. The rebate encompasses many of the mill’s broadloom and rug styles, and includes Karastan’s premier wool, SmartStrand with DuPont Sorona, WearDated and Stainmaster fibers. Consumers can earn up to $1,000 cash back on select styles from April 18 to May 30.
Bart Rich, director of brand management, said Karastan has crafted a corresponding national media campaign featuring the tagline, “Designed for the way you live NOW,” and highlights the brand’s versatile product selection. Ads are currently appearing in such publications as Architectural Digest, Traditional Home and Elle Décor. The mill is also running tip cards in Traditional Home.
Karastan retailers have full access to a customizable advertising kit to tie into the promotion at the local level, Rich noted. Materials include print ads, direct mail offerings, radio and TV spots, as well as banner ads and email blasts. Karastan has also created a variety of upscale, point-of-purchase materials to help promote the event in stores.
Retail sales associates will have an opportunity to earn increased Karastan Imagination rewards points on select purchases during the promotion. Points can easily be redeemed for thousands of prizes, he said.
For more information, visit karastantoday.com.
Mirage
The “Time to Bloom! with Mirage” promotion is taking place across North America (valid in the U.S. and Canada, excluding Quebec) from April 2 to May 12.
During the event, consumers can take advantage of a $10 mail-in rebate per carton on all Mirage Classic, Mirage Engineered and Mirage Lock lines.
“In spring, many consumers want to refresh the look of their home,” said Luc Robitaille, vice president of marketing. “The $10 per carton rebate is the perfect opportunity for consumers to save big while enjoying the quality Mirage floors are known for.”
Upwards of 2,250 Mirage Maestro dealers through North America are expected to participate in the event.
For more information, visit miragefloors.com/rebate.
Mohawk
Consumers will have plenty of motivation to purchase flooring from a Mohawk aligned dealer during the Colors of Spring sales event, which runs from March 28 through May 2. During this period, Mohawk will offer savings on the company’s most popular products as well as deliver financing opportunities to persuade consumers to buy their dream floor today.
“Many consumers have delayed making flooring purchases during the difficult economic period, but the momentum is shifting and we’re positioning our aligned retailers to really take advantage of that with this sales event,” said Jenny Nichols, director of retail marketing. “Colors of Spring gives the consumer numerous reasons to visit her local Mohawk aligned retailer and make a purchase that same day.”
The 2012 Colors of Spring event includes:
•Special pricing on featured products from many of Mohawk’s soft and hard surface collections.
•Consumer finance offers, including no interest until January 2015, and 12 months with pay deferred interest. Both offers include a credit buydown for retailers.
•Increased opportunities for retail sales associates to earn Mohawk Infinite Rewards points on selected soft surface purchases.
•A point-of-sale kit that includes a floor unit, hanging graphics and a window cling.
•A customizable Colors of Spring advertising kit to help aligned retailers further target consumers in their local markets. A variety of print, television, radio and online ads are available.
Mohawk has also developed a national media campaign to drive traffic to aligned retailers during the event that includes popular home shelter publications such as Family Circle, House Beautiful and HGTV Magazine. In addition, Colors of Spring banner ads will appear on dozens of high-traffic consumer websites, including hgtv.com, realsimple .com and veranda.com, generating more than 6.5 million online impressions during the sales event.
Also, new for 2012, Mohawk has created an all-inclusive cable TV advertising package, which includes two weeks of choice air time re-searched and optimized for each retailer’s unique needs.
For more about Mohawk’s Colors of Spring event, visit mohawktoday.com or contact your Mohawk sales representative.
Shaw
The comprehensive Celebrate Your Home Sale spring promotion runs from May 12 to June 30 and offers special, per-room pricing. The campaign includes bold retro-inspired POP graphics for participating retailers who can capitalize on the act-now messaging.
The simplified sale includes carpet, area rugs and laminate offerings of $499 for one room, $899 for two rooms and $1,199 for three rooms. Hardwood floors are included in the per-room selections for an additional $100.
LaShon McGinnis, marketing manager, said the one-room pricing was an idea that came directly from retailers who’ve run this type of campaign with success. “Not only was this concept a traffic driver, dealers were able to protect their profitability and more often upgrade the consumer to better products. We’ve taken these best practices and packaged them in a campaign dealers across the country can duplicate in their local markets.”
Furthermore, the messaging communicates Shaw flooring is affordable. “The concept is very simple,” she said. “The more you buy, the more you save.”
The Celebrate Your Home Sale offers retailers several selling points designed to appeal to both new home buyers and renovators. A special Celebrate Your Home sweepstakes on Shaw’s Facebook page will generate awareness and interest, McGinnis said as consumers will have a chance to instantly win prizes and be entered into the sweepstakes to win a $2,500 floor makeover.
Shaw is also supporting the sale with national advertising, including commercials on the HGTV network; ads in print publications such as House Beautiful and Traditional Home and through several popular online sites.
“This is one campaign message, however, where it is extremely important for retailers to advertise locally,” she added. “The consumer has to connect the offer with a local retailer.” To aid dealers in their local efforts, Shaw has created customizable print and direct mail ads, TV spots and radio scripts.
Registration is limited. Visit shawfloors.com/retaileragreement.
Wools of New Zealand
The fiber marketing firm’s spring sales event, “Brilliant Choices,” includes 23 Wools of New Zealand (WONZ) brand partners.
Brilliant Choices includes updates on promotional programs and LEED-compliant initiatives that build on the value of the WONZ brand, said Hallie Cobb, executive director. Included in these efforts are the Wool College, Wool Benefit System, Premier Partner Program and Wool: Clean Air Certification.
The theme of the WONZ sales event focuses on the color options available with New Zealand wool, she noted. “New Zealand wool is the world’s purest and whitest wool and has excellent dyeing characteristics that create long-lasting colors and clean pastel shades.”
Brilliant Choices runs from April 1 to May 15 in Premier Partner showrooms. As part of the event, donations will be made to Heifer International’s Shear Joy Program, which provides sheep to needy families around the world.
For more information, call 404.667.9531.