I’ve been going to trade shows for more than 35 years, and it never ceases to amaze me how many suppliers I’ve never heard of. While there are always well-known brands on display, like Kohler and
Whirlpool, marketing strategies for most suppliers typically view the general public as an afterthought.
The relevance of brand recognition has always been debatable in the B2B universe. With notable exceptions like BASF, few manufacturers or industry groups see value in generating top-of-mind awareness for their products and services with consumers. It’s far more advantageous, their thinking goes, to aim at municipalities, developers, and their AEC partners.
“It’s not in their organizational DNA” to market to the public, observes Kimberly Jones, President of Butler/Till, a media planning firm.
But the public isn’t a passive bystander anymore. It is an avid stakeholder insisting that its input be factored into the design and construction of all kinds of projects: schools, offices, hospitals, multifamily housing, even sports arenas. Marketing that relegates the public to the sidelines misses an opportunity to influence—even tangentially—these influencers.
I was thinking about branding while standing on the periphery of the International WELL Building Institute’s booth at last month’s Greenbuild convention in Los Angeles, watching one of a steady stream of interviews with company execs and partners, presented to Greenbuild attendees. IWBI, which launched in 2013, is striving to create a brand. But for whom, I wondered?
Its WELL Building Standard stems from a larger wellness movement being spurred by a public that is demanding healthier home and work environments. But certification programs that measure and grade buildings and products have been mostly indifferent about propagating their brands.
The EPA’s Energy Star program, which has been around for 24 years, gained purchase as energy rates rose. But EPA’s WaterSense labeling program, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, has yet to muster that level of brand awareness, in part, because water is relatively inexpensive in most markets.
The WaterSense label is on 16,000+ product models. Through 2015, it has helped consumers reduce energy and water costs by $32.6 billion. Yet, fewer than one-quarter of Americans are aware of the brand, according to a GfK survey.
My guess is that the same is true, to a greater or lesser degree, of LEED, Green Globes, Cradle to Cradle, and other regimens that hold buildings and products accountable for their efficiency, sustainability, or healthiness. Imagine the marketing boost for manufacturers and builders if these certification programs more broadly impacted consumers’ decisions about what to buy or where to live and work?
The Cradle to Cradle label is on nearly 6,000 products under 400-plus corporate certificates. Those products include many consumer brands, from Shaw Industries (flooring) to Method (soap). The Cradle to Cradle organization is confident that the brand means something to “knowledgeable consumers” (read: Millennials), says Stacy Glass, the group’s VP of Built Environment.
But any consumer branding campaign would be futile without critical mass. “What I’d like to see is our label on one million products under 10,000 certificates across the built environment,” says Glass.
Related Stories
Student Housing | Feb 21, 2024
Student housing preleasing continues to grow at record pace
Student housing preleasing continues to be robust even as rent growth has decelerated, according to the latest Yardi Matrix National Student Housing Report.
Architects | Feb 21, 2024
Architecture Billings Index remains in 'declining billings' state in January 2024
Architecture firm billings remained soft entering into 2024, with an AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 46.2 in January. Any score below 50.0 indicates decreasing business conditions.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 14, 2024
Multifamily rent remains flat at $1,710 in January
The multifamily market was stable at the start of 2024, despite the pressure of a supply boom in some markets, according to the latest Yardi Matrix National Multifamily Report.
Student Housing | Feb 13, 2024
Student housing market expected to improve in 2024
The past year has brought tough times for student housing investment sales due to unfavorable debt markets. However, 2024 offers a brighter outlook if debt conditions improve as predicted.
Contractors | Feb 13, 2024
The average U.S. contractor has 8.4 months worth of construction work in the pipeline, as of January 2024
Associated Builders and Contractors reported today that its Construction Backlog Indicator declined to 8.4 months in January, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Jan. 22 to Feb. 4. The reading is down 0.6 months from January 2023.
Industry Research | Feb 8, 2024
New multifamily development in 2023 exceeded expectations
Despite a problematic financing environment, 2023 multifamily construction starts held up “remarkably well” according to the latest Yardi Matrix report.
Market Data | Feb 7, 2024
New download: BD+C's February 2024 Market Intelligence Report
Building Design+Construction's monthly Market Intelligence Report offers a snapshot of the health of the U.S. building construction industry, including the commercial, multifamily, institutional, and industrial building sectors. This report tracks the latest metrics related to construction spending, demand for design services, contractor backlogs, and material price trends.
Industry Research | Jan 31, 2024
ASID identifies 11 design trends coming in 2024
The Trends Outlook Report by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is the first of a three-part outlook series on interior design. This design trends report demonstrates the importance of connection and authenticity.
Apartments | Jan 26, 2024
New apartment supply: Top 5 metros delivering in 2024
Nationally, the total new apartment supply amounts to around 1.4 million units—well exceeding the apartment development historical average of 980,000 units.
Self-Storage Facilities | Jan 25, 2024
One-quarter of self-storage renters are Millennials
Interest in self-storage has increased in over 75% of the top metros according to the latest StorageCafe survey of self-storage preferences. Today, Millennials make up 25% of all self-storage renters.