Floors Magazine Floors Magazine June / July 2014 | Page 13
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BAL wins
prestigious award
thanks to fixers
The participation of professional tilers
in a pioneering marketing campaign
has resulted in a prestigious national
award for BAL. The groundbreaking
“Tilers Demand” campaign to
encourage trial of new BAL products,
built around fixer interaction, won
The Tile Association Award 2014
for “Excellence in marketing.” The
campaign exceeded all targets and led
to new grouts and adhesives rapidly
becoming ‘fixer favourite’ products.
BAL has led the UK tiling market for
50 years with a constant focus on
innovation, with fixers’ requirements
at the heart of all research and
development. This continuing
relationship with fixers and contractors
nationwide was crucial to the creation
and delivery of BAL’s “Tilers Demand”
campaign.
Through regular focus groups, BAL
developed three new products for
2013 launch. These were developed
by learning from fixers and contractors
what they would demand, in key
categories, from leading products of
the future. This steered development
of the new level in grout performance,
BAL Micromax2, and development
of fibre strand technology (FST) in
adhesives for the world’s first fibreenhanced ready-mix, BAL White Star
Plus, and ‘use anywhere’ powder, BAL
Max-Flex Fibre.
The Tilers Demand campaign allowed
fixers to see these innovations being
launched and, by visiting the web site,
to find out all about them and request
free samples. Alex Underwood, Head
of Marketing, said, “We opened the
Tilers Demand campaign in February,
launching BAL Micromax2. After
developing and testing the product so
robustly with fixers and contractors
nationwide, we knew that they would
love BAL Micromax2, the first grout to
truly deliver every benefit possible with
a grout. We wanted to reward fixers
by letting as many as possible try it for
free.”
Around 30% of UK fixers visited the
Tilers Demand site in the first month
for the free trial sign-up and on-going
rewards. “Once a fixer trialled the
product,” said Alex Underwood, “they
could leave their feedback, good or
bad, to get a free voucher book for
other BAL products. Unsurprisingly,
all comments were positive, with an
average 4.8 stars from 5.” Fixers
returning to the site could also enter
a free monthly draw for such prizes as
tickets to sporting events, tools and
holidays, as well as finding out about
the next BAL innovations.
Alex Underwood said, “Everyone
registered on the site got the latest
BAL news as well as some great
rewards. They were first to hear about
the product technology when BAL
White Star Plus and BAL Max-Flex
Fibre were launched. Our fixers really
engaged with the campaign, helping
us to give them the products they want
and to make all of our launches so
successful.”
To reward fixers, BAL crowned the
Floors Magazine
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June/July 2014
campaign with a major prize draw. All
purchases of any of the new products
could be registered, for the opportunity
to win a brand new Ford Transit
Connect van, with two runner-up prizes
of free fuel for a year.
Mark Ellam, of Imperial Tiling, was the
lucky winner. As a long-time fan of the
market-leading adhesives and grouts,
Mark often enters BAL competitions,
but this is easily his biggest success.
“I won some Costa coffee vouchers a
while back,” he said, “but, like most real
fixers, I use BAL because I can trust it,
not because I expect to win something.
Being first out of the hat for such a
fabulous prize is unbelievable. Thanks
to BAL, and the luck of the draw, I now
have a van that looks as professional
as my tiling.”
The annual TTA Awards are the
most prestigious awards in UK tiling
industry, recognising excellence
throughout the industry. This
award is the latest in a long series
of TTA successes for BAL, the
long-established market leader in
professional tile adhesives and grouts.
Find out more www.tilers-demand.com