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THE AD AGE 2004 SHELTER SPECIAL REPORTHome Improvement Publishing, Broadcasting and Marketing
SHELTER
PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK KOUDIS
AdAgeSPECIALREPORT 4.5.04
INSIDE Page turnersCompetition is fierce amongmagazines PAGE S-2
TV won’t trade spacesHome shows take place onprime time PAGE S-4
Shelter Q&AGenre godfather Bob Vila talks upemerging trends PAGE S-5
Online buildoutDownload the Shelter PDF, use QWIKFIND AAP49R
GIMMEShelter
By DAN LIPPE
‘Cocooning’ comes naturally, butlarge number of factors trigger boom
sept. 11 may have sent us intoour cocoons for a feeling of se-curity, but it’s cold hard cashthat’s feeding our fervor tokeep them spruced up.
A perfect storm of influenceshave converged to stimulate interest in shelter-related topics,andthe print and TV media, as well asthe advertisers that rely on them,are riding the wave. Fueling this are such economic factors as the availability oflow-interest loans to fund home improvements.It also helps that as other investments have stumbled, housingprices have soared.
In a survey that Lightspeed Researchconducted for this Special Report,
See COCOONINGon Page S-8
AdAgeSPECIALREPORTSHELTERApril 5, 2004 | Advertising Age |S-2
t’s no coincidence that three of the mosteagerly awaited new titles in the sheltermagazine category promise “simple”decorating and design ideas, given the
runaway success of Time Inc.’s Real Simpleand its appeal to upscale women.
Coming next September is Time Inc.’sCottage Living, whose tagline promises“comfort, simplicity and style.” AmericanMedia will also enter the fray in 2004 withHappy Home, targeting “younger, upwardlymobile women looking for simpler ways ofcreating great personal style in their homes,”says Sara Ruffin Costello, editor in chief of themagazine.
A catalog-like home décor magazine fromConde Nast Publications, due next year, isexpected to simplify buyers’ choices by doingfor recliners and ceiling fans what CondeNast’s Lucky does for shoes and handbags.
But translating the hip, simpler-rules ethicinto new ad pages and strong readership maybe harder than it looks, say magazine industryinsiders assessing the brutally competitiveshelter field. In an overall “Home” categoryof magazines defined by Advertising Age’sDataCenter and based on PublishersInformation Bureau numbers, 2003 ad pagesslipped 1.4% to 14,699.1.
“We’re going to see some of theestablished titles in [the shelter] categoryforced to lower their rate bases this year withnew titles entering the picture and makingthings more crowded,” warns George Janson,managing partner-director of print for WPPGroup’s MediaEdge:cia, New York.“Eventually, we could see some shakeouts.”
MIXED RESULTSResults for 2003 were wildly mixed forindividual titles in the shelter arena,underscoring the category’s volatility. It couldbe a make-or-break year for weaker, morepoorly defined players, say media analysts.
“To succeed from now on, sheltermagazines must be very distinct and certain intheir focus and positioning,” says BrendaWhite, media director at Publicis Groupe’sStarcom Worldwide, Chicago.
However, the shelter niche overallincludes a wide array of magazines, rangingfor the super-upscale Architectural Digest tothe much more mass-appeal Better Homes &Gardens.
Buoying the shelter rivals is the fact thathousing trends are strong, interest rates remainlow and a fresh wave of refinancings occurred inthe first quarter of 2004. There’s a lot of moneyat stake for publishers that can nail consumers’decorating and rehab spending throughprecisely targeted magazines, Ms. White says.
Time Inc., through its Southern Progress
Launches crowd already tough fieldFrom tony style books to near-catalog fare, titlesseek to win home front
IBy KATE FITZGERALD
SHELTER FROM THE STORMShelter-themed titles mentioned in this article often were able to beat the overall magazine industry’s dismal 1% drop in ad pages for 2003 and2.7% decline over the first two months of 2004. On the circulation side, several built their total paid numbers in the second half of 2003.
AD PAGES % CHANGE VS. CIRCULATION (IN MILLIONS) % CHANGE VS.YEAR EARLIER YEAR EARLIER
ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST (C)
BETTER HOMES & GARDENS (M)
COUNTRY HOME (M)
-1.2+0.5
-2.3-1.7
-5.3
HOUSE BEAUTIFUL (H)
HOUSE & GARDEN (C)
METROPOLITAN HOME (HF)
TRADITIONAL HOME (M)
Corp., hopes to carve out a new fan base forCottage Living, centered on “simple,comfortable design themes,” says StephenBohlinger, VP-publisher of the new venture.
Undeniably building on turf currentlyoccupied by Hearst Magazines’ CountryLiving and Meredith Corp.’s Country Home,Mr. Bohlinger says Cottage Living will target
a more affluent and younger female readerthan either of those titles, which outperfomedthe magazine industry overall last year byposting ad page increases (see chart above).
“I take Cottage Living’s tagline as a directhit, since our theme of the last two years hasbeen ‘Come home to comfort,’ but from theirtitle I envision a more narrow decorating
style, and our success has been built aroundbeing very broad within the country theme,”says Steven Grune, publisher of the 1.7million rate-base Country Living.
Meredith’s Country Home, which boastedone of the category’s fattest ad page gains at11.3% last year, isn’t waiting idly for Cottage
See MAGAZINESon Page S-6
COUNTRY LIVING (H)
Sources: Ad page numbers from Publishers Information Bureau; circulation numbers from Audit Bureau of Circulations. NC=No change; difference in circulation over two periods was too minimal to include a percentage change in this chart.
+10.8-2.5
NC+0.4-9.0
+11.3+7.9
+12.9+19.7-16.1
+4.9+12.1
-1.1+2.0-13.2
-13.6-43.6
+5.4+7.6-16.1
+16.9+4.2
-1.5-0.6-5.7
+18.8NA
+10.2+20.5-20.3
-9.5+3.9
-2.2NC
-15.6
Parent publishers: C=Conde Nast Publications H=Hearst Magazines HF=Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. M=Meredith Corp.
AdAgeSPECIALREPORTSHELTERApril 5, 2004 | Advertising Age |S-4
quick scroll through the TVlineup reveals that programs about thehome are building fast.
Not only are there whole networksserving this niche, but in February a shelter-themed show premiered for the first time onnational broadcast prime-time TV withABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
On cable, Discovery Communications’Discovery Home & Leisure network wasslated last month to reacquaint itself withviewers as Discovery Home Channel. And ifthe definition of “shelter” is expanded beyondthe structure itself, Scripps Networksapproaches it from several paths with DIY-DoIt Yourself Network, Home & GardenTelevision, Fine Living and Food Network.DIY alone now reaches 26.6 millionhouseholds. And pushing ahead into its niche,Scripps in the next six months plans tointroduce about 70 new series and specialsacross its four lifestyle brands.
Shelter TV programming can beparticularly appealing to advertisers in thehome category since it affords them a chanceto more closely align thematically withcontent that matches their brands. Also,many shelter shows are natural fits forproduct integration. Home Depot, forinstance, is the exclusive category sponsor forTLC’s “Trading Spaces” and providesproducts and materials for projects.
ENVIRONMENT THAT MAKES SENSEAdvertisers want their brands to be in anenvironment that makes sense, says TimSpengler, exec VP-director of national broadcastfor Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Initiative Media,New York. “There is more of a focus on thehome than there was 10 years ago,” he notes.
The programming swell is caused byseveral factors. The cocooning trend wroughtby 9/11 still lingers, and low interest rates
arrived in a timely fashion to herald a boom inhome sales and remodeling.
The shelter programming niche was born aquarter-century ago when “This Old House”with Bob Vila debuted on the PublicBroadcasting Service. More recently, the how-to home-improvement genre starting matingwith the reality craze to create a new hybrid—the fix-up contests dotting the dial, sort of“Survivor” meets “This Old House.” They’vebroadened the shelter genre beyond its do-it-yourself roots.
Like so many other Anglo-Americantransplants, the U.K.’s “Changing Rooms”inspired a U.S. iteration in “Trading Spaces.”
Discovery Communications’ TLC last
month kicked off the fourth season of“Trading Spaces,” and this latter-day “ThisOld House” has spurred additional shelter TVshows. With Paige Davis in Mr. Vila’s role asforeman, and homeowners toiling over two-day, $1,000 remodelings of neighbors’houses, the results of “Trading Spaces”projects are sometimes outrageous. But theshow generated siblings “While You WereOut,” “Trading Spaces: Family,” “TradingSpaces: Boys vs. Girls” and “Trading Spaces:Home Free,” plus a fan base.
Shelter TV was in full boom, generatingother cable fare like Discovery Channel’s“Monster House” (offspring of the auto-themed “Monster Garage”) and “MTV Cribs”on the youth-oriented network owned byViacom. “Changing Rooms” is also in the frayvia BBC America, along with “House Invaders.”
Mr. Vila left PBS in 1989 and Viacom-owned syndicator King World Productionsdebuted “Bob Vila’s Home Again” (see Q&Awith Mr. Vila on opposite page). Also insyndication, Tribune Entertainment offers“Famous Homes & Hideaways” and “RonHazelton’s House Calls.”
ABC’s introduction of “ExtremeMakeover: Home Edition” serves as thebroadcast seal of approval on the sheltergenre. The March 7 airing was the secondhighest-rated show for the first week ofMarch on the Walt Disney Co.-ownednetwork, and drew 10.2 million viewers,delivering a 3.9 rating and 10 share in adults18-49, according to Nielsen Media Researchdata provided by ABC.
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is across between a reality program and a homeimprovement show, says Geri Wong, seniorVP for prime-time TV at ABC. The programrevamps homes for “deserving families” suchas the debut episode in November centering ona couple whose young daughter battled cancer.
Sears, Roebuck & Co. is the exclusive home-improvement advertiser for “ExtremeMakeover: Home Edition,” and its Craftsmantools are featured prominently duringrenovations. A new kitchen or laundry mightalso include Sears’ Kenmore appliances, saysJohn Caruso, senior VP-TV network sales atABC. The show gives Sears visibility and recallfar beyond what a 30-second spot might provide.
Sears is partnering with both ABC for“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” andwith Discovery Home Channel as the sponsorfor one of its theme nights.
‘A CATEGORY WE SHOULD OWN’“It’s a category we can and should own,” saysTed McDougal, a spokesman for Sears.Because the Sears deal with ABC is wide-ranging and expands beyond traditionalproduct placement to encompass the wholeshow and the Sears and ABC Web sites aswell, it furthers Sears’ goal to portray itself asthe ultimate home solutions provider, Mr.McDougal says.
The broader entertainment appeal of“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” has alsolured automotive, package-goods andpersonal-care advertisers.
Shelter shows usually come without thesalacious undertones or “ick” factor of someother reality fare. The non-controversial andtargeted nature of home content is part of itsappeal to marketers, says David Karp, seniorVP-general manager for Discovery HomeChannel, which planned to introduce its new
Marketers feel at home in shelter TVAdvertisers get comfy with a wide array of shelter-oriented TV fare
A
KNOCK, KNOCK: “Extreme Makeover” hits home at ABC.
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April 5, 2004 | Advertising Age |S-5
C U S T O M E R S S T A R T
BBUUYYIINNGG in BBUULLKKHHOOAARRDDIINNGG
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C U S T O M E R S S T A R T
IT ALL BEGANwith a deteriorating 1860Victorian, and more than 40 projects later, BobVila is marking 25 years rehabbing houses asmillions of armchair remodelers look on.
He first appeared on national TV when “ThisOld House” debuted on the Public BroadcastingService in 1979. He left PBS a decade later andwent into syndicated TV with “Bob Vila’s HomeAgain.” Viacom’s King World Productions
syndicates the show to more than 200 TVstations. He’s also been spokesman
for Sears, Roebuck & Co.’sCraftsman tools for 15 years.
Mr. Vila, 57, estimatesthere are some 30 shelter-related shows on TV today. Hetalked to Advertising Age’sDan Lippe about the explosivegrowth of shelter TV, which atthis point ranges from complexrenovations—Mr. Vila’s
specialty—to having neighborsremodel a room a la TLC’s “
Trading Spaces.”
ADVERTISING AGE:You pretty muchstarted the genre of shelter TV with “This OldHouse.” Twenty-fiveyears later, there’s a widevariety of home-themed TV shows . Why havesuch shows become so popular?
MR. VILA: There’s an endless curiosity andconcern with housing—you know, food, sex,housing. The fact is that people care passionatelyabout their surroundings, how they work, whatthey look like and whether they keep them warm.
And then other bright people with brightideas have discovered how to take that concernand turn it into more than just a learningexperience but an entertaining experience bykind of grafting on elements of soap opera andquiz shows. I’m not sure how I feel about that,but they’re watching [these shows], aren’t they?
Every year when you’re cobbling togetherideas for next season’s programming, you’resaying to yourself, “Should I change my course?What can I do to kind of compete with theseother shows?” And so far I just have notaddressed that. I just basically keep on doingwhat I’ve always been doing, which is buildingand remodeling.
AA:What consistent thread runs through allthe shelter shows?
MR. VILA: It’s mostly a concern forentertaining and getting ratings. And there’snothing wrong with that. And what’s right aboutit is that it continues to inspire people to look attheir surroundings in a different way regardlessof which show we’re talking about. All of themcontinue to inspire people to want to improvetheir surroundings, to want to better the curbappeal of their house as well as the generalappeal and function of their interiors.
AA: Integrated product placement seems tobe a natural fit for shelter TV. As a person whosename has become synonymous with this genre,how do you approach that ad tactic? [Editor’snote: The issue of product endorsementshelped set Mr. Vila on his current path.Ad Agereported in 1989 he and PBS parted afterseveral “This Old House” sponsors, including
Home Depot, dropped out because of Mr. Vila’soutside endorsement deals.]
MR. VILA: I’ve always felt very strongly thatit was bad karma to tell a carpenter what tools touse. ... In the years that I’ve been producing myown show, I’ve really looked at it from ajournalistic perspective. [Mr. Vila holds degrees injournalism and architecture.] The approach I’vealways taken, whether it’s a window or a brand ofcarpet, is is there a reason why it’s interestingenough to have it on the show and talk about it.
My favorite part of it all is when you look atthe technology of housing in the last decade …these are things that need to be reported onand used. But now we’re entering a pointwhere you have placement as a profit center. Itturns into kind of a murky area of whethersomething’s going to appear because it’sworth reporting on it or because somebodypaid to put it on your show.
If you’re reporting, you can still put a brandon there and give an impartial judgment of it. Yetthe advertising value of the adjacency to the BobVila name is something I have to be veryguarded about.
[With “Bob Vila’s Home Again”] you will findthere exists a relationship beyond the TV showwith some of these brands on the [bobvila.com]Web site. However, it’s become kind of perfectlyacceptable for television companies producingshows to charge people for placement. I’m in a
quandary because I have a certain amount ofintegrity to protect in terms of being animpartial, unbiased expert on XYZ componentsof housing construction.
I’ve got 25 years of being somebody myviewers can depend on to give them a straightstory about something, and if I took thatapproach with anything, then I’d be givingsomething up that I don’t want to give up.
AA: What’s hot in home amenities?MR. VILA:There is no doubt that people are
more and more interested in expansive spacesthat combine the kitchen with the living roomfunctions. There isn’t a builder/developer worthhis salt who wouldn’t tell you that’s one of thekey things I have to put into my offerings, fromCalifornia back to the East Coast.
I’m hoping we’re getting away from thesupercompetitive need to have the McMansionwith the three-car garage, all this insanity. I thinkit’s going to come back to haunt a lot of people 10years out. And God knows when the point comesthat the yuppies who have bought such aMcMansion in the 1990s are becoming emptynesters ... I’m not sure how many people aregoing to be standing in line to be the secondowners of such houses. �
Q & A WITHBOB VILA
name and logo on March 29. With the newname comes a more defined and precise focuson the home through programming themenights and a dumping of broader lifestyletopics like travel shows.
As part of the facelift, the networkintended to tag each weeknight with a themeand sponsor, such as Procter & Gamble Co.backing Monday’s “Easy Living” and HomeDepot sponsoring Friday’s “Quick Fix” night.
PUSH BY SCRIPPSE.W. Scripps Co.’s Scripps Networks hasplanted its flagpole firmly in the broaderlifestyle niche that includes shelter shows.Scripps claims that according to data itcollected during the week of March 12,shelter-related fare—including design,decorating, do-it-yourself and lifestyleshows—totaled 881 hours, 581 ofwhich were Scripps programs.
HGTV’s “House Hunters,”focusing on prospective homebuyers, is the network’s highest-rated show, generating a 1.5 ratingfor households each Thursday.
HGTV and Food Network haveattracted advertisers in financialservices and travel, in addition tomarketers endemic to their genres.Retailer Steinmart advertised onScripps networks for the first timelate last year, says JonSteinlauf, Scripps seniorVP-ad sales.
Advertiserspeddling products forthe home probablyfare best on specialtyshelter networks, saysJim Donohue, VP-associate mediadirector at PublicisGroupe’s MediaVest,New York. Theyshould choose a fewproperties, create aregular presence withmultiple spots, includebillboard identification atthe show’s start or end andincorporate productplacement appropriately, hesays.
“Lifestyle programming isnow a medium of choice foradvertisers that once perceivedit niche-focused,” says Mr.Steinlauf. �
VILA: SeesMcMansioncrazehauntingowners infuture.
“We’re entering apoint where youhave placement as a profit center”
April 5, 2004 | Advertising Age |S-6
Living to open its doors. In June, the1.5 million rate-base magazine willunveil a larger, more square-shapedtrim size with a more expensivematte-finish paper, visually aligningit with more upscale shelter titles.
“Country Home isone of the fastestgrowing over-1-
million-circulation books, behind[O, the Oprah Magazine] and RealSimple, and we’re on a pace tocontinue our momentum thisyear,” says Publisher David Kahn.
Increasingly, other publishingsectors are pursuing the advertisersendemic to shelter magazines, saymedia buyers. Clearly, a mixture oflifestyle and women’s serviceeditorial with decorating-and-rehabthemes works, and more generalmagazines are “putting pressure”
on shelter magazines with thatstrategy, Ms. White says.
Meredith’s Better Homes &Gardens is the clear winner in thatcombination game, ending 2003 with2,117 ad pages, a record for the title.
But other publishers are catchingon to the lifestyle-plus-décor trick,including Hearst. The publisher ofOprah Winfrey’s O will bring outtwo newsstand-only Oprah-branded special home-decoratingissues this year. The first issue of Oat Home is due May 11 and thesecond during the fourth quarter.
Among pure shelter books,there’s proof that sticking with aformula works. Ad pages atMeredith’s 939,000-circulationTraditional Home grew almost19% in 2003, with huge growthfrom automotive advertisers, saysPublisher Brenda Saget Darling.New advertisers this year includeGapKids and Frangelica liquor.
Similarly, Hachette FilipacchiMedia U.S.’ Metropolitan Homescored a 16.9% ad page increase lastyear, and in 2004 boosted itsfrequency to eight issues from six.
REACHING A MIND-SETIt was the “mind-set” ofMetropolitan Homereaders thatlured Toyota Motor Sales USA toadvertise Lexus’ RX 300 sport-utilityvehicle in the magazine last year, saysAnn Bybee, Lexus’ corporatemanager for advertising, brand andproduct strategy. MetropolitanHome“was the right fit,” she says.
A few smaller, tightly focusedrising stars are gaining momentumin the shelter category, such as themodernist Dwell, launched on ashoestring in 2000 and now up to arate base of 200,000. Another up-and-comer is Taunton Press’Inspired House, launched last fall totarget eclectic, upscale homeowners.
The future is less certain forshelter magazines lacking a precisedesign focus, say magazine insiders.Examples include Conde Nast’sHouse & Garden, whose ad pagesslipped 13.6% last year, andHearst’s House Beautiful, with adpages down 9.5%.
Hired in early 2003 to reverse theslide at H&G, Publisher Lori Burgesssays ad pages will be up “significantly”this year, with new advertisersincluding Maytag Corp., Johnson &Johnson’s Neutrogena and Ruth’sChris Steak House, plus furnitureand building supply advertisers.
“Our endemic advertisersincluding makers of high-end fabricsand furniture had a tough year in2003. And overall, advertisers arespending money more broadly acrossmore magazines and a long list ofdecorating-based cable TV shows,”says David Arnold, VP-publisher ofHouse Beautiful. “We are stickingwith our formula of targeting adiverse mix of design ideas to upscale,over-40 women.” �
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AdAgeSPECIALREPORTSHELTER
MagazinesFrom Page S-2
April 5, 2004 | Advertising Age |S-7
aturday afternoons, the Ikea store inHicksville, N.Y., is a madhouse. Entirefamilies barrel down the aislesmaneuvering carts laden with furniture
and housewares, pondering how much work isrequired to assemble a wardrobe, and impulse-buying decorative pillows and end tables.
The Swedish furniture retailer has seen achange in the consumer market since it arrivedin the U.S. in the late 1980s. Ten to 15 yearsago, consumers tended to buy furniture for alifetime, but today “they’re more interested infinding something that fits with their lifestylenow,” says Rich D’Amico, new-businessdevelopment manager at Ikea North America.
And that’s good news for home-orientedretailers, which are in land-grab mode,scooping up consumers driven shelter-mad bylow interest rates and a growing fascinationwith home design. Hardware stores are chasingwomen, home décor shops are attractingmetrosexualized men and everybody is tryingto win a growing multicultural market.
SAVVY ACCESSORIZERS“People have gotten into decorating theirhomes and have become more savvy abouthow they can accessorize,” says Julie Gardner,senior VP-marketing of Kohl’s Corp. Theretailer, while still mainly focused on apparel,has recently reset its stores to improve itshousewares and home displays.
Consumers’ view of home décor haschanged from a once-in-a-lifetime project to anevolving fashion sense, driven by the specialiststores, says Gwen Morrison, president-NorthAmerica at The Store, Chicago, a WPP Groupagency specializing in retail.
“Over the last decade, there’s been a more
casual approach,” says Ms. Morrison. “TheCrate & Barrels of the world have driven thischange … we’re not just eating sushi at home.We’re serving it on Asian plates.”
In that context, brand identity can mean alot to a retailer. Each successful housewaresbrand has an image—Pier One Imports isethnic, Williams-Sonoma’s Pottery Barn ismodern and Euromarket Designs’ Crate &Barrel is classic—and shoppers choose eachstore based on what look they’re going for,says Jim Lucas, director-planning and researchat Interpublic Group of Cos.’ Draft, Chicago.“It’s more the age of the specialist,” he says.
Other retailers have also stepped up theiractivity. Hardware chains such as Home Depothave remade themselves into “home centers,”evolving from selling only products for“behind the wall”—plumbing, lumber,electrical supplies and the like—to adding moremerchandise for “in front of the wall,” such aspaint and decorative items, says Mr. Lucas.
In the midst of this ferment, departmentstores “had a run for their money, having toretool to compete,” says Ms. Morrison.
Some retailers have created house brandsto give them an advantage, such as TargetStores, which pioneered the democratizationof design with housewares lines by architectsMichael Graves and Philippe Starck, and hascontinued with designer Todd Oldham.
Others are trying new store conceptsdedicated to home improvement and décor,such as Sears, Roebuck & Co.’s The GreatIndoors and Federated Department Stores’Bloomingdale’s Furniture.
The makeup of the consumers has alsochanged, with couples making more home-improvement decisions jointly and womenbecoming more involved in projects. JohnCostello, exec VP-marketing andmerchandising as well as chief marketingofficer of Home Depot, notes that half thevisitors to his stores are female and more than40% of store visits are made by couplesshopping together.
The consumers are also increasinglymulticultural. Even as the nesting trend may
be cooling off, the demographics favorminority groups and women, Mr. Lucas says.He notes home ownership rates among singlewomen, African-Americans and Hispanicscontinue to grow.
“If I’m a Lowe’s or a Home Depot, theseare the people I want to reach out to,” he says.
MORE MULTICULTURALAnd they are. Ikea recently hired its firstHispanic agency and Lowe’s Cos. hired a trioof agencies to handle multiculturaladvertising. Home Depot had done Spanish-language ads for years, says Mr. Costello, andit has placed bilingual signage and Spanish-speaking sales people at stores in key markets
as part of efforts to reinvigorate the brand. “The U.S. has clearly become a multicultural
country, and we’re committed to meeting theneeds of all our customers,” Mr. Costello says.
Faced with all these changes, marketers areincreasingly using non-traditional media suchas product placement to reach consumers.Catalogs, store design and sponsorships arenow just as important as ad campaigns, saythe experts. “The store plays a large role withthese guys because a lot of what they sell isexperiential,” says Mr. Lucas. “They’veended up being lifestyle editors.”
For the home décor stores, such as Pier Oneand Crate & Barrel, that ability to create theme
Retailers work tobrand home goods Image is critical as chainsseek edge, consumerseye fresh perspectives
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By MERCEDES M. CARDONA
PICTURE THIS: Lifestyle changes are a big part of the Ikea message as it draws consumers back for more.
BUILDING OUT: Home Depot is expanding from “behind the wall” products to an all-inclusive base for shoppers.
See RETAILERSon Page S-8
AdAgeSPECIALREPORTSHELTERApril 5, 2004 | Advertising Age |S-8
displays has helped attract men, whoare increasingly interested inentertaining at home, Ms. Morrisonsays, adding, “The stores have gottenbetter about how to present a story.… like Crate & Barrel saying, ‘It’stime for grilling.’ “
Catalogs have also become animportant tool to introduce or
reinforce the brand. Experts pointout catalogs allow a retailer topresent its brand in a leisurelyfashion to a consumer relaxing athome, not hurrying through a store.
Catalogs can be very effectivebrand builders, Mr. Lucas says,noting, “It tells you what the brandis about.”
And, in a sort of chicken-and-eggsituation, home improvement TVshows have both created moredemand for shelter retailers and
helped them reach those interestedconsumers.
“Home improvement showshave become a substantial source ofinformation and aspiration forconsumers,” says Mr. Costello.Home Depot has sponsorship dealswith the two top-rated homeimprovement shows, TLC’s“Trading Spaces” and “While YouWere Out.” Those deals includeextensive product placement,advertising and in-store events.
“You have the opportunity toget the right products in front of theconsumers when they’re mostreceptive,” Mr. Costello says.
“It’s a ‘That’s for me’ kind ofthing,” Mr. D’Amico says. Ikea hasdone product placement in movies,such as the upcoming “Jersey Girl”from Miramax Films, and on TVshows such as Bravo’s “Queer Eyefor the Straight Guy,” whichfeatured a shopping excursion to Ikeaas part of a recent episode. �
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only 29% of the respondents saidthat creating a secure environmentat home in response to increasingterrorism was a very important fac-tor in their decision to spend onhome-related purchases.
However, 63% of the survey’srespondents, homeowners aged 18and older, cited the increasing valueof their homes, especially comparedwith any other investments, as a rea-son to make such purchases.
“After the bubble burst in ’99, alot of people lost interest in riskingtheir capital in the market andrealized their safest investmentseemed to be their real estate. Thatcertainly has not changed,” saysBob Vila, who for 25 years hasentranced TV viewers with hishome renovations on “This OldHouse” and “Bob Vila’s HomeAgain.”
The greater influence of home-as-investment vs. home-as-safe-havenseems especially remarkable givenanother survey WPP Group’sLightspeed conducted forAdvertising Agearound the time ofthe one-year anniversary of the 9/11terrorist attacks. Signaling howmuch the attacks continued to weighon Americans’ outlook, 51% ofrespondents to that survey said theydidn’t think marketers should runany ads on Sept. 11, 2002.
But Steven Marks, nationalaccount director at Lightspeed, notesan enduring core of concern forsecurity at home 2½ years after theterrorist attacks on the U.S. “Theshock wears off over time,” Mr.Marks says, “but the fact that a thirdare concerned is something youwouldn’t have found before 9/11.”
He also points out thatrespondents from the Northeast,where the 9/11 attacks occurred,showed the highest concern forcreating a secure environment athome—36%, vs. 33% in the South,28% in the Midwest, and 22% inthe West.
COCOONING STRONGEven if some security-relatedconcerns are lessening, the desire tostay in, and enjoy the safety andcomfort of the cocoon, remainsstrong. A total of 54% of Lightspeedrespondents said they were moreinclined than a year ago to spendmore time at home, and only 9%said they were less inclined.
Mr. Vila says he was aware of thecocooning and do-it-yourself trendsin the early to mid-1990s, before the2001 terrorist assault. “I alwaysthought of it in terms of economicreality,” he says. “When you havedownturns in the market, you havepeople who are less able to afford amovie and less able to afford acontractor to come in and do a paint
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job for them. And I think that’s kindof something that has stuck, andneedless to say things have gottenworse … you’ve got people whocannot afford to have others dohome improvement projects forthem and can’t necessarily afford togo on a trip or go to the movies even,so they’re doing more cocooning.”
The balky economy hasn’tdampened Americans’ desire for“more” when it comes to shelter.The good news for marketers isthat if homeowners get their wish,they’ll need more products to filltheir ever-increasing living space.
The average new single-familyhome has grown by more than 800square feet since 1970, according toU.S. Census Bureau data cited bythe National Association of HomeBuilders. More precisely:� Average home size was 2,320square feet in 2003, up from 1,500in 1970.� Of new homes completed in2003, 41% were 1,600-2,399square feet, vs. 26% in 1971; 19%of ’03’s new homes were 3,000square feet or more, vs. 7% in1986.� Of new ‘03 homes, 52% had twoor more stories, vs. 17% in 1971.� Among new ‘03 homes, 56%had 2½ or more bathrooms, vs.15% in 1971; 22% of 2003 homeshad three or more bathrooms, vs.12% in 1987.� In 2003, 59% of new homes hadone or more fireplaces, up from36% in 1971.
Americans aren’t ready toabandon their dreams of homeownership. Of 1,001 peoplesurveyed earlier this year by Ipsos-Insight, 12% said they plan to buy ahome in 2004. Among those whointend to buy, 43% plan to buy anewly built home. Marketers ofremodeling products should notethat the other 57% of that groupplans to purchase an existing home.
Of the current homeownerssurveyed by Lightspeed, 33% hadundertaken a remodeling orrenovation project within the lastyear. And 41% said they weremore inclined to spend on homeremodeling projects than a year
ago, while 28% said they were lessinclined.
Despite the millions of dollarspoured into shelter-themedadvertising, word-of-mouth hasmore power to motivate people tospend on home improvements,according to the Lightspeedresearch. Slightly more than halfcited advice from friends orneighbors as very important, whilenearly one-quarter cited ads forsuch products and services.
The power of word-of-mouthraises the inevitable ROI questionabout conventional advertising.
“From an advertising perspective,maybe [shelter-related marketersshould get more involved] with localcommunity efforts and understandwhat’s happening at the grassroots,”says Mr. Marks. “But that’s verytough to do.”
The reach of word-of-mouth in
the Internet age may provide a newopportunity for marketers, Mr.Marks says. “Word-of-mouth” isno longer confined to asking yourneighbor about how herremodeling project went. It extendsto online communities wherethousands of people canrecommend products.
“The advent of the Internet andinstantaneous information isleading to electronic word-of-mouth,” Mr. Marks says, and newpotential for advertisers to reachshelter-conscious consumers.
ENTRY HOMESIpsos-Insight says 48% of thoseplanning to buy this year don’tcurrently own a home. Younger,first-time homeowners are key tofueling the continued prosperity ofthe entire shelter industry.
Some trend watchers havespeculated that the shelter-mania is
a distinctly baby-boomerphenomenon and will fade alongwith the boomers. Others disagree.
“I think [the shelter theme] hasstaying power,” says Tim Spengler,exec VP-director of nationalbroadcast at Interpublic Group ofCos.’ Initiative Media, New York.“I’m not going to say the [shelter-themed TV] program trend, which ishot right now [has staying power].And trends definitely come in andout, so I don’t know if a ‘TradingSpaces’ in five years will be that hotof a show, but the focus on the homefeels like a longer-term trend.”
APPRECIATION HIGHMr. Vila, whose passion isrenovation of old housing, adds:“We baby boomers have probablymade kind of a real impact on thegeneration that’s coming up, whichis after all the generation of our
children, in terms of ourapproach to housing, andthe importance ofmaintaining housing andof preserving goodhousing. ... This newergeneration very muchappreciates the house thatmay have been built bytheir parents or their
grandparents, and appreciateskeeping it polished up and keepingit in good repair.”
The Lightspeed survey affirmsthe interest of young people in homeimprovement—for example, among18-to-24-year-old homeowners,46% had taken on remodelingproject within the last year, vs. 28%of 45-to-54-year-olds.
While the economy isimproving, and interest rates willinevitably rise, the focus on thehome won’t change, says DavidKarp, senior VP-general managerat Discovery Home Channel, whichas of March 29 was the newmoniker of cable’s Discovery Home& Leisure.
“The lifestyle category taps intowhat’s important in people’s lives,”Mr. Karp says. “For most people,the center of their world is whathappens in their home.” �
CONTRIBUTING: DAISY WHITNEY
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CHEZTHE WORDWHAT PROMPTS US TO REFEATHER OUR NESTS
How influential are the following factors in your decision to spend moneyon home-related purchases?*
“The lifestylecategory taps intowhat’s important inpeople’s lives”
*Percentages based on respondents providing a rating of 4 or 5 on 5-point scale where 5 refers to the influence being "extremely important."
Source: Lightspeed Research
