By Steven Feldman
ANAHEIM, CALIF.— Abbey Carpet & Floor is taking a major stride toward further establishing its brand with the launch of its first ever national ad campaign in shelter magazines. The initiative is designed to drive flooring consumers to members’ stores through the totally revamped Abbey Web site, which, according to Phil Gutierrez, CEO, when completed will be the most elaborate consumer Web site in the flooring industry.

Abbey actually got its feet wet on a much smaller scale last year on the national advertising front with a spring campaign on satellite TV and fall campaign on cable. Both were company funded. But now it is going big-time by using national consumer magazines as the vehicle to “convince everyone in America that Abbey is the place to buy flooring,” said Steve Silverman, president and COO. “It’s much more expensive, but it will create more business for our members. We want to do this on a consistent basis for years to come.”

The campaign’s theme is that “Every floor is a work of art.” In other words, floors can be dramatic, stylish and one of a kind. “The ads are designed to stop women in their tracks,” said Barbara Wells, director of advertising. “The floor is the hero in this campaign and will be shown in a dramatic, compelling way. And the bottom of each ad directs consumers to buyabbey.com, where they can find the retailer closest to their ZIP code.”

Wells added that the ads’ message is clear, focused and tasteful. “They will respond to the fact that women are looking for inspiration. They are searching for simplified solutions. The idea is to get to her before she purchases her floor covering.”

The ads will appear this spring and fall in five magazines Abbey believes best reach its target audience. “Our research revealed that among women who said they were apt to remodel their floors in the next 12 months, the magazines most read were Elle Décor, O at Home, House Beautiful, Home and Metropolitan Home,” Wells said. Thus, full-page ads will appear in each magazine—all with circulations between 500,000 and 1 million-plus— in April, May, September and October. A two-page spread will appear in two magazines this fall with one page listing member showrooms—city, store name and phone number. This works because the magazines are printed regionally.

Dianne Hass, owner of Benson’s Interiors Abbey Flooring Center in Corvallis, Ore., was raving about the campaign. “As a woman, that’s where the cutting edge is,” she said. “Most of our customers are women, so I’m glad it was an approach targeted to women. In fact, we have those same magazines in our showroom. They are the ones women pick up. So they will see Abbey ads in those magazines.”

At the end of the day, Hass believes the campaign will increase her store’s bottom line. “It will increase our exposure to the entire marketplace. We are a small store in a small town with a big name [Abbey]. Our store has been here since 1946. So not only will the community know Bensons, but the surrounding areas will know us because of the national name recognition of Abbey.”

Abbey chose national consumer magazines as the vehicle because they target the consumer who is most likely to purchase floor covering, according to Wells—women between the ages of 35 and 64. As well, Abbey research reveals women browse through these magazines to get home decorating ideas.

“Members who include the Abbey name in their exterior signage will benefit greatly,” Silverman said. “Nationwide store brands are more important than ever because consumers put trust and confidence in national brands.”

New Web site

Fueled by the knowledge that in 2007, more than 150 million adults in the U.S. were Internet users, and 92% of adults with household incomes greater than $75,000 go online for product information or to buy, Abbey invested an amount “well into the high six figures” to revamp its Web site. “The content will position Abbey members as the authority to help consumers choose the right flooring,” Silverman said. Much like the national ads, the goal is to build the Abbey identity and capture consumers’ attention before they decide to buy.

Some of the highlights:

• The home page offers dramatic room scenes and eyecatching graphics. “The new, clean look allows her to find what she’s looking for in just a few clicks,” said Fred Kotynski, director of information and technical services. “She can search for her new floor by room type or flooring type.”

• The virtual showroom allows the consumer to shop by room type, which then reveals a series of dramatic room scenes to provide inspiration. She can shop by particular product, and Abbey private-label styles pop up. She can search by color, construction or pattern. Once she picks her style, she can see all available colors and product information.

• The store locator allows the consumer to immediately find the store nearest to her ZIP code. It also informs her whether the particular store offers shop at home. “Unlike other sites, this locator shows only Abbey dealers,” Kotynski said. “It’s a competitive advantage.”

• The consumer can also communicate directly with a local dealer to get a quote. She enters her personal information, number of square feet needed, if known, or she has the option of clicking on the calculator feature, which will compute the number of square feet needed based on her measurement of room.

“I think the new Web site is fabulous,” Hass said. “ I think it is world class. I’m really happy to have my link connected to that. It’s very professionally done and again geared toward women. She can pick a room and narrow down her choices. It can only add profit to our business.”

The site will be launched in two phases. The first phase comes online in May with the new look, an online showroom, virtual showroom and the ability to get quotes from the local Abbey dealer. Phase two is set to go live in October with the do your own room designer and an Abbey blog.