Things we like

Dinner!

Especially after a great presentation like the one we were part of in our Portland office last March. Ainsworth traveled over the border for a planning session with C Squared.

Here we are celebrating the day’s findings with clients John Murray and Robert Fouquet (and a particularly fine Oregon Pinot Noir).

C Squared hires PR & social media whiz

C Squared is delighted to welcome Katy Tomasulo to our team! After 11 years on the editorial side where she covered building products and green building for publications such as EcoHome, Building Products, Tools of the Trade and Remodeling, Katy will now lead C Squared’s editorial outreach and social media efforts. Katy has always held rock star status for us when she was on the editorial side, so we’re delighted she’s on board.

builders pick up on consumer trend: QR codes

Who says builders are behind the times? Half of all builders will be using smartphone or tablet technology in the field by this time next year. Ainsworth got a jump on the trend and began offering its educational videos through small print ads with QR codes, with remarkable results. Key to the campaign’s success was having a solid strategy behind the tactic: offering valuable information in an easy to download video format.

Accoya wood wins prestigious award for innovation

The International Wood Products Association (IWPA) presented UCS Forest Group with the Innovative Excellence Award for Accoya wood. The award is given annually to the company implementing innovative solutions to using, manufacturing, marketing or distributing imported wood products. The award demonstrates the strength Accoya wood has with its distribution partnership with UCS. We say, hats off to innovative products!

what works: pre-show marketing generates exhibit traffic

If 76% of trade show attendees pre-plan their visit, why not market to them with an integrated pre-show marketing campaign? ARXX did just that for the 2011 International Builders’ Show to launch its new product reFIT. The results: 33% of booth visitors came as a result of receiving a direct mail postcard, and 75% of booth visitors recalled receiving it. So, yes, we absolutely believe in the power of pre-show marketing.

Brick breakthrough

Seven billion bricks are used in the US each year, each one emitting a pound of CO2. But there’s a revolution in masonry going on thanks to our newest client, CalStar Products. They’ve reinvented the brick, using 40% recycled content, and processes that use 85% less energy and result in 85% less CO2 emissions. Watch for the press we’ll be generating soon.

Less swag, more heart

Visitors to Accoya’s booth at Greenbuild were invited to sign a “poster of support” for Haitian rebuilding. For every signature collected, our client made a $10 donation to Architecture for Humanity’s efforts in Haiti. Some $2,500 was raised, along with greater awareness both for this worthy nonprofit and for Accoya’s commitment to sustainable building.

Wood if it could

What would you call a wood that is stronger than any other? That is impervious to insects, rot and UV rays, comes from sustainable sources, and is guaranteed for 50 years?

We’d call it our latest client: Accoya®, the world’s leading high-technology wood.

C Squared helped Accoya launch at the International Woodworking Fair this past August. Click here to view the e-mail campaign.

PR coup

What’s better than a well-known senior editor and green-products guru writing about your sustainable product in a magazine?

When the two of them get together and extol its benefits on live video.

This is a great interview with Nigel Maynard and Michael Anschel checking out Accoya® wood at The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Expo in Miami.

and the award goes to…Accoya and Ainsworth

There are lots of award programs in this category. But only one Architect R+D Award, given out to those projects and products deemed as true game changers in our industry. Congratulations to clients Accsys Technologies for its Accoya wood and Ainsworth Engineered for pointSIX Durastrand Flooring, both awarded citations for products that “advance the aesthetic, environmental, social and technological value of architecture.”

what works: creative photography earns star media placements

The marketing team at CalStar knows that strong images equal strong media opportunities. Fortifying the PR team with great product photography has resulted in several terrific editorial placements, including magazine front covers and section lead-ins. After all, every publication has an art director, and who doesn’t like sexy images of bricks?

what works: truly educational videos

We’ve all seen the typical self-serving product promotion videos. But what if a manufacturer could actually provide valuable tips and techniques that would show a builder how to save time and money? Ainsworth decided to do just that with this series of short informational videos on best framing practices. Combined with strong creative placed in proven online outlets, the videos are outperforming the competition by ten to one, with results as low as $1.25 per click-thru.

Accoya wood stars in leading specifier publications

What do Structural Engineer, Wood Design & Building, and Construction Specifier magazines have in common? Feature articles devoted to acetylated wood and Accoya wood’s most prestigious project to date – The Sneek Bridge. This 1134 meter long, two-lane traffic bridge won the 2008 Public Prize for most striking construction in Sneek. We love it when our clients’ projects make it fun for us to pitch to editors.

not to be outdone, the gold and platinum goes to… ARXX ICFs

Known for its energy efficiency, ARXX ICF received the Insulating Concrete Form Association’s (ICFA) 2010-2011 Gold Excellence ward for the Hood River Middle School Music & Science building in Oregon. But that’s not all… the LEED Platinum project also won the coveted 2030 “Living Building Challenge” Design Award, a challenge issued by Architecture 2030 to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the building sector. Wow, that’s a lot of accolades in one paragraph – way to go ARXX.

48 hours at Greenbuild

Greenbuild 2010. In a word it was … busy! We were so busy in fact conducting 29 appointments for clients in 48 hours that we didn’t have time for much else. So we asked editor friends and industry colleagues to sum up the show. But briefly. In one word. Click here to see their pithy responses.

What works: sponsored white papers

Can your flooring survive 14 days of flooding? A simple headline paid off by a strong deliverable – a white paper proving Ainsworth’s remarkable test results – is capturing great response.

In its first two weeks as a sponsored white paper on BuilderOnline.com, Ainsworth’s document has been downloaded by over 600 builders. What’s more, it’s a highly affordable placement and will remain on the site for up to three months.

Third-party objective

It makes sense: No one likes being “sold to” (as in advertising), but we trust sources that are unbiased and expert.

That’s why educational marketing is a strategy that C Squared increasingly recommends.

Whether it’s getting a white paper published or hosting a webinar, we put clients in touch with industry experts to develop content that is relevant and credible. Click here to see an example.

What works: exhibit measurement

C Squared recently conducted exit surveys at PCBC – The Show and came away with several key findings.

Among them: Our pre-show promotion did a terrific job of generating traffic – 50% of booth visitors came as a direct result.

A nice little reminder that the most cost-effective promotion is BEFORE the show begins, when attendees are planning their agenda.