The creation of the PureMatte brand positioning strategy was part of a long-term strategy of the Hallmark Group to further utilise their 25 years of manufacturing experience and apply it to new product development.

Their goal being, to align themselves with leading edge and sustainable decorative products that enhance New Zealand commercial and residential properties.

The three year strategy of enhancing their ‘share of room’ is a diversification model using their current expertise and infrastructure to increase market share in new areas while leveraging their reputation and skills, leading to increased relevance in a developing market.

PureMatte is the first of a new product range to be launched as part of this strategy, focusing on developing long term relationships with Architects, Interior Designers, Builders, and Joiners. The diversity of this new range has resulted in an evolution of the marketing and sales strategy of the group that previously relied on a traditional sales model.

The PureMatte brand strategy was developed using one-to-one market validation with the core audiences over 12 months before the development of the market offering. During that time, we worked with current and future clients to understand not only their needs, but those of their customers and how they interact in the design decision making process.

Inspired by the high-end qualities of the product, our goal was to create a tactile and emotive experience even before the product was handled by the customer. Small details such as the larger size of the samples was proven to increase the share of voice on the sample boards provided by designers to their clients – a first in the laminate industry. We found this to be a powerful conversion tactic as it provided a simplified solution for end-users to visualise the product in situ.

A key goal was to enable the quality of the product to inspire and capture the audience early on in order to supersede any price point objections. The aesthetic of the sample presentation was planned to be simple and enhance the product itself rather than overpower; to create the story from the first interaction.

The focused digital launch strategy resulted in 62% of enquiries being generated through social media, primarily Instagram. This was designed to produce results based on the change in behaviour by the industry when researching new products. The compelling campaigns used stills and video imagery to drive engagement to a landing page where samples could be requested.

Once the samples were received by potential customers, we had an overwhelming amount of positive feedback and enquiries on both the packaging and the product range. In the first 8 weeks we received over 100 sample and quote requests for a previously unknown brand.