FLOR
A marketing effort to give an unconventional product more mainstream appeal.
RESULTS
+ 40% web sales (YOY)
+ 32% organic revenue
+ 23% sales from email (YOY)
RECOGNITION
AMA Atlanta, PR Daily
ROLE
Senior Copywriter
FLOR makes carpet tiles that stick together to form a rug. But other than DIY-ers and designers, most people didn't consider tiles for their floors. They only thought about rugs. So to align the product with how people actually thought about the category, we reintroduced FLOR as an area rug retailer. We led with beautiful designs and then showed why tiles made these rugs special. Our work across digital, e-comm, retail and catalog put FLOR on shoppers' minds and in their carts.
Catalog intro spread explained the concept.
In-store posters answered common questions.
Easy to clean. Easy to customize.
See, buying a rug that's cut into little squares makes perfect sense.
Catalog callouts brought in personality and highlighted features.
Inspiration/UGC.
Cross-sell.
Consideration.
All Story.
No Spam.
In-store posters.
Making styles make sense.
We offered design tips and partnered with an influencer each season.
Tips in the catalog made styles feel more accessible.
In-store poster.
Landing page with more style pointers.
Social takeovers by designers who love FLOR kept the feed fresh.
Email Q&A.
There are some ideas I'd do anything for. This was one of them.
But first...FLOR's parent company is Interface.
Interface is B2B, and FLOR is B2C. The tiles are manufactured in the same way, in the same plant, in rural Georgia.
They're as brave as Patagonia. But they don't talk about it.
After a life-changing epiphany in 1994, Interface's founder Ray Anderson began a moonshot mission to eliminate all negative eco impact by 2020. Interface achieved it in 2019, overcoming deep skepticism from employees, Wall Street and even scientists.
At a previous agency, I worked on a project that persuaded Interface to take on global warming as their next impossible mission. I knew their story well, but besides MBAs and environmentalists, few did.
Can sustainability sell rugs?
Shortly after my new agency landed FLOR, the 45th president withdrew from a global climate accord. The moment was ripe for FLOR to make sustainability a centerpiece of their marketing. But our clients were new to FLOR and were under pressure to hit sales goals. Sustainability didn't seem like a revenue-driving message.
After we had a few wins, I tried again, explaining this wasn't CSR: Sustainable design leads to a better product, and that's why every rug is made this way. Not all were convinced it would get traction, but they gave me enough rope to try. We ran an email on the founder's birthday (left). It was the best-performing one of the quarter.
"I always make the business case for sustainability. Our costs are down, not up. Our products are better than ever."
–– Ray Anderson –– Interface Founder & CEO
Respecting the earth through every action, every rug, every day.
Proactively creating a platform.
With momentum on my side, I took a bigger swing. I built and sold a platform called Earth Day, Every Day. The goal was to cut through all the green claims other brands spout and show how everything at FLOR centers around sustainability. Launching it with a film and a PR-worthy activation would've been a dream. But for now, getting everyone to agree we should talk about it was a massive win.
Sustainability content could anchor an email.
Or play a supporting role.
Or be an add-on.
Sustainability content reinforced functionality and gave people a fun product story to tell.
A simple message for in-store posters.
Since I left, FLOR made a tile that reverses global warming. Bonus: They're still using the sustainability platform I created.
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