BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION

Hoover

Hoover Treated Wood Products is, by far, the largest fire retardant treated wood (FRTW) provider in the country, owning more than 60% of the market and serving everyone in the professional building space, from architects and designers to contractors, subcontractors, distributors and retailers. Large-scale residential structures, single family homes, civic developments, even large-scale events (like a certain “big game’s” halftime show) all use Hoover FRTW when they need to know that their job will be done right, on time and to the highest safety standard. Top professionals repeatedly look to Hoover FRTW for standard-setting security, peace of mind, availability and value.

Hoover building materials display with wood, construction, and forest imagery. Build by the code. Live by the code.

Challenge

While Hoover is the clear leader in the FRTW space, their brand presence did not reflect their leadership position. Awareness of their products and legacy remained high, but what was distinct and differentiated about the Hoover brand often took a backseat to more functional messaging and pursuits. Competitors saw that as an opening to try to de-position Hoover and chip away at their dominance in the building space, working to make FRTW seem like a commodity with many equally viable options for challenging architectural applications — and a category within which brand preference should not drive decision-making.

Opportunity

Axial1’s proprietary messaging optimization analytics helped Hoover identify and quantify the key considerations that had the greatest impact on builders’ and architects’ FRTW purchasing decisions. Armed with those critical data analytics-driven insights, Axial1 led a complete rebranding of Hoover to maximize its market impact and resonance with industry decision-makers, including a new brand strategy/positioning and a new brand identity and expression system, featuring a new Hoover logo, typeface, color scheme, iconography, voice and more.
The result was a fully reimagined, data analytics-optimized Hoover brand, complete with a modernization of its signature dragon mascot, as well as updated and refined web presence, social channels, packaging, merchandising and more. With the rebrand, an industry leader reasserted its leadership via the roll-out of an analytically based brand presence befitting the category’s top player.