FLOR
A marketing effort to give an unconventional product more mainstream appeal.
RESULTS
+ 40% increase in web sales (YOY)
+ 32% increase in organic revenue
+ 23% increase in sales from email (YOY)
Annual revenue goal reached in 6 months
RECOGNITION
AMA Atlanta, PR Daily, Pubcon
ROLE
Senior Copywriter & Content Strategist
FLOR makes carpet tiles that stick together to create a custom rug. But other than DIY-ers and designers, most people didn’t have carpet tiles on their radar when shopping for rugs.
To better align with how people 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 retail, e-comm, digital, social 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 highlighted the benefits of tiles.
Making styles make sense.
Each season, we gave style tips and showcased a designer who uses FLOR.
Design tips easily integrated into the catalog.
In-store poster.
Landing page with more style pointers.
Social takeovers by designers who love FLOR kept the feed fresh.
Email Q&A.
Here’s a story about championing an idea and rallying people to make it happen.
A little background.
FLOR’s parent company is Interface, which sells B2B. The tiles are manufactured in the same way, in the same plant.
The Patagonia of the carpet world.
After a life-changing epiphany in 1994, Interface's founder Ray Anderson began a moonshot mission to eliminate all negative environmental impact by 2020. They achieved it in 2019.
At a previous agency, I worked on a project that persuaded Interface to take on global warming as their next mission. I knew their story well, but besides environmentalists and MBAs, few did because Interface didn’t seek praise for doing what’s right.
Can sustainability sell rugs?
Weeks after my new agency won FLOR, the 45th president withdrew from a climate accord. The moment was ripe to tell their sustainability story and show how businesses can lead. But our clients were new to FLOR and needed to hit sales goals. Sustainability didn't seem like a revenue-driving message.
Laying the groundwork.
I put that convo on pause and got to work. I learned FLOR’s business, understood the pain points, crushed every ask and earned trust with them and with my new colleagues.
Many months and wins later, I tried again: Sustainability could sell if we focused on the benefits of responsibly-made rugs (versus making it sound like a fluffy, feel-good mission). We ran an email on the founder's birthday (left image), and it was the quarter's best-performing one. In a low cost, low stakes way, we had proof that sustainability stories could move numbers.
“I always make the business case for sustainability. Our costs are down, not up. Our products are better than ever.”
–– Ray Anderson –– Interface Founder and 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. We 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 stories could anchor an email.
Or play a supporting role.
Or be an add-on.
I dug through sustainability reports and news articles, compiling a list of micro stories 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.
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