20 West Market Street. York, PA 17401 717-852-4842
Fabral Metal Wall & Roof Systems Architectural Business Unit
Fabral is a successful manufacturer of metal wall and roof systems. Today, Fabral has nine manufacturing operations in eight states with nationwide distribution.
In recent years, Fabral acquired two manufacturers that expanded its product line for architectural roofing, siding and specialty metal products. An opportunity for growth? Certainly, but there was a major obstacle.
Historically, metal roofing and siding products have been treated as commodity products. With little differentiation between products, the market focused on price. Worse, many manufacturers fuel this “commodity” position by producing uninspired ad campaigns focused on dimensions, color availability and other specifications.
Fabral’s acquisitions created an opportunity to develop a new brand for their architectural products – one that could change the way the industry thought about Fabral, and position the company as the category leader.
The Baublitz creative team created a foundation for this new brand through analysis of competing campaigns, review of successful campaigns from other categories, and market research of the design community. The key finding: designers and architects respond to products that offer style, beauty, and flexibility – not simply utility.
From this basis, Baublitz developed a position centered on the contemporary and aesthetically striking qualities of Fabral: “It’s time to look at architectural panels in a whole new light.” Baublitz supported this branding campaign with creative that features tightly-shot, dramatically-lit panels placed at bold, interesting angles. Copy was minimal, thereby focusing attention on the product image.
This creative concept was applied to a comprehensive national full-page, 4-color trade advertising campaign, as well as collateral material, trade show exhibits and other marketing communication materials.
The entire industry immediately began to “look at architectural panels in a whole new light” as the new ad campaign hit the market. Leads and inquiries from trade advertising rose, and Web site traffic shot up. Metalmag, a leading industry trade publication, featured one of Fabral’s new panel shots on its front cover. In addition, Fabral’s 20’ x 20’ booth won the “Best in Show” award at the 2005 Framebuilders Show.
Another sign of effectiveness: imitation. Several competitors, as well as Fabral’s paint/finish suppliers, began to copy the new Fabral style in their ads. Fabral’s Marketing Manager, Shannon Weir, said: “Our new creative platform has set a new bar in this industry’s advertising.”