Forget fear of missing out. DIYers are more likely to experience fear of messing up.
A survey by paint brand Behr found that 70% avoid starting projects for fear of choosing the wrong paint or making another mistake. The inability to decide on a color prevents 40% of would-be DIYers from launching paint projects altogether, and 56% admitted they were overwhelmed by the plethora of options.
With its “Let’s Be Honest” campaign, which launched March 23, the company aims to help consumers overcome decision paralysis and fear of failure.
The Behr Hotline is a key element of the campaign, one meant to drive social engagement and positive brand sentiment as well as sales. Through April 2, people could can a toll-free number and leave a voicemail with a question about paint and painting. The most relevant, informative and entertaining questions will be assigned to the five DIY influencers Behr has chosen to work with.
Prioritizing DIY Cred Over Demographics
The hotline is being promoted mainly through Behr’s and the influencers’ Instagram and TikTok accounts, which is also where the answers will be shared beginning April 13. The influencers include Tyler Cameron, a Florida-based home renovator and former “Bachelorette” runner-up with 2.1 million Instagram followers; Los Angeles–based Lauren Riihimaki, whose lifestyle content has garnered her 4.2 million Instagram followers; and Bong Bain, the Utah-based mom and DIYer behind the Wild Hearts Home blog, who has 311,000 Instagram followers.
When selecting influencer partners, the number of followers was less important than the diversity of their approaches, says Ryan Lehr, Co-Chief Creative Officer at Deutsch, the creative agency working with Behr. Some of the partners are more style-oriented, while others are focused on getting down and dirty with power tools and paintbrushes. “We were looking for an all-star team to cover a lot of ground,” he explains. “We’re going to be shooting a lot of original content with the influencers at the Behr studio — you’ll see how their different personalities interact in different ways.”
With its social media presence, the Behr Hotline is targeting primarily millennials and Gen Z. “They are the ones buying homes and moving,” says Andy Lopez, Head of Global Marketing at Behr. However, the brand doesn’t typically home in on any one demographic, he adds. The core audience is simply “people who are interested in tackling a DIY project of any size.”
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Touting Trust and Ease
To reach DIYers who aren’t major consumers of social media, 30-second “Let’s Be Honest” spots are airing on broadcast TV and CTV as well as online through fall. The company is also looking to create retail activations, particularly with primary partner Home Depot, and there will be a social component separate from the hotline.
The inaugural “Let’s Be Honest” commercial features a man and woman dismayed by their initial choice of paint; a solemn narrator intones, “Let’s be honest: If you don’t choose the right paint brand, painting can be a pain.” By being honest about the challenges of DIY, Behr hopes to strengthen consumers’ trust in the brand. Trust, in fact, is one of the brand’s pillars: Both the spot’s voice-over and the home page of Behr’s consumer website note that according to the BrandSpark American Trust Survey, it’s the country’s most-trusted paint brand.
Ease is another of the brand’s core tenets. “Our positioning is Behr as the ultimate DIY coach,” says Lopez. This is evident not only with the hotline but also with the complementary “Rolohex.” The rotating card file of Behr swatches includes barcodes and contact information so that consumers can order samples from their phone.
The company has been adding tools to its website and mobile apps as well to make color selection less daunting. Earlier this year it launched the Color Visualizer tool, which enables consumers to upload a room photo they can then virtually paint to help narrow down their color choices. And last year Behr worked with Google Cloud’s AI capabilities to introduce the ChatHUE AI-powered agent to assist with color decisions.
Making DIY easier, Lopez says, “is at the core of everything we’ve been doing over the past several years.”
