Remodeling Firm Builds Via DRTV and Mail
The Basement Experts of America LLC has used direct response television ads to build itself up from one location in Toledo, OH in 1999 to an eight-city enterprise today.
Last year, the company began using direct mail to further bolster its business.
Basement Experts has operations in Toledo; Detroit; St. Louis and Kansas City, MO; Lansing, Flint and Grand Rapids, MI; and Fort Wayne, IN. Over the years, the company has relied on several different DRTV spots, says Carrie Franzen, advertising director of the Remodeling Media Group, Basement Experts’ Maumee, OH agency.
Since last year, the company has sent out 2 million pieces to homeowners in each market promoting a sweepstakes to receive a free basement makeover. The mailings have received “industry average” responses, says Franzen.
One mailing piece, an 8-1/2-by-11-inch vehicle featuring the Pink Panther, shows the cartoon cat sitting in a newly finished basement. The copy reads, “turn your unfinished basement…into the favorite room in your home” and encourages recipients to enter to win “your share of the $100,000 Finish My Basement Giveaway free from Owens Corning.” The mailing piece has a detachable postage-paid business reply card.
The mailing also asks recipients to call 1-800-NEW-BASEMENT for a free design consultation. The company has also used 800-NEW-ROOM in other advertising efforts.
Basement Experts also has a Web site at http://www.800newbasements.com, where users can get information about the products and put in requests for free consultations and read testimonials from customers.
The company’s system reportedly takes into account the below-ground moisture problem, allowing humidity to pass through naturally and not get trapped where it can cause damage.
