How Point to Point’s New Product Launch Exceeded Conversion Goals in 3 Months

The campaign for American Standard’s Universal Flush Valve

American Standard is the industry leader in North America for bath and plumbing fittings and fixtures. In 2015, American Standard was recognized as number one for “Brand Familiarity” in the Bathroom Accessories category by Builder magazine.

The Challenge: Convert Loyal Plumbing Contractors to a New Product

American Standard knew plumbing contractors needed a product that was more affordable and faster to install. The universal flush valve was a tool their plumbing contractor customers had been requesting. The Flash™ Rough-In Valve provided the solution they were looking for.

With this new product targeting plumbing contractors installers, American Standard saw the opportunity to launch a focused campaign. The rub was the plumbing contractors market had changed. And getting contractors to convert to any new product is about as easy as hauling a cast iron bathtub up three flights of stairs.

They knew they needed help to break through the noise and make an impact with their new product.

The Flush Valve launch got off to such a strong start that we met our year one conversion targets in the first month, significantly impacting our ability to exceed our operating plan target.

John Gillespie, VP of Marketing LIXIL Brands

The Solution: Highlight the Differentiator and Capitalize on the Strength of the Brand Name

Products that already exist in the market require a solid differentiator backed by a trusted brand in order to pull buyers away from another brand they’ve been using.

To tackle this unique challenge, Point to Point conducted stakeholder interviews with a variety of American Standard teams to understand:

What they had created and why.
Who they were targeting with the product.
Why this audience segment would find it valuable.

We also performed customer research to understand how tough it was going to be to convince contractors to make the switch.

We learned that many already had faith in the American Standard brand. And if they were loyal to it, they weren’t happily using other brands for their universal flush valves. But this doesn’t mean our work wasn’t cut out for us. We needed to highlight what made this universal flush valve different from — and better than — the rest.

The answer: Double ceramic technology that decreased corrosion and was faster and easier to install.

In the end, we delivered the creative aspects of the digital marketing campaign, devised the launch strategy and flipped the switch on activation. We gave the American Standard digital team everything they needed to execute the plan. And it worked.