Summary
¦ Kebony won last year’s TTJ Excellence in Marketing Award.
¦ The marketing company’s objective was to launch the Kebony brand internationally.
¦ A brand positioning workshop established the Kebony ‘story’.
¦ The international media was invited to Norway to see Kebony first hand.

Guests at the 2010 TTJ Awards couldn’t miss the impact Norwegian company Kebony ASA is having on the UK market. With the company’s product of the same name shortlisted in three categories and the winner of one – Excellence in Marketing – the PR campaign for the UK launch of the modified wood has paid real dividends.

Kebony is a new and innovative offering – a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood and preservative-treated wood. Sustainable species such as southern yellow pine, maple, Scots pine and beech are transformed into Kebony wood by an environmentally-friendly process called Kebonization. In this process the softwoods are injected with a patented formula, including furfuryl alcohol, a waste by-product of sugar cane production, then hardened under pressure and heated. The liquid reacts with the wood’s cell walls, permanently transforming and strengthening them, creating a stable, durable and weatherproof product.

The resulting Kebony has comparable and often superior properties to some species of tropical timber, including teak, and can be used in a number of applications from cladding and decking to windows, indoor and outdoor furniture and yacht decking.

The fact that Kebony is already being used in these applications is down to effective marketing.

Public relations campaign

The Communication Group plc was appointed in 2009 to maximise Kebony’s growth potential through a public relations campaign. The campaign’s objective was to launch the Kebony brand internationally and drive sales – achieving maximum growth potential by tapping into the annual European market for tropical wood, which currently stands at €5.75bn and the annual European market for preservative-treated wood, estimated at up to €2.3bn.

A strategy was deployed that positioned Kebony as leading the way forward by focusing on the issue of sustainability and created a “push-pull” effect by driving consumer demand on manufacturers.

Firstly, a brand positioning workshop was undertaken to capture the Kebony ‘story’ and ensure maximum appeal to target audiences. A creative media pack was then produced to illustrate the story and product offering before communicating the brand to influential international media. An enticing opportunity to ‘experience’ Kebony in Norway was taken up by a number of high-profile media interested in learning more about the product, whilst an ongoing calendar of creative initiatives ensured and maintained media coverage.

Media coverage

On the back of this campaign, a series of exclusive front page features were secured through press trips, broadcast interviews and briefings. The Kebony story was launched through international media platforms, such as CNN and CNBC, with coverage generated across Europe, China, Taiwan, Japan, Canada and the US, amongst others.

Since the launch there have been over 450 pieces of print (including the Financial Times, The Economist and Boat International), broadcast and online coverage. Particular highlights included Kebony being cited as one of the top 50 companies that could change our world in 2010 (CNBC Business) and, more recently, being named in The Guardian as one of the world’s most promising clean technology companies in the Global Cleantech 100.

This widespread coverage captured the attention of international audiences, securing new global distribution networks and stimulating international sales enquiries from the US, Australia, South Africa, Germany, the UK, Dubai, Mexico and the Bahamas which have resulted in a diverse portfolio of projects.

Testimonials

Testimonials have rolled in and have been used as part of the marketing programme. Garden designer Darren Saines, for example, said: “Kebony not only looks good, it works well and can be used in many design applications. Of course, when I recommend it to customers, I know it is very environmentally- friendly so it helps me sleep at night.”

Norwegian architects Jonas Ravlo Stokke and Øystein Austad of StokkeAustad are also full of praise. “We first started using Kebony for the Norwegian Pavilion during the 2009 London Design Festival. We chose Kebony because we were looking for something that was durable and also aesthetically pleasing and, at the same time, environmentally sound and hard wearing. From our experience with Kebony we will definitely use it again as a material in other design projects in the future.”

The exceptional coverage was also recognised by the TTJ Excellence in Marketing Award judges, with the chief judge, David Evington, managing director of Dynamo Marketing Communications, commenting that it was “certainly the highest profile PR campaign the judges have ever seen. It integrated perfectly with a slick website and stylish photography to give Kebony a great launch”.

The Award itself has also led to more business for Kebony.

“We have received a great many enquiries on the back of this prestigious award and we have a number of exciting projects in the pipeline,” said Jan Terje Nielsen, the company’s director of marketing. “We are delighted that the UK is responding so well to our product.”