Krylon: Pinterest Yard Sale
Krylon needed to differentiate its spray paint beyond generic protection benefits and increase brand relevance. They aimed to inspire consumers to see new value in their product, driving engagement and sales among DIY enthusiasts and value-seekers.
Creative Idea
Krylon painted worthless items, then resold them for profit, proving paint's transformative value.
Krylon transformed worthless items into valuable treasures with a coat of paint, launching a real-time Pinterest yard sale and TV spots to demonstrate how their product adds tangible worth, shifting focus from protection to profit and inspiring DIY creativity.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Krylon possessed the product - spray paint - capable of visibly transforming and adding value to discarded items with ease.
Category
Other spray paint companies conventionally focused on product benefits like protection from rust, rain, or general wear and tear.
Customer
The audience desired practical ways to make their existing, seemingly worthless belongings more valuable and useful through simple DIY solutions.
Culture
The cultural trend of upcycling, thrifting, and the emergence of social commerce platforms like Pinterest's buyable pins created perfect timing.
Company
Krylon possessed the product - spray paint - capable of visibly transforming and adding value to discarded items with ease.
Category
Other spray paint companies conventionally focused on product benefits like protection from rust, rain, or general wear and tear.
Strategy:
Demonstrate product's transformative power by creating tangible value from overlooked items.
Customer
The audience desired practical ways to make their existing, seemingly worthless belongings more valuable and useful through simple DIY solutions.
Culture
The cultural trend of upcycling, thrifting, and the emergence of social commerce platforms like Pinterest's buyable pins created perfect timing.
Strategy:
Demonstrate product's transformative power by creating tangible value from overlooked items.
Results
With a $200,000 investment, the campaign gained $2.7 million worth of earned media. It also increased daily visits to Pinterest by 400%.
$2.7 million
earned media
400%
increase in daily Pinterest visits
Strategy Technique
Build an Utility, Not an Ad
Krylon built a real-time selling utility on Pinterest, demonstrating product value through actual transactions. This integrated approach provided a tangible service, not just a message, for consumers.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Unexpected Utility
The campaign demonstrated spray paint's unexpected utility by showing how it transforms "worthless" items into valuable goods. It shifted perception from mere protection to tangible value creation and profit.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft excels in its innovative integration of a physical event with digital platforms, leveraging the 'World's Longest Yard Sale' as a real-world content engine for digital engagement and commerce.
The seamless integration of a real-world, 690-mile yard sale with Pinterest's new buyable pins and Twitter for live content creation and distribution is groundbreaking, creating a unique and interactive e-commerce experience.
The visual contrast between 'before' (rusty, old) and 'after' (vibrant, new) items powerfully demonstrates Krylon's product efficacy and inspires creativity, using color to transform perception.
The concept of physically traveling and transforming items along a legendary route, then showcasing them at various yard sales, created a rich, authentic backdrop for the campaign's narrative.
The narrative successfully shifts the focus from product features to consumer benefits and emotional connection, highlighting how Krylon empowers individuals to find and create value in everyday items.
The magic of this campaign comes from the exceptional synergy between a massive physical event and real-time digital content and commerce, allowing a traditional product to shine in a highly engaging, modern context.
