May We Have Your Attention?
By Wanda Jankowski, Editor-in-Chief

For the past few days, a guy standing on the corner holding an anti-airline placard has been shouting for three hours straight with minimal breaks each morning. The sound carries up to our offices and through closed windows closely resembles a dog barking....for three hours....every day.

On my way to the office, I pass this guy and even up close, I can’t understand what he’s saying. His placard pinpoints a particular airline, but other than seeing that he’s upset, his message is lost on me. Rather than embracing his cause, the constant noise has me wishing he’d just shut up and go away. He got my attention, but not in a good way.

Mention has been made in the trade press about the abundance of branded products debuting this season. Well, why shouldn’t there be? It’s a tried and true way to get consumers’ attention.

Home fashions is an industry in which there haven’t been a lot of prominent national supplier brands, leaving the door open for other options. Add to that the growing fragmentation of the purchasing audience. In the “old days” before cable networks came along, an advertiser could run an ad during a popular tv program on one of the three major networks and gain instant widespread recognition. Today, there are lots more ways for consumers to gain information on products in print, on tv and via the internet.

Consumers’ attention today is scattered, their focus driven by personal interests and they are calling the shots, choosing which media to go to, rather than slavishly consulting a few mainstream outlets. So gearing home textile products to a well-known entity that is known to attract an established audience segment can be a viable way to go.

It’s no surprise, then, that HGTV debuted its brand during N.Y. Home Fashions Market in March via a range of products supplied by Natura, Ginsey and Victoria Classics. The products are solution-drived with a young and urban style designed to appeal to the average HGTV viewer. It’s the broadcast equivalent of print magazine branding, like that begun by Better Homes & Gardens and Country Living several years ago.

In contrast to some of the brands launched a few seasons ago by “celebrities” whose personas did not readily translate into lifestyle products, many of the brands unveiled this season are capitalizing on entities with a distinct following rooted in home furnishings or apparel fashion. Unlike my guy on the corner shouting indistinct phrases, this round of brand extensions seem to communicate what they have to offer more clearly.

Brands can be a great way to reel in customers, but only if the products are compelling to the target market. Whichever brands you opt to carry, when they shout, “May I have your attention, please?” to your customers, make certain what they have to offer is worthy of their time and money. Otherwise, they’ll walk on by without ever getting the message.