As The Brick entered its fifth decade in the marketplace a few years ago, the Edmonton-based furniture retailer was showing some signs of age.
Founded in 1971, the chain had grown to more than 200 locations across the country and counted more than 6,000 staff on its payroll.
But, there was some internal concern the old approach and the old catchphrase of “Nobody Beats The Brick” was getting a little tired.
It was time for a fresh take.
Led by Sheldon Pietrzykowski—The Brick’s senior director of advertising, marketing and digital—the company has been undertaking an internal, and external, culture change.
It’s reflected in a new slogan (“Saving You More”), which was adopted last fall, a bold new TV campaign and a renewed partnership with Global’s reality show Big Brother.
“Quite frankly, it’s us wanting to be more customer-focused. It’s a savvy consumer that’s in the marketplace now,” Pietrzykowski told Marketing.
“It’s been a pretty big undertaking, because ‘Nobody Beats The Brick’ was ingrained, both in the marketplace and internally.”
On Big Brother, The Brick provides all the furnishings and appliances for the sets, and the retailer is finding new ways to leverage the reality show’s enduring popularity with younger viewers.
For example, there was a recent pop-up store in Toronto with a “museum element” that featured replicas from the Big Brother set, allowing fans to interact with the furnishings in real life.
“It’s a pretty cool fan experience,” said Pietrzykowski, adding that fans of the show will often spot something they like on TV and ask for it at Brick stores. (Big Brother fanatics can also peruse the furnishings on a special section of The Brick’s website.)
“That’s why we value the partnership with Big Brother, because we are seeing traction,” he said.
Meanwhile, the rebranding strategy is being done in-house—an approach quite different from that of Leon’s, the big box former competitor that acquired The Brick in 2012.
While Leon’s recently hired Taxi 2 as its new AOR, it won’t have an affect on The Brick. Both brands will continue to operate independently.
“That’s been reinforced at all levels,” said Pietrzykowski, who started at The Brick nine years ago in the operations department and has worked his way into the marketing department.
“It’s selfish for me to say it, but I think my experience in the other business units has helped me,” he said.
Pietrzykowski now helps lead a staff of about 60, which includes creative, digital and production teams.
“We’ve worked with consultants in the past, but the creative that you see in the market is pretty much done with an in-house team … It’s something that we’re comfortable with, we have a great team here internally.”
When asked how customers have responded so far, he said early indications are good.
“We really don’t have analytics in the millions that say ‘people are getting it,’ but there has been a transition. We know that the marketplace is seeing a shift, but it’s going to be a gradual brand evolution,” he said.
There have also been other shifts in the retail landscape, including a recent Competition Bureau suit alleging the company’s financing programs end up costing consumers more in the end.
But Gregory Nakonechny, vice-president, legal and corporate secretary, said the rebranding concept is independent of the Competition Bureau case.
“It doesn’t really affect the branding of The Brick. That was completely independent of it … And we’re vigorously defending against (the suit),” he said.
Meanwhile, the company is maintaining its logo and red colouring and is focusing on the new slogan to reinforce a customer-first approach.
“It’s going to be a gradual brand evolution,” said Pietrzykowski. “We know that’s going to take years and not just days.”
