#RethinkPink for Valspar paint

How to get people to choose Valspar paint over other brands whilst raising awareness of the brand, for a modest budget? With a challenger brand mindset, we leveraged a cultural moment with our #RethinkPink campaign to generate that ‘water cooler’ buzz through news and interactive social debate, all intrinsically linked to the product.

As an all agency group, we chose International Women’s Day to create conversation around colour, based on the insight that modern women choose lots of colours to express themselves, but many think twice about pink due to negative associations and stereotypes.

With paint names like Dollface and Girly Girl, Valspar was part of the problem. We asked people to #RethinkPink, generating debate around the colour and creating a movement by committing to renaming the paint, freeing them from any gender connotations.

We launched ahead of IWD with a national news release featuring the new names such as Woke Up Like This and Like a Boss, a photo story and lifestyle imagery. Broadcast interviews were also secured (radio & podcast) which allowed for more in-depth pieces of coverage and detailed brand messaging.

To enhance the story, we worked with a gender and discourse expert to add credibility and endorsement – we were able to demonstrate the power of words and how they can impact women in society, to highlight Valspar’s bold initiative.

The campaign was a huge success – not only reaching over 71.2m, but also generating 37 pieces of coverage across broadcast, online and print including The Times, Telegraph and Mail Online.

Valspar also gained over 1,700 new social followers and over 300 new name suggestions from consumers.