An inspirational campaign for Purdy

With the painting and decorating industry facing a skills shortage, we worked with Purdy to create a campaign that would reach out and explain why young people should be joining the trade, and why quality tools are essential.

Purdy is the epitome of a professional brand, a premium product with a huge fan base of loyal users. Since January 2020, we have been working with Purdy to connect with its customers and introduce new customers to the brand’s range of brushes, rollers and painting tools.

The 2021 campaign, Inspiring the Next Generation, saw our team travelling the country to interview professional decorators on ‘what makes a professional decorator?’ to create a series of videos and PR content.

The aim of the campaign was to champion professional decorating and inspire the next generation to join, while also reinforcing the difference good quality brushes and rollers make to achieving the perfect finish.

The 10 videos that were created featured experienced professionals as well as current and former apprentices. They explain their route into the sector, the benefits of apprenticeships, how they developed the skills of the trade and how painting and decorating has changed over the years, including highlighting women who have found success in this traditionally male dominated sector. Those we spoke to also discussed the rewards of the work, what makes a good painter and decorator and why they rely on Purdy products for a professional finish. Each video also ended with a call to action for others to share their story on social media.

The content was extended to the trade press, with a series in The Decorator entitled ‘Champions of Quality’, which focused on the subjects’ advocacy of good quality tools, and Purdy in particular.

Up to the end of 2021, the campaign had achieved a reach of over 300,000 on social media with 242,204 video views and 134,420 post engagements.

The quality of the photography and videography also lends itself to Instagram and to further engage with the younger decorators a Purdy account was launched in June 2021, which has grown to 459 followers and 1350 video views to date.