US Floors, a division of Shaw Industries, has unveiled a consumer campaign for Coretec—the flooring brand that sparked the wood plastic composite (WPC) flooring revolution with its patented 100% waterproof core technology.

“When we developed our patented core technology, we knew it was a revolutionary product delivering the styles people love with the durability and easy maintenance they want in a floor,” said Piet Dossche, CEO and creator of Coretec. “That innovation created a whole new category of flooring. We continued to grow and develop Coretec, adding new styles, features and designs, until it became more than a product, it truly is a brand unto itself.”

The new consumer brand, which is in soft launch now and will officially launch to the market January 1, showcases a mobile-first strategy aimed at reaching, engaging and connecting with consumers, particularly millennials. The campaign centers around the question “What’s in your core?”, which celebrates the originality of the brand’s patented core technology by celebrating the originality and uniqueness of consumers.

“The new campaign is obviously grounded in our innovative core technology that makes our products unique,” said Kathy Young, vice president, retail innovation. “But it also resonates perfectly with consumers who prize their individuality and view flooring as a form of self-expression.”

The campaign coincides with the launch of a new website, COREtecFloors.com, which features streamlined product information pages, an interactive dealer locator and a factory-direct sampling program. An inspiration section offers content on a range of interior and design topics. Additional content is more educational in nature, ranging from tips that guide Dream It Yourself renovators through the floor buying process, to how-to videos on expectations, prep, installation and care, answering the brand’s tagline “The Smarter Way To Floor.”

“We wanted the site to mirror the same values as the brand itself, namely style, strength and simplicity” said Young. “We’ve achieved that with a site that’s intuitive, functional and inspirational. You can find what you need quickly, or dive deep into inspiration.”

The branding campaign and website were conceived and designed by Big Red Rooster in Atlanta, a brand experience firm with extensive knowledge of retail and home improvement categories.

“From the beginning, we’ve been focused on the performance and style of our floors, while relying on our network of specialty retailers to forge customer connections,” Dossche said. “Now we want to continue to improve the buying process for today’s busy consumers. Our new site will inform and inspire homeowners while quickly and conveniently connecting them with their local retailer.”

The campaign features a variety of personas aimed at speaking to the millennial consumer, which hinge on extensive consumer research Shaw has conducted to answer the pain points consumers face when shopping for flooring.

“Having been in the industry pushing 30 years now, I’ve seen the industry always has this inert ability to drive pricing down, commoditizing so many neat things that have been brought to market, especially since laminate came on board back in the mid 90s,” Jamann Stepp, US Floors director of marketing and product management, told Floor Trends. “Obviously we see a lot of competitors at our heels and trying to create their own Coretec-like product. We want to build on that brand and not get into a price-sensitive downward spiral and by going to the consumer and putting it in the face of the consumer so that he or she is asking for that when they do their floor shopping, it makes it easier and builds brand integrity. We want to make sure that we keep those price points where they should stay.”

Young added that a benefit the Coretec brand has is that it is not as private labeled, which allows consumers to find it without going through too many layers of confusion.

“We’ve seen brands be established and brands be torn down,” Young said. “The reality is the luxury vinyl category is new and flourishing and the millennial audience is very active in home buying. By targeting the millennials and first adopters of technology as our target audience, which is very refreshing in an approach, we speak directly to the consumer. We want them to go to our website and feel very personally engaged with the Coretec brand. We took a modern, simple strong approach with very easy to understand language. It’s digital-first strategy because these consumers spend 18 hours a day on some kind of device and we want to be in their world to help them along the way.”

Young said she hopes retailers will recognize the dollars Coretec has dedicated to be connected with the consumer to help set the product apart.

“There are a lot of coat-tailers out there and they have to do it on price and copying the leader to some degree,” Stepp added. “By the time we hit Surfaces, we will have 180-plus SKUs that will be in our three winged display galleries. We have breadth of selection; we feel like our fashion, styling, decor and R&D processes are really light years ahead. By having this website for the consumer, we hope these retailers are devoting a lot of real estate in their showroom to all things Coretec.”

For more information, visit coretecfloors.com.