Karndean Backs Product Innovation with Influential Design
Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt are a husband-and-wife team from Tampa, Florida, that makes dream homes come true—now with the help of Karndean products. The duo behind HGTV’s 100 Day Dream Home, the Kleinschmidt’s are helping clients both design and build the perfect house from the ground up in 100 days or less, and when it was time for the second season of the network’s Rock the Block design competition, the HGTV renovation stars turned to Karndean products for a winning combo of product and design.
Talent from HGTV shows compete in Rock the Block, using the same budget to add the most value to four identical builder homes in the Los Angeles area. “It was a six week competition and the whole goal is you have to add the most value, and [the Kleinschmidts] won, using Karndean product throughout the home,” said Karndean’s director of marketing Jenne Ross.
The Kleinschmidts noted that they like using Karndean flooring in their designs because of the manufacturer’s diverse selection of visually appealing styles and textures, affordable prices and easy to install products.
A win for both the Kleinschmidt’s and Karndean, a natural partnership—backed by innovative products and influential design—has been born, in time to support the manufacturer’s growth, which Ross says has been tremendous in 2021, thanks to the company’s continued product introductions, uninterrupted operations and leveraged supplier and partner relationships, like the one it’s developed with the Kleinschmidts.
“For us, it’s an opportunity to have a third-party testimonial,” said Ross. “That’s been a big trend in marketing for a very long time—a third-party voice, independent from the supplier, that’s telling you they believe in the product. With Brian and Mika, it just became likeminded as far as what they do with their brand in the home and what we have to offer.”
Applying this design influence to the in-store shopping experience, in addition to a new digital partnership and campaign, Karndean’s latest merchandising displays feature QR codes that, once scanned, display videos on end users’ phones that offer on the spot product and design information from the Kleinschmidts.
“This assists the RSA too, because the RSA doesn’t always know what to talk about,” Ross added. “So if they have the video, they can be the in-store authority figure, without having to be the design professional, and leverage the ability of them being with the person that brought them to the display to take them on the journey.”