When it comes to brand building, TV advertising still takes some beating. We talk to Gerda Doors’ director, Danny Williams, on the launch of a new marketing campaign for the premium entrance door range.

The industry has a come a long way since the iconic Everest TV campaign of the 1980s and 1990s that featured farmer, Ted Moult, demonstrating the benefits of double glazing at the Tan Hill Inn – the UK’s highest pub – feather in hand to prove the lack of draughts.

“If you only fit double glazing once, fit the best, fit Everest” is a line still fondly remembered by many, but with consumer attention now split between social media, streaming channels and traditional TV, would it still have the same lasting impact if was launched today?

Despite the allure of the targeted advertising and neat metrics from digital platforms, research shows that TV still packs a powerful punch when it comes to brand building.

A survey of UK and US consumers showed that a third of TV advertising is ‘entertaining’ (34%) and ‘informative’ (30%), with social media scoring only 17% and 19% respectively.

Kantar’s Media Reactions 2024 report revealed that only 31% of people globally found social media ads attention grabbing, a remarkable drop from 43% year on year, suggesting ‘user fatigue’ across a broad range of age and demographics and that brands need more engaging content to ‘cut through the noise’.

Where TV wins, is the reason that Everest enjoyed such long-lasting success all those decades ago – the ability to craft emotionally charged narratives. This emotional storytelling, enhanced through professionally produced visuals, music and dialogue means that TV has the ability to connect with potentially millions of viewers in a single moment.

And for Danny Williams, it’s the reason that he has invested in a new TV advertising campaign for the range of Gerda premium entrance doors, originally introduced to UK trade audiences at the 2022 FIT Show, and now presented directly to homeowners to elevate brand awareness and drive sales to an expanding network of installer partners.

“We’ve put a lot of work into promoting Gerda doors through B2B channels, to highlight the quality and performance – particularly the fact they will not warp or bow – and in positioning them as an attractive, achievable upsell over composite entrance doors,” he said.

“The feedback from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly in a showroom environment where homeowners have the opportunity to physically operate them, to appreciate the aesthetic appeal but more importantly to experience the weight of a steel and aluminium Gerda door over a composite and to hear that reassuring ‘thunk’ when you open and close one.

“That sense of quality and security triggers a real emotional response,” continues Danny. “It instantly conveys a sense of trust in a product designed to protect a home as well as enhance it aesthetically, and it’s this key messaging that will form the creative hook for the new TV campaign.”

Danny adds that the while the TV campaign has been designed to do a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of capturing consumer attention, Gerda’s brand awareness will also be further enhanced by carefully coordinated activity on social media, and via a consumer facing website, created to encourage users to explore the range and its compelling USPs in more detail, and to connect with local installers.

“Homeowners are already starting to ask for Gerda doors by name, so we are anticipating this existing familiarity and trust to be amplified significantly once the TV campaign launches in early Spring,” concludes Danny.

“Ultimately, while demand for premium products remains relatively resilient, competition is still very strong even at the top end of the market. But with such a powerful marketing campaign behind them, driving customers to their showrooms, Gerda installers will be in a unique position to take advantage of every opportunity.”.