Dulux Changing Rooms

The painting and decorating category saw a surge in sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet Dulux was struggling to maintain its position as a market leader. Traditional advertising had failed to reverse the trend, our comms approach needed a bold makeover. Now was the time for Dulux to do something big to win an audience who were, for the first time in years, dipping their toes into the category.

We had an idea as bold as a pink pastel paired with burgundy red. At a time when interest in redecoration was at its peak, what if we brought back the original juggernaut of redecorating TV entertainment? Where paint, Dulux paint, would be the star of the show, THE reveal moment that viewers tuned in to watch each week.

Enter; Changing Rooms.

Changing Rooms was the UK’s favourite 90s and early 00s home improvement show. It was THE show that kicked off our love for reality TV, and it was seen to have kick-started the UK’s original home decorating boom.

The show had previously aired on the BBC with no commercial affiliations. To associate Dulux with such a show would be a remarkable coup for the brand. And we made it happen.

Changing Rooms was officially the biggest ad funded programme launch for Channel 4 ever.

Endemol Shine, the show’s rights owners, were more than happy to put a treatment together for its revival. MediaCom, together with Shine, pitched the ad funded programme to Channel 4, who fell in love with the idea.

Dulux paints were naturally integrated into each episode’s storyline. In episode one, flamboyant presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s ‘Forever Peacocky’ renovation vision was embodied by teals and corals. These paint reveals were such a cultural moment they were covered on GoggleBox, twice!

Far more than a standalone and siloed ad-funded TV series, we put the show at the heart of an entire creative system, impacting every part of the Dulux business, with results even more impressive than the finish of the paintwork.

Dulux consideration jumped by a massive 50% for those that watched the show.

Changing Rooms was officially the biggest AFP launch for Channel 4 ever. The creative system reached 77.5% of all adults in the UK (39.6 million), with the series itself reaching 7.8 million people.

A brand worth paying more for (quality) increased by 20% and Dulux consideration jumped by a massive 50% for those who watched the show.

This translated into sales; category penetration levels were at 34% in Q3 2021 vs. 30% in Q1 2020. This equates to 5m additional litres of paint sold in that quarter alone!