Development of a Colour Communication Strategy for Sigma Coatings: Gain colour authority in the eyes of the prescribers of the colour decision making process in construction and renovation projects

Development of a Colour Communication Strategy for Sigma Coatings: Gain colour authority in the eyes of the prescribers of the colour decision making process in construction and renovation projects

Snieders, R.M.F.

Mooij, S. (mentor)
Stappers, P.J. (mentor)
Vissers, B. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

PIM

Strategic Product Design

2010-08-27

Sigma Coatings is specialised in architectural coatings for the professional painting industry. Sigma’s vision is to provide services, products, knowledge and skills for the protection and beautification of our sustainable environment. Sigma Coatings is high valued by the end user, the painter. The biggest competitor of Sigma, Sikkens, is higher valued at the influencers, like architects, project managers, colour consultants. Sigma’s objective is to increase brand awareness at the influencers. The strategy to reach this is to become a colour authority for these influencers. An exploratory research was executed by studying the company, the brand, the customers, the colour products and the context. To complete the exploratory study, two research projects were set up: research to the feelings and experiences of Sigma’s sales force towards colour and research to explore the feelings and experience of the influencers. Influencers are the stakeholders in construction or renovation projects. Stakeholders of eight hospital construction or renovation projects were interviewed. To complete the research stakeholders of four other projects were interviewed as well. The interviewees provided valuable insights in the colour decision making process. The interviewed sales force employees provided valuable insights about their feelings and experiences towards colour. The exploratory research showed that Sigma’s current colour message is inconsistent and incoherent. The insights in the sales force showed that colour is not implemented in the sales force employees mind and that colour is not seen as a strategic tool to improve customer relationships. The external research showed a gap in colour attention between the architect and the project manager: they both think that the other party will start talking about colour. These insights have resulted in a strategy which starts with creating a consistent, coherent colour message. The second step is to show the sales force the added value of colour so that they can use colour as a strategic tool to improve customer relationships. The sales force needs to be educated in the effects of the use of colour and the current colour tools Sigma has. To support this step, an intranet for Sigma’s sales force is introduced. The third step of the strategy focuses on the attention gap; project managers will be made aware of the effects of colours on users with the result that they will start talking about colour with their project team. The fourth step will take care of that every need for colour support will be answered by Sigma. Sigma already has a large colour product portfolio, though two products are developed to complete the portfolio in answering all the needs. Finally, when all these steps are submitted, Sigma can claim colour authority with a promotion campaign. The strategic steps are translated in practical activities, which are plotted in a roadmap. The roadmap contains 13 activities and a promotion campaign. The development of the roadmap was past the development of the overall strategic plan, including the development of three products and describing the implementation into Sigma’s organization and onto the market. The strategic plan was evaluated to identify risks and recommendations were made for the further development of the roadmap and strategy. Although the roadmap looks promising and the risks involved with the implementation appear to be low, the developed products ideally have to be tested by doing research to the reaction of the targeted customers on the products.

Colour
Authority
Strategy

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:0145bc2a-d9f9-46c0-88ae-bec67cef3613

2011-08-27

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2010 Snieders, R.M.F.