← Marketing Beyond with Alan B. Hart
Marketing Beyond with Alan B. Hart
2: Driving paint trends with Behr's Color of the Year: Insights from Andy Lopez, SVP and Head of Global Marketing at Behr Paint Company
00:27:13
Andy Lopez is the Senior Vice President and Head of North America Marketing at Behr and proud father to three children under the age of eight. At Behr, Andy leads the Brand Marketing department overseeing global B2C and B2B brand strategy, creative,...
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Foreign.
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Are you ready to go beyond.
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The basics of marketing? I'm Alan Hart and this is Marketing beyond, where we talk about the questions that spark change and share ideas that challenge the status quo. Join us as we explore the future of marketing and its endless potential.
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Today on the show we got Andy Lopez. He's the senior vice president and head of North America Marketing at Behr Paint and he's the youngest global head of marketing for Behr in more than 75 year history. He leads their brand marketing department overseeing global B2C and B2B brand strategy, creative media, PR, design, digital innovation, consumer experience and research. And Behr is one of the most trusted paint brands in the US And Canada. On the show today we talk about his history, where he got his start in the advertising world, how he made his way to Behr. We talk a lot about their program of color of the year. How does it work? How does it work from a marketing standpoint? How do they come up with these colors and the names for the colors to boot? And then we'll go a little bit further in talking about how they're seeing success in, in social media and the partnership that they have with the Home Depot. That and much more with Andy Lopez. Andy, welcome to the show.
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A
Thanks, Alan. Glad to be here. Thanks for having me.
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B
Yeah, I'm looking forward to talking about paint and color. But before, before we. Exciting stuff, I know, very exciting, especially if you like decorating or changing the look of things around you. But before we go there, I normally try to get something from people that's personal story, a fun fact, a hobby. But I hear you have three kids under the age of eight so you probably have time for none of that.
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A
Yeah, yeah, exactly. My interests usually lie within whatever is that of interest to my kids. And whether that's on the hockey rink or on the soccer field or I recently actually just signed them all up for Jiu Jitsu, which has been pretty fun and exciting. I get asked a lot, how you do it, how do you manage what you're able to manage from a professional perspective while having three kids under the age of eight. And I'm not saying my situation is more difficult than others, but I think one thing that gets me through the day is every morning I wake up around 4am I'm able to get a quick exercise in and then I come back and I'm usually able to at minimum squeeze 1, if not 2 cups of coffee and catch up on some email news. And then, you know, I think about the movie Jumanji went You know, they're all sitting in the living room and they hear that stampede come in. And that's pretty much my daily is all three kids usually wake up at the same amount of time, come in, it's ready for breakfast, packing lunches, and it becomes a little bit hectic. But that little bit of time, that little small window of opportunity, that's what gets me through the day, and that's what makes me come back the next day. That's how I get through it.
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I love it. I'm reflecting on your choices of activities for the kids, and I'm actually a little scared for you. So you first gave them sticks with hockey, then you gave them balls with soccer, and now they're gonna take you down.
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You're gonna take me down. Exactly.
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Yeah. You live dangerously. You live dangerously.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, exactly.
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All right, all right. From kids to career. Yes. Where did you get your start in your career? And you are now the senior vice president and head of North America marketing at Bear Paint. Yes.
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So I started my career in the advertising industry, and right after college, I got a job at Saatchi and Saatchi working on the Toyota business and then grew up in the advertising industry before I came to work at Behr Paint. And so through that experience, I was able to not only work at amazing brands like Toyota, but also really diversified my background in different industries, worked at smaller shops, worked at larger shops, and then found this opportunity at Bayer to just continue to grow and expand my career and challenge myself in a different way while still hanging on to something that I was passionate about, which was the creative and strategic. Strategic process of being able to take brands to a. To a new level. And so I started my career at Bear about almost eight years ago. And through those eight years, I've always been within the brand marketing space, and I've just continued to be able to elevate my role and take on additional scope. And last year, I elevated to heading up the entire marketing department and so been super rewarding and exciting to just take on new challenges and do some exciting stuff for the brand.
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B
Love it. Love it. And unless my listeners are living in a country that you don't reach or living under a rock, they probably already know what Bear as a paint company does. But maybe you can give us just like a sense of the size and scope of the business.
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A
Yeah, definitely. So Bayer is a nationally recognized architectural paint business that has been around for over 75 years, and we employ around 4,000 people across the United States and in other parts of the globe. Across multiple departments, not just marketing, but we have R and D. We have a amazing sales team, finance, product, everything that you can think of from a manufacturing company. And so within the 75 years, over the last 45 years, we've been an exclusive brand at the Home Depot. And. And so that has been an amazing trajectory of being there when Home Depot opened its first stores in Atlanta, and we really have just grown beyond just paint. So a lot of people know us for our interior paint products, but we also have stain products, and we've expanded into other adjacent products like spray paint and interior stain. And so, yeah, and we've been around for 75 years. We're the most trusted paint brand in America. And so it's been an amazing brand to work for. And I think that's what makes it so exciting to be at the top of the marketing team and being able to drive this brand forward.
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B
I think the thing that caught my eye was your recent release of Color of the Year. And it made me wonder, like, why did Behr decide to begin this kind of annual Color of the Year program in itself?
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A
Yeah, no, that's a great question. So Color of the Year has been almost a table stake now for our industry and really, you know, a way to talk about color in a big way. So we started our Color of the Year about seven to eight years ago. And the reason why we started it to begin with was really to make it easier for consumers to feel confident about the color that they're putting on their walls. It's a pretty big decision. It's an exciting one to be able to transform your space with a different color, but. But it could be a little bit intimidating. And so that really is what drove us to launch Color of the Year was to help give people that validation that, hey, this is a trending color. We've done our research. We've been able to do the legwork to make it easier for you to feel more confident about transforming your space with this specific color. And so that's how we've launched it. And then we just continue to evolve that over the years, with the goal always being to help consumers feel good about the color that they're putting on their wall and using in their space.
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B
Yeah, no, it's definitely exciting. Like, how do you choose the right color of the year? Yeah, a very stressful process for me, anyway.
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Yeah, definitely. It's a collective and collaborative effort, and it's a pretty iterative process. And so, obviously, without giving too much away, we start really looking globally across trends that are happening across the globe in different industries. So we're not just looking in home decor, but we're looking in fashion and tech and auto and just understanding what is. What's resonating. We're also looking outside of the United States, we're in Europe, and understanding what is some of the trends that are happening that will eventually hit the United States across some of those industries. And then we partner closely with the Home Depot, and they have an amazing trends and design team that look at designs and trends that are happening across other categories, obviously outside of paint. And so we work with them, and then we do some consumer validation as well. And so before we go to market and before we really put the stake in the ground on one specific color, we want to make sure that it's a color that people would be able to use in their space. And they. It's evoking the emotion that we're trying to convey through our messaging about how this color can really transform the space. And so that's some of the process that it takes over time in order to really come out with a color the year to again, make consumers feel better about using it in their space.
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I love that. And not only do you come out with the color, the visual, if you will, but you've got to name these colors, too. Like, how does. Where do the names come from? They seem very inventive.
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Exactly. Yeah. It's so funny because we always. We always get that question. People are very interested in how we come up with the names for. For pink colors. And so we have some legacy color names, and we have some names that we've changed over time, but really, we like to make sure that it's relevant within culture. We look at specific macro and micro moments that are happening, and we want to make sure that the name feels relevant and relatable to the color that they're looking for, but it also is able to evoke the emotion that we want them to feel by using this color in their space, whether that's interior or exterior. And so that's how we go through the process, is we look at whatever the color is. We start there and understand the hue family, and then we figure out some of the trends that are happening of how we came up with that color. And maybe there's some language there of the way that we describe it that can help create the name. But then we look at moments that are happening and things that are happening in language that people are using to describe different things or different feelings or different moods. So we try to make it as relevant as possible and something that would also be a little timeless so people would understand the rhyme and reason of why that color that they're choosing has the name that it has.
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Love it. Interesting. It's not that different. In many cases it is different, but it's from naming brands like a new product or a new brand. It's very similar type of process.
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Yeah, a lot of it is such an iterative process. I don't think anyone can say whether they're naming a new product, a new brand, or even a color that they're single handedly doing that themselves. It is something that takes an effort of a team. And really that idea of great ideas can come from anywhere and we don't have just one person doing it. It's really a team effort.
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B
Awesome. It's a huge effort. I'm curious, as you think about Color of the Year, it's definitely a moment, if you will, that kicks off, I'm sure, quite a bit of work for you guys. But how do you think about it in terms of driving both interest and purchase across the paint category?
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Definitely, because we've done it now for the last eight years, we have been able to build some equity in where people are now looking forward to this announcement and they expect it from us. And so that has been nice to build that over time. And so then since we have that expectation and that excitement, we really want to make sure that we're evolving it and continuing to change it. And again, it always is grounded in the idea of we want to help people feel great about the color that they're choosing to put on their wall. But what we try to do is launch it in different ways, both to our media, when we do a large PR event and really immerse them in the experience of how we came up with the color and how the color will transform the space of the readers that are reading their magazine or publication. And then what we want to do is bring that same type of feeling, that same type of experience to our consumers and our professionals and our designers. And so we do. We have different campaigns in order to reach that specific audience. And so for this Color of the Year specifically, we've been able to launch it with the media and create a very immersive experience to really bring the color rumor. So for those who don't know that are listening, Rumors is our 2025 Color of the Year. And so it is a deep ruby red. And it's the first time we've come out with a shade of red for our Color of the Year. So that was new and that was exciting for our brand. And then in addition to that, as many brands are doing, they're finding ways and relevant ways to tap into a younger generation that is starting for our home improvement space, buying homes and looking for ways to transform their homes in a way that we were able to connect with them in a different way that we haven't done before is through a partnership with a nail polish company called Olive and June. So we were able to create a custom co branded nail Polish with our 2025 Color of the Year rumors and launch that around the same time across our social channels. And so that was a really exciting way for us to again do something new in the space, be able to reach a new audience, but still stay very authentic to our brand and the idea of color. And just really looking at ways that you can get inspiration from anywhere to really drive that color leadership for our brand.
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That's interesting. I like the application outside of, outside of your core business. Right, because people, they pick a color, they pick a color because they like it and they want to potentially flaunt it.
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Yeah, exactly, exactly. And that's the thing color can be. And that's why when we're picking our color of the year, it's not just about home decor. Because to your point, the way people are getting inspired, inspired today, there's so many ways people can inspire, whether they're traveling or they're on social or just real life experiences where they want to be able to take that inspiration and be able to apply it to their home and create an experience that they can continue to get that evoke that same feeling that they got where they initially got that inspiration. And so that's why we always look for ways that are not just within the home, but outside of the home. Whether that's collaborative partnerships or different ways that we can bring color to life.
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B
Yeah, I know within the social channels you've had a lot of success on TikTok and just wondered like, how are you achieving that success? You're outpacing other brands, if you will.
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Yeah, definitely. And social, as you are very familiar with, and I'm sure a lot of your listeners are very familiar with, have been a very, has been a very evolving platform for brands and with new and emerging platforms coming into the space and then you're as you're just catching up to how to best deliver content and advertise on one, a new one pops up. That's. This is the way you're going to reach this new audience. And so you have to adapt and evolve. And really, because there's so much content out there and so many ways for people to engage with your brand. The way we did it was really just to focus on where we felt like the prioritization was for our brand to be able to get out there and provide the inspiration that we wanted to provide and really motivate people to take on more DIY painting projects. And so we really honed in on partnering with platforms like TikTok to be able to create something new for the platform that hasn't been done before. And so three years ago, we launched what we call to DIY for which is a home improvement series that's exclusive on the TikTok platform that we really partnered with them in order to launch. And what it does is it's a way for us to showcase a series of content that people can watch where they are able to learn different how to projects on how to use products from our brand to really help them transform their space. And through that, we've been able to significantly grow our following and really grow our engagement across the platform. And it's been very successful that we actually just wrapped our third season of it. And so those are the types of initiatives and campaigns and kind of focus areas that we've been able to do in order to really be successful across social and specifically on some of those platforms like TikTok.
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Yeah, congrats on the third season. That's.
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Yeah. Thank you.
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How you mentioned Home Depot a couple of times and you have a strong partnership there. How does that partnership between Bear and Home Depot help elevate your marketing?
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Yeah, definitely. We have an incredible partnership with the Home Depot really across all facets of our business. And as I mentioned, it's been a partnership that has really been since the inception of Home Depot 45 years ago. And so within that, specifically from a marketing perspective, we really look at their team as an extension of our team. And so we really try to strategize and make sure that we have collective marketing efforts that are really going to engage our DIY and professional audience the way that we feel like is going to truly make an impact and help grow our businesses. And so I would say that has been, you know, a lot of times, I think from a manufacturing perspective, you don't necessarily always have that relationship with the retailer, but the one that we have with Home Depot is special. And I think that comes through with a lot of our collective marketing efforts. They're a huge part of our Color the Year initiative. We partner closely, as I mentioned, with their decor and design team in order to select the Color of the Year and then also bring it to life and be able to sustain that, not only through the efforts that we're doing from a marketing perspective, but even leveraging their platforms, like across their Orange Apron Media network, being able to leverage that platform as a way to bring color to life in a big way as well and to tap into some of those strategic audiences that we talked about.
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You've got a huge platform here, both a great partnership with Home Depot, but also the Color of the Year as a. As an annual event, if you will.
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Yeah, exactly. Something that you have to look forward to for the next one.
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Yeah, exactly, exactly. And a lot of extensions and really interested in the stuff that you're doing on TikTok as well with the do it your DIY series, I should say. Yeah, exactly. One of the things I love to do is to get to know you a little bit better as well. So I've got a series of questions I ask everyone that comes on the show. My favorite one to ask is, has there been an experience of your past that defines or makes up who you are today?
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Yeah, that's a great question and a way to really reflect. And I think there's a lot of experiences that have happened to define who I am today. But I would say to just go back to the very beginning and talking about the kids, I think having my first child would probably be the one thing that really defines who I am today and has really transformed me in a big way. And I would say a way for the better as well. And I think prior to having kids, I think if you ask me this question, it would be my work really defined me. And I think after having kids, it's not that my work doesn't define me as well, but I think you add on the layer of being a dad and being a husband and being able to have all of these other things that really fill you up and really define you in a way that you haven't. You didn't even know that you could experience. And so I think that has been probably the biggest thing to make sure that I'm staying passionate and excited about the job that I'm doing, while being the best dad I can be, while being the best husband I can be, and making sure that you still. You're getting that balance within your life, the way that makes it right for you. And I think that's different for everyone.
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Yeah, that's beautiful. What advice would you give yourself if you're starting this journey all over again.
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Oh, mayhaps so much so I think that, I think it's a hard one to ask because obviously I think that I have, I've obviously made the, you know, some good decisions to get to where I'm at. And so I think my younger self, if I could say one thing, would be to just not overthink too much and to go with your gut and take some risks, but to counteract that too. I think sometimes when you do overthink and you don't take those risks, you also learn from that and then it motivates you to do something different the next time. But I think that's what I would say is learn from the risks that you don't take and then try to take some risks and go with your gut when you're feeling really confident about it.
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Is there a topic either you're trying to learn more about or you think marketers need to be learning more about?
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Right now, I think for me, something that I've continued to really look into is how we can leverage the data that's available to us to show the ROI of our marketing efforts. I think that's what a lot of people within my role, and really within any role in marketing is trying to do. Because I think at one point we really, we didn't have the access to the data and we didn't have all the data that we have today. And I think now it's gone to the complete opposite side side where we have all of the data. And now you're trying to track through which one is really going to make that impact. Right. And which one is something that you can take and optimize from, or take it and prove that, hey, it's doing the thing that I wanted it to do. And so I think it's trying to find that whether that's a dashboard or specific KPIs that you're looking at in order to really show the success of your marketing initiatives. And no matter where brand or marketing budget you have, you want to make sure that it's driving the impact that you want it to do and you want to be able to articulate that to those that are outside of marketing. And so I think that's something that every marketer is looking to do and wishes they had the exact answer that would apply to everyone. But I think the case is that there's not that one answer and you really have to just do your due diligence and figure out how you can best prove out the impact of your marketing efforts and how it's successful in driving your brand forward.
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So I got two more questions for you. Are there any trends or subcultures that you follow you think other people should take notice of?
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I think trends that are happening right now, obviously there's so much with artificial intelligence and what that means for brands and where that's going, going to go. And I think that is something that whether you're in marketing or really within any organization, you have to understand the impact that's going to have, not only from your internal operations perspective and how to make sure you're leveraging it to be efficient and effective, but then also from a consumer experience standpoint and how is it going to change the landscape of your consumer experience and how is it going to make sure that you're leveraging in order to add value to that journey that you want your consumer to take with your brand? So I think just really making sure that you're staying ahead of the trends that are happening in that space while understanding the risks that come with it as well. Because there's a lot there that people don't know. And I think that's the beauty of it as well, is you have to, in order to stay ahead of it, you have to really learn a lot about it and make sure that you're staying ahead of it as much as possible in order to plan accordingly to make, however you leverage it be successful.
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Yeah, I tend to think of it as you have to have one eye on the horizon while you focus on what's applicable today. Exactly.
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And it's changing so fast. I mean, a lot of things are. And I think that's another thing is not even just from an AI perspective, but as you think about, as I mentioned, like the social platforms and new social platforms coming out or new ways, the new ways of how people like to engage with content, all of that is evolving. But I think that's what makes marketing so incredible, is that you never get bored, you're always staying challenged, and it creates a new dynamic that you get really excited about and you find a new challenge that you're able to solve for.
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Yeah. I like to think that it'd be hard to be a good marketer if you're not a good learner or at least passionate about learning.
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Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Staying curious all the time.
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Yeah. Last question. What do you think is the largest opportunity or threat facing marketers today?
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Yeah, I think the biggest opportunity and I guess the biggest threat at the same time is this idea of authenticity and I think as things change as fast as they do, and as we were just talking about, whether that's artificial intelligence, you're learning new things. You have to stay true to your brand and you have to stay authentic to your brand. And that's really the power, I believe, of a lot of the successful brands that you see in the market today is they stay true to themselves. And even though they're adapting to some of these changes and evolutions that are happening in the media and social landscape, they stay true to their core. And so I think that could be the biggest opportunity for brands, and I also think it could be the biggest threat if they don't keep a pulse on it.
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B
Andy, it's been a great conversation. I love getting to talk much more about color in general and how you guys are making use of it. Thank you for coming on the show.
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Yeah, thank you so much, Alan. I really appreciate it.
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The views, thoughts and opinions expressed are the speaker's own and do not represent the views, thoughts and opinions of Deloitte. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only and does not imply endorsement or opposition to any specific company, product or service. Hi, it's Alan again. Marketing beyond is a Deloitte digital podcast. It's created and produced by me with post production support from Sam Robertson. If you're new to Marketing beyond, please feel free to write us a review and subscribe on your favorite listening platform. I also invite you to explore the other Deloitte Digital podcast@deloittigital.com US Podcast and Share the show with your friends and colleagues. I love hearing from listeners. You can contact me@marketing beyondeloit.com you'll also find complete show notes and links to what's discussed in the podcast today and you can search our archives. I'm Ellen Hart and this is Marketing Beyond.