City Furniture’s New Branding Campaign Takes a Non-traditional Approach in a Non-traditional Market

Furniture World News Desk on 9/3/2012

Commercial: "We believe the best way to build a community is to be part of one."

City Furniture Reported that it has unveiled a new series of commercials for the South Florida market, but the thinking behind them was a long journey that looked at the market from a global perspective. (To view the new commercials go to CityFurniture.com.)

“We analyzed world trends and studied how people interact with their surroundings and found that home was more than just product and price, it was the universal center of family life,” said Mike Lennon, Senior Vice President of Marketing at City Furniture. “Instead of focusing on numbers and a purely analytical approach, we wanted our new campaign to embrace multiculturalism, environmentalism and a deeper understanding of how families relate to their homes and each other.” said Vanessa Northrop, Marketing Director at City Furniture.

This new five-spot campaign is the culmination of several years of some deep soul searching by the marketing team at City Furniture and a new collaboration with Tinsley Advertising.

The first spot is called “Habitat” and highlights the diversity of architectural styles and unique interiors that make up the South Florida lifestyle. The second spot called “Build a life” shows how furniture becomes part of your family and is intertwined with our lives. The next three spots “Green”, “Community” , and “Make it good” show sides of City Furniture that most people have never seen.

“City Furniture has a deep commitment to the environment, philanthropy and doing the right thing for their workers and the community. We felt that by focusing on these values, the consumer will see that they are a different kind of company, and that most people would rather do business with a company that really cares.” said Dorn Martell, Chief Creative Officer at Tinsley Advertising.

The campaign has a decidedly mellow vibe with soft focus and original, acoustic music. This is in stark contrast to the hard sell environment that furniture is often sold in. “We’re asking people to let us into their homes instead of breaking down the door,” said Mike Lennon. “Our goal is to connect people and families to their community and the environment, and to let our customers know that we have the most tasteful designs and the best values for the kind of life they actually lead.”

The spots begin running in August and will continue in rotation with promotional spots that will highlight great values on well-made furniture.

About City Furniture: The firm was founded in 1971 as Waterbed City by the late Kevin Koenig, who was joined by his brother Keith and three friends who remain key executives. The firm grew to be the region’s largest seller of waterbeds, and then reinvented itself with full-line furniture stores in 1994. In 2002 the company built its Kevin Charles factory in Mississippi – creating environmentally sound products and adding U.S. jobs at a time when other firms were off shoring. City Furniture recently rolled out its next-generation store design, opening some of the nation’s first “green” furniture stores. To find out more go to www.CityFurniture.com.

About Tinsley: Tinsley Advertising is one of the Southeast’s leading independent advertising agencies specializing in connecting brands and consumers. To see some of their award-winning work, go to www.Tinsley.com.