ICF Wall
June 23rd, 2010 | Marketing, Product Announcement
Have you seen our new interactive 3d ICF wall (no special glasses needed)? We created this to showcase some ancillary ICF products and how they interact with an insulating concrete form wall. So far we’ve heard such great feedback we are in the process of expanding the features and types of products on the wall in the near future.
The wall features:
- NoricF4 Custom Metal ICF Frames
- tieKey ICF masonry anchor
- xLerator reinforcement for ledge and taper top forms
- Waterproofing options
- Wire Hooks
Click the picture below to get started!
Marketing ICFs
May 11th, 2010 | Marketing
Did you know we have, pretty much, updated all of our marketing material in the last year? We are churning through some old inventory and creating new brochures, fact sheets, and project profiles to help better educate individuals on ICFs and Reward Wall Systems. I recently posted an ICF brochure that does a great job delivering our product manual, or a personally tailored information CD to whoever is reading the info.
We have many tools available to builders, architects, distributors and consumers to showcase our product line and our experience with any type of building in the construction markets. Below are a few (not all) of our current brochures you can order for your use, download for your own information, or call our headquarters in Omaha and we can send you hard copies of them. Be on the look out for some new ones hitting the trade show floors in the next few months.
Reward on PBS Series Hometime
March 9th, 2010 | From the Field, Marketing
Hometime Television Series and ICFs
Once in awhile an opportunity comes up where we can get our product on TV. It worked out at the end of the year in 2009 to partner with Hometime on PBS, as they planned to build the foundation of a beautiful home out of ICFs just outside of Minneapolis. The show also teamed up with Cemstone, and their pretty blue trucks, in Minnesota for the concrete placement.
Below is the show broken into 5 parts, for ease of downloading. If you would like to request a full version to use for your home shows involving Reward please contact us and we will see what we can do.
I got rid of the embedded players, so to view videos they will download and start when you click a link. Files sizes range from 5mb to 10mb, so please be patient.
ICFs on Hometime Part 1
ICFs on Hometime Part 2
ICFs on Hometime Part 3
ICFs on Hometime Part 4
ICFs on Hometime Part 5
Architect & Designers ICF Toolkit
March 2nd, 2010 | Marketing
ICF Marketing Support
Thought I take a post to announce a newly created brochure that is now available. This brochure, has been created to show our company history, major product lines, highlight benefits of ICFs, showcase a few projects and most importantly declares our pledge as the industry’s best in customer support- from conception of the ICF project until the walls are completed.
Too often we sell ourselves short on our service and support, however with current tough times and the better times ahead, its the innovation and service that will define our industry. Reward has a corporate office with sales and product delivery support, regional sales managers, marketing personnel, technical specialists (remember Darryl U?) and an engineer on staff- all which are corporately employed.
See here our new Toolkit for Designers and Architects to help communicate the benefits of Reward and insulating concrete forms.
Click to launch the full edition in a new window
World Of Concrete 2010 Recap
February 8th, 2010 | Marketing
ICFs at World of Concrete
Wow! What a show. We were hesitant going into such a large show, coming off the heels of the “Great Recession” that we’re still hearing about and feeling the effects of. Last year the attendance was down significantly, so this year we were hoping to just see a maintenance of the attendance. I’m not sure what overall traffic was, but as far as our booth and our leads, it was an INCREDIBLE turnout.
Seems the contacts we are meeting are serious, and everyone we speak to is familiar with our product and our brand. There were many ICF companies there, which is a great thing, as you could not walk through the North hall without noticing the presence of ICFs. People are grasping that this is no longer an “alternative” way to build. ICFs are the IDEAL way to build. We spoke to new folks whom we have never met, from all corners of the U.S. (and many internationally as well), and overall they are looking at ICFs as the way to build!
So with a 41% increase in solid booth leads from last year, we are feeling good chugging through 2010 and hopefully this type of momentum will be upheld, through sales and growth.
Reward Wall Systems Booth Display
We were finally at a venue to showcase our new NoricF4 custom metal ICF frames, as well as display our new vendor- Cosella-Dorken MS-Clear Waterproofing. The booth this year was easily navigable and customers were able to see the story of Reward and what we had to offer.
See all the ICF fun you missed out on!
Well the beauty of it all is you don’t have to be at the trade show to meet us and learn about Reward. Give us a call and we’ll be more than happy to send you info, such as CAD Details, BIM objects, or engineering specs- or just talk shop with you.
What are your thoughts on the show?
After talking with many people, the interest level really perked up on a few patented ancillary items and our corner bracket we have, so for our next posts we will start talking about the strongest corner ICF on the market (with our Double H bridging corner bracket), touch on the xLerator drop and go reinforcement, and our exclusive tieKey masonry anchor.
World Of Concrete 2010- Booth N1953
January 14th, 2010 | Marketing
Reward at World of Concrete
Exhibiting at World of Concrete is one of the more fun times of the year for our company. This year we are pulling in all of our regional sales managers, our President, VP of Sales, VP of Engineering, COO and some other grunts, like myself to work the booth at World of Concrete. This is great for everyone including our current customers as well as folks we have spoken on the phone with recently but never had the chance to meet face to face.
This show has proven to be the biggest of the year and the 3 sections of the convention center, amassed with giant heavy equipment and concrete machines used for cutting, laying , mixing, and booms used for placing concrete in the most sustainable wall construction known to man, is one of the most visually impressive shows out there.
Another reason it’s our favorite time: It’s Vegas baby!
So if you are making it to WOC please swing by our booth and say “Hello” This year we are displaying our new waterproofing solutions as well as our new custom metal frames product line, the NoricF4. Our booth information-
World Of Concrete- Booth N1953
February 2 – 5
Cocktail Reception at the Flamingo
Also we make it an annual event to host a customer meet and greet cocktail party. This year it will be at the Flamingo Hotel at 7pm on Wednesday February 3rd. Drinks and Hors d’œuvres will be provided.
We respectfully request an RSVP of who’s planning on attending- as nothing is more embarrassing then running out of food by 7:30! To RSVP contact your Regional Sales Manager, our corporate office, or tgibson@rewardwalls.com with how many will be in your party.
We hope to see you all there 2/3/2010 at 7pm at the Flamingo!
Becoming a Successful ICF Distributor: Promotion & Education
January 5th, 2010 | Distributor Spotlight, Marketing
As discussed earlier, insulated concrete forms are not a “shelf” item, meaning that consumers or contractors don’t walk in and take them as you would a box of nails. As a result, the general public still has no idea what they are or how they perform unless they’re doing their own research. Often times at sites we will be approached by the curious onlooker who’s just amazed at the igloo or cooler that’s being built. A successful distributor needs to have a proactive mindset in educating the public as to the benefits of ICF construction. But what do you target? How do you go about market development? Budgetary and time constraints dictate that you need to have a solid focus or you will wind up chasing your tail. The successful distributor tends to take a three-pronged approach: Top-down and bottom-up selling combined with education/training. Let me give a little explanation here.
The top-down approach focuses on the design community and educating architects, engineers, code officials, etc. on the benefits of ICF construction. The successful distributor develops a network of architects and design firms who take advantage of the many benefits inherent in an ICF structure. But that successful distributor takes it upon themselves to educate the design community so they fully understand what ICF’s can and cannot do. Once ICF’s are specified, it becomes a matter of determining WHO will build it and not WHAT to build it with.
The bottom-up approach focuses on the consumer. Educating the consumer through a number of cost-effective methods is key. Before the housing market crashed, consumers walked in to a builder and asked how much square footage can we get for this much money. One builder I know told me that his people and the industry in general forgot how to sell because the housing market was so hot. Now things have changed. Consumers are looking more at what they get for their dollar and not necessarily how big can we build. It’s a prime opportunity for ICF’s to gain market share in the residential market. One very common method the successful distributor reaches consumers is by exhibiting at local home shows. Whether it’s a county show or a state-wide show, you have a great opportunity to generate both interest in ICF’s and leads for the future.
The third leg of this top-down/bottom-up foundation has to be your contractor base. We have the design community specifying the product and the consumer demanding the product. Now we need the contractor who can actually DO it. Most contractors are very good at what they do and as a result, they do not like change. However, if the design community is specifying ICF’s and the general public is demanding ICF’s, the contractor who has vision will see an opportunity to expand his business. This is where the successful distributor brings value to the local marketplace. Distributors can offer regularly scheduled training classes to the local contractor base. They will also typically offer onsite support as contractors start their first few jobs. Once a contractor gets an ICF job or two under his belt, MUCH less support is required of the distributor and that distributor now has a qualified local installer to whom he can forward his consumer leads.
Why are you a successful distributor?
New Marketing Tools and Medium
September 3rd, 2009 | Marketing
Thought i would take a post for myself, in marketing, and let you know of some things we are wrapping up and things we’ve just started doing in the last few months. It is my goal to make sure we try our best to stay in front of potential customers and try to get our technology out there for home builders and consumers to find.
We Have our Own Facebook Page!
We have this up and running so if you are part of the Facebook community please Become a Fan! I post updates for when new blog posts are available as well as use it to highlight some recent trends in the marketplace. Not quite sure what Facebook and the building industry can do for each other but I figure at least we can stay in touch with current customers and maybe branch out and meet someone new! Just in case you prefer real time a little more than Facebook…
Reward Wall Systems | Promote Your Page Too
We are on Twitter!
Once again we let you know when we update our blog and new and exciting product offerings, Follow us on Twitter. Its amazing to see the types of conversations I get from organizations in the “green” industry, trying to learn as much they can about ICFs as people are recognizing the superiority of building with them. Plus if your are all visual…
We are on YouTube!
We have our own YouTube Channel now as well. So far we posted some clips of some conferences and a few fun videos of some photo shoots of our insulating concrete forms and the NoricF4 Custom Metal ICF Frame. Our plans for this, is to tour some job sites and highlight some unique features, plus give you a more personal look at Reward and our Product lines. If there is something specific you want to see let me know, and I can put it on a list for things to highlight. So Subscribe to our YouTube Channel! Below are a couple videos posted right now as well.
Here’s our most recent video on a Pixels Photography photo shoot of the NoricF4 in our back warehouse.
Green Building
Here is a similar video but this one is a photo shoot of our insulated concrete forms. We needed some updated photos and some rebar closeups, so thought it would be nice for the scrapbook to catch it all on video.
Those are our main highlights for this post. we are currently redoing our marketing materials as well, to fall in line with our new color scheme of gray, black and green. Here is the new and improved iForm Overview! Soon to follow will be all of our products. Let me know what you think!!!
The New Standard of Sustainability. Tell the World.