Australian building products and sugar giant CSR added Viridian to its portfolio of brands in the first week of March 2008, bringing together Pilkington and DMS Glass companies, acquired in 2007, unde…
Australian building products and sugar giant CSR added Viridian to its portfolio of brands in the first week of March 2008, bringing together Pilkington and DMS Glass companies, acquired in 2007, under a single banner. Viridian national marketing manager Chris Barker said the challenge was in selling a product that was often the last consideration of a building. He said glass was under-appreciated in Australia compared with Europe, the US and the Middle East. In seeking to raise awareness of a brand for products that people look through, rather than look at, Viridian will build on the strengths of the two companies and create something new. “This was about the particular companies, understanding what they stood for historically and then taking their positions forward,” Mr Barker said. “The fact is consumers think very little about glass”. The markets that take windows and glass seriously are designers, architects and government regulators. Despite Australia“s extreme climate, the country“s building design has only recently begun to seriously consider creating environmentally sympathetic and energy-efficient buildings, with the crucial role that glass can play. For instance, use of double glazing has reached 80% in the US, Europe and the Middle East, while in Australia it languishes at just 5%. Yellow Brand consultants reached for the Viridian brand and the New World Glass line to highlight that CSR was focusing on the Australian market. “People want space, views and vision from their buildings and we felt Viridian was pretty memorable,” Mr Barker said. He said the products were designed to last as long as the building but “very few people take a lot of notice of it”. He said that by rebranding two companies with a long history in the building sector, he hoped Viridian would be able to trade on the reputation of the parent company and some of its other brands. Although the average consumer would immediately associate CSR with its sugar refining operations, it was also the parent for popular building brands such as Gyprock and Bradford. And although the marketing space might appear narrow to onlookers, Mr Barker said it was important to acknowledge that end-users of glass products often had quite different needs. However, the key message would be the largely untouched green message Viridian was seeking to take advantage of. “We are at this particular time in history where (those with) a green message are being sought out,” he said.