When upscale paint manufacturer Benjamin Moore decided to promote its line of paints in Quebec, it took a creative approach – in more ways than one.

The campaign, targeted at the do-it-yourself crowd, is designed to tap into the artistic, expressive side of the Quebecois personality.

With a relatively small budget at their disposal, Benjamin Moore and its Montreal-based agency, Allard Communication-Marketing, carefully researched the market before embarking on the year-long campaign.

Research findings, coupled with information from PMB Print Measurement Bureau, indicated that Quebecers enjoy the creative process when undertaking home projects.

Painting and renovating are both considered a form of personal expression.

‘We’re not saying other provinces are not as creatively-minded,’ says Patricia Carbray, vice-president, account group director at Allard.

‘But Quebecers were quite vocal about the satisfaction they got renovating their homes. Creativity was important to them.’

In March, the company launched a print and television campaign using the signature line ‘Exprimez-vous!’ (‘Express Yourself!’)

The campaign is designed to teach its predominantly female target audience a variety of painting techniques for walls, floors and furniture.

A series of ‘how-to’ print ads have been running in Quebec women’s and home decorating magazines.

‘One ad shows how a carpet could be painted on a floor,’ says Richard Tremblay, general manager of Benjamin Moore in Montreal. ‘Another has a dresser that was renovated using different colors of paints and stains.’

Research also indicated that promotional postcards tend to be well-received by Quebec consumers, so the company has incorporated them into the campaign.

Cards showing the end results of the projects in the ads (along with ‘how-to’ information on the back) are inserted in magazines and distributed at point-of-sale.

The six postcards, which include kitchen, bedroom and cupboard ideas, were adapted from a book on painting and decorating created by Benjamin Moore.

‘We felt postcards were an interesting vehicle,’ says Carbray, ‘because we wanted something that we could give away and that was reusable [by consumers].’

Benjamin Moore dealers also sell a French-language version of an instructional video showing an actual home in the process of being renovated.

Clips from this video were adapted to produce five 30-sec. television spots that have been running on Societe Radio-Canada.

Point-of-sale materials, meanwhile, include posters similar to the magazine ads.

And if that doesn’t serve to get the creative juices flowing, both the print and television promotions also include a 1-800 number that consumers can dial for answers to their renovation questions.

Calls to this number have been increasing steadily.

‘We now receive about 200-300 calls a week,’ says Tremblay. ‘There’s no doubt we’re bringing in a lot of new faces.’

The ‘Exprimez-vous!’ campaign will run until the fall.