Concrete Products covers the issues that attract producers of ready mixed and manufactured concrete focusing on equipment and material technology, market development and management topics.
Issue link: http://concrete.epubxp.com/i/82325
BRIEFS ACTIVITIES & APPOINTMENTS ORGANIZATIONS RESEARCHER SURVEYS BRAND-DRIVEN BUILDERS As brand loyalists, professional con- tractors purchase building supplies and tools based on names they know and trust, according to national re- search from the EMA B2B Contractor Specialty Group. Its survey of 500 gen- eral contractors and trade specialists also reveals methods of driving con- tractors to try new products. "Brand strength isn't the only factor in determining new product adoption and there are smart strategies marketers can apply to accelerate the path to pur- chase," says EMA partner John O'Hara. "When launching new products, mar- keters should consider product sam- pling, leveraging word of mouth and developing marketing campaigns that are accessible across all platforms, es- pecially mobile." Survey results, he adds, point to these factors for acceler- ating new product adoption: Shared experiences. When it comes to information on new products, 85 percent of respondents said peer rec- ommendations are important, while 83 percent were likely to recommend a brand they know and trust even if it were higher priced. Trial offers. Contractors said that the most influential reason for switching brands involves product trials, with 55 percent of EMA survey respondents not- ing such terms would move them to switch brands. Also, 68 percent of con- tractors would be likely to try a new product introduced by a brand name they'd heard of but never used. Multi-platform marketing. Contrac- tors are obtaining product information from a wide variety of sources and for- mats, including smartphones (50 percent of EMA survey respondents); laptops with mobile access (49 percent of respon- dents); and, iPads or other tablets (21 percent of respondents), suggesting more business purchase research and decisions are being conducted online from the job- site rather than behind a desk. EMA Group B2B's Contractor Specialty Group includes experts from EMA's In- sight + Analytics, Creative Ideation, De- sign + Branding, Public Relations, and Planning divisions. Additional informa- tion on the study can be obtained from John O'Hara, johara@mower.com. WWW.CONCRETEPRODUCTS.COM SEPTEMBER 2012 | 23 National Ready Mixed Concrete As- sociation Vice Pres- ident, Technical Resources, Karthik H. Obla, Ph.D., has been honored by the American Soci- ety of Testing Materials for his leadership on developing standards for pervious con- crete. The award was given during an ASTM meeting by ASTM Committee E06 on Sustainability for Obla's leadership of Sub- committee C09.49 on Pervious Concrete, part of Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates. Under Obla's leadership, four standards