Durawood by Baywood

A new brand in the competitive decking market.

Durawood is more than a new product, it is a part of a new product category of pre-oiled timber (kind of like sliced bread – all the work in done for you). As there was no prior perceptions to leverage off, it required a more educational strategy.

Apart from the actual product promotion, we faced three major challenges; depositioning more popular decking timber species and other products including composites, adding value to pine that customers will pay for, and educating the benefits of pre-oiling.

Revitalising the demand for wood.

The last decade has seen a large rise in composite decking products – a mixture of plastic and wood that is meant to be more durable and require less maintenance. One of their biggest drawcards is they require no finishing, like oiling, stripping or varnishing, because they do not breathe or weather like wood. Just nail down and you’re done! That’s a huge motivator for the DIY and suburban home market.

Although composite decks have become trendy, and highly promoted in hardware stores across Australia, their long term durability is still to be tested. Wood on the other hand, has been used, and has lasted for, well… centuries.
Part of Sin’s challenge was to make people rethink wood as a more natural alternative to ‘plastic woods.’

A clever way to sell a new product category.

Baywood, the makers of Durawood, were one of the first timber Australian producers to create decking that was pre-finished in the factory. The trick was how to educate the market through point of sale outlets like Bunnings and Mitre 10.

Pine is traditionally seen as the cheapest and least desirable of the decking timbers. It has a high ratio of knots that can cause cracking, bowing and twisting with age due to the uneven stresses in the wood. It is cheap, though.

Sin’s task was to re-position pine as a desirable product, and educate purchasers on the advantages of a professionally factory finished decking product. That’s how our new slogan was born, highlighting a pioneering new product.

A series of easily identifiable product benefit icons was created. These visually display Durawood’s strengths and remove complexity and hesitation in an unknown product by appearing friendly and simple.