etitive ligenGe Wherets Jay-K?

By Carla Waldemar

weekly contests for spotting him, with gift certificates as prizes. To compete, people would have to register in the store or on our website, which drives traffic to both. Participation was huge. Last year's winner got a Weber grill. This year we upped the ante and gave a $5,000 store gift certificate.

"We cashed in by cross-coordinating our print and radio ads," he says. And this year, because people were already familiar with the contest, the ramp-up time was shorter; peoPle started playing almost immediately.

"Fun! That's the best thing about it," insists Jonah, "fun for participants and for our staff, too. lt creates a nice little stir. People, even weeks later, told me. 'Oh. I love this!' or 'The kids spotted Jack!' The message is getting to them. The bottom line for the business is, we're saying thank you for noticing."

If IHERE'S Waldo? In Utica, Y V N.Y., the answer is, "Who cares?" "Where's Jack?" is what they want to know.

Jack O'Trades is the star player in J-Kay Lumber's charismatic ad campaign. The upstate New York building center. founded in 1937 to serve a mix of pro and retail trade, has maintained a strong advertising presence from the outset, says vice president Jonas Kelly. But it was transformed dramatically when, five years ago, its inhouse ad manager left and the company decided to outsource the job.

"The company we hired, Romanelli Communications, evaluated our print ads-tightened them up in look and message, creating consistencY and stronger branding," Jonas notes.

Not long after, a local billboard company approached J-Kay with an offer too good to refuse. "Two good Iocations were open-'Want'em?' they asked. lt threw our budget out of whack, but we signed on. Then we went to our ad company, asking what to do with them," Jonas recalls.

Enter Jack. He's the mannequin posted on the billboard, standing on a ladder with a paintbrush. And he's the talk of the town. The fieure and the message change quarterly. "The campaign really works for two reasons," Jonas reports: "A very concise, tight message-very focused-and the first three-dimensional billboard in upstate New York. It created a pretty big stir. (Some people even thought he was a real person

"So, we decided to run with it all the way. Last year we held a contest: Where's Jack? We moved him around to the roofs of other local businesses (which loved the exposure) and held

One good promo deserves another-like Wood 'n Stock. "It started with our TV ads, six or seven short spots, where we put out a call for local musicians to supply the background music in return for credit on the screen," Jonas says. "We got a gteat response. So last year, we got the idea of holding an event at the store where the bands played on a Saturday afternoon, along with some manufacturers showcasing their products. This year, because Utica takes pride in its local brewery, we decided to partner with them and hold the event there, with food and beer tents, and we added a couple of bands. The purpose was to support the community, create good P.R." Proceeds from the Day of Peace Music went to United Way. (That's called win-win.)

On to Jay-K's recent 70th anniversary: "We tried to make it a big thing, with a one-day event at the store, offering '/Vo off everything in it, with cake, free face-painting, a kid-oriented day at which we announced this year's Jack O'Trades winner. We built traffic through the store and had great attendance, despite two or three competing local events. We can track feedback," says Jonah. "We hear people talking about [these campaigns] at parties and events."

"It all goes back to advertising-making an impression on people-something that sticks with them. We'd always been committed to advertising-it's figured at l-ll2 to 2go of our budget-but with Romanelli, the idea guys, it's tightened up into a consistent, professional feel to everything we do, from statement stuffers to radio and TV and billboards. It all drives the messase."

So does Jay-K's newsletter, ised as statement stuffers and online, offering both item-and-price info as well as tips on saving energy, for example. The company's website, one of the industry's first, received a '.serious" makeover three years ago. It features an extensive e-showroom in which both product categories and vendors' logos appear as links (but not paid sponsorships).

"It's a service for our customers," explains Jonas. ,,The main gist is to help people as an everyday tool. It also provides our staff of 90 a quick way to access information rather than Google."

Side benefit: Jay-K also can trace how many visits each category-decks, windows, etc.-receives per week, thus an instant survey of what's hot in peoples' minds.

The website also highlights other customer services, such as delivery ("one of the key services that sets us apart"), estimating, custom ordering, and a list of recommended contractors (another win-win set-up). It includes a new "work for us" feature to attract prospective hires and offers to honor competitors' gift cards or coupons. (,,We then just go down to Lowe's and buy a power tool or something we can stock," Jonah explains how the customerfriendly service operates. )

"We're just trying to do what's best fbr our customers, our employees, and the company, by making information available to them: no secrets," he insists.

Yes, there are competitors vying for a bigger slice of the pie. Both Home Depot and Lowe's landed within three miles ten years ago, and a second Lowe's is slated to open almost next door. "They cut in pretty good when they first opened," Jonas allows, "but the last four or five years have been our best years ever; we've earned back all the business, and then some."

Credit goes, in part, to the company's recent focus on doing more for its pros. "We've always had a strong bal- ance between retail and pros and definitely want to keep it that way, but our biggest change in recent years is a new culture that fosters the contractors' business and an opportunity to build even more business for ourselves. The biggest step was hiring our first outside salesperson. ff"We've always had a culture of treating every customer the same, whether they're in for 500 2x4s or a gallon of paint. But now we've become a little more savvy with pricing for the pros. While it was one-size-fits-all before-figured by what someone purchased in a single order-now there are some opportunities for the professionals to see better prices," based on long-term loyalty. ing 2x4 right now; my cost is out of whack."

"Also," Jonas continues, "we've tinkered with deliverv. prioritizing things. We've gotten better at talking io builders, and we host some special events for them."

Along with the customary summer vendor-underwritten cookouts, Jay-K sponsors a golf league for pros, and this year, when a nearby casino's golf course was made a stop on a PGA tour, the company hosted a hospitality tent on the course-"new to us, and a lot of fun," Jonas attests. Building relationships? "Absolutely !"

Utica, tallying 50,000, "is basically losing population," Jonah notes. "But the worst times are behind us." Nonetheless, "In our neighborhood (if only people didn,t' read the newspaper), the short-term prospects aren't too bad. We haven't been faced with big builders, so we're not buried in housing stock. Yet, things have slowed down a little bit. But it's the double whammy of slowing business and lower prices that's the problem."

"Our industry as a whole doesn't do a good job communicating about prices to customers," he asserts. people will claim they're high, when they actually are low. But people don't understand the cost of materials for a house. Even if they change $5,000 to $8,000, whar's rhat on a $250,000 home? A drop in the bucket! Besides, with the cost of borrowing money so low, it's still pretty cheap. We've got to get the word out."

Still, Utica is a pretty good place ro be. '.Even if things don't look very exciting for next year, we've never seen the big highs of, say, Atlanta. Nor their new lows-nor the bis swings. So there's comfort in that."

So in Utica the big question remains not boom or bust. but...Where's Jack?

- A former award-winning LBM trade magazine editor, Carla Waldemar writes frequently on the industry. Contact her at cwaldemar@ mn.rr.com.