Got Web? A high-profile industry group contends that a Web site is the way to mount a national ad campaign - Internet & Technology Report

Pool & Spa News, May 9, 2003 by Pamela Mills-Senn

Welcome to PoolPeopleUSA.com! If you're considering building a backyard swimming pool or enhancing your existing pool, you've come to the right place! You can search for a pool builder, learn more about planning for and financing a pool, calculate your estimated maintenance costs, learn how to create a "poolscape" with landscaping and pool accessories, and discover how your family can become Pool People!--PoolpeopleUSA.com

While it bears no resemblance to one of those "Got Milk?" billboards, PoolPeopleUSA.com, a Web site sponsored in part by the NSPI Manufacturers Council, was inspired by advertising campaigns urging consumers to think about not just a particular brand, but an entire industry.

Five years ago, Charlie Schobel, president of BioLab Recreational Water in Decatur, Ga., started thinking about how to promote pool ownership. He reasoned that if more people bought pools, manufacturers of equipment and chemicals would benefit as much as builders. With other manufacturers and a distributor, he started the PoolPeopleUSA promotion. After experimenting with broadcast, print and billboard ad campaigns, it went strictly Internet in 2002.

Apparently that was good thinking.

Recently, PoolPeopleUSA.com organizers released data showing that in 2002, the Web site hosted 235,465 user sessions of about 17 minutes in length (compared with six- to eight-minute sessions typical of other industries). The group also noted that a survey of site users indicated 40 percent were "very likely" and 30 percent were "somewhat likely" to buy a pool within the year.

"What we're trying to do with this campaign is get more people owning pools, connect them to builders and get the information about what pools can do to consumers in a cohesive way," Schobel explains.

But before they could convince consumers, the organizers had to convince another group.

"It was a very difficult promotion to get off the ground," Schobel says. "A lot of people in the industry didn't understand what we were trying to accomplish. I think people now are starting to understand our objectives. As more customers come into pool builders' businesses from the Web site, they will start to understand."

Some already do. He says more than 2,500 builders participate in the campaign, and the number is expected to increase.

Pretty pictures

The most popular part of the PoolPeopleUSA.com site is the photo gallery, which allows the user to click on photo after photo of every type of pool (always credited to a specific builder, with contact information).

But the site does more than fuel fantasies. The second most popular place is the builder locator, which allows users to find and immediately link to a builder's own site (or call by phone or fax) to make their dream a reality.

Michael Adams, president of SunnySide Pools in Fresno, Calif., estimates that about five people each month contact him from the Internet (the company has its own Web site) and says that many of these found him on PoolPeopleUSA.com.

Not only are Internet inquires increasing--Adams believes they have risen about 20 percent over the last few years--but customers who find him this way also seem more informed and ready to buy.

"People do a lot of research before they decide to put in a pool or decide on a builder," he says. "And they're doing this research on the Internet. When we go out to a house, people share with us that they found us on the PoolPeopleUSA.com site. The fact that we're listed makes them feel more comfortable with us, and actually kind of does about half of our selling." Adams adds that through the site, he also has been able to develop relationships with several home builders in town, getting jobs as a result.

Britany Owens, office manager of Kustom Design Pools & Spas in Piano, Texas, says that participating in the PoolPeopleUSA.com campaign helps drive customers to her company's Web site.

"I built our Web site two years ago and was finding that getting it in front of people was going to be the hardest part," she recalls. "You end up the 600th Web site listed, and nobody is going to page down that far."

Owens was trying to hook up with different search engines when she spied a PoolPeopleUSA.com banner ad, which popped up on one of the engines. It was part a promotional campaign: When visitors clicked on the banner, it sent them to PoolPeopleUSA.com, which lists pool builders and retailers. Becoming a member of PoolPeople USA.com helped Kustom Design be available to its market, says Owens.

"Since we've been on the Internet, about half of the people we get say they found us this way, and a lot of these have come through PoolPeopleUSA.com. The thing that I've noticed about Internet referrals," she continues, "is that they seem to be further along in the decision-making process. They're much more ready to build."

Beyond Yellow Pages

Pool/spa builder Stephen Braun, president of Backyard Creations in Frederick, Md., credits PoolPeopleUSA.com with helping him get on the Internet three years ago.

A complete computer novice, Braun thought having an Internet presence was essential. He got some much-needed help from South Central Pools, an original Pool Pro Alliance member, which offered marketing support through an ad agency that developed templates and provided maintenance for builder Web sites.