Spray paint companies all talk about the same thing. Protection from rust, protection from rain, protection from…whatever. We were looking for a way to inspire our DIY target and demonstrate the power of Krylon to transform everyday objects into unique designs. Creating first-ever sponsorship of the world’s longest yard sale was the perfect setting for onsite and online storytelling. We featured Krylon’s newest paint, COVERMAXX, since it can “upcycle” items through premium coverage.

The sponsorship enabled access to a huge database of 50,000 fans on 127yardsale.com and related websites, and reached DIY fanatics ready to hit the route in search of treasures. We were able to demo products and techniques with them and inspire a broader audience through our “How-to” makeover videos.

We also leveraged bloggers to help take Krylon’s on-the-ground activation to the web, driving additional traffic to the Krylon 127 Pinterest yard sale, the first of its kind.

Along our wild ride across six states covered by Krylon’s World’s Longest Yard Sale, we…

•Piqued Interest on Pinterest: In the first-ever Pinterest Yard Sale, we created an auction for each of the 127 items handpicked and transformed with Krylon.

•Inspired the Media: We highlighted fun content and online activities, featuring Devers’ yard sale tips and before-and-after product images.

•Appointed Krylon Ambassadors: Krylon enlisted 14 local bloggers who created DIY projects at designated truck stops. Blogs and social media posts drove traffic to the Pinterest Yard Sale.

•Custom How-To’s: We captured videos with Devers showing crafters how to transform trash into treasures with a coat of spray paint. The tutorials live on Krylon.com and Krylon’s YouTube page.

•Used Social Media to Bring the Yard Sale to the Masses: The 127 social initiative used GIFs, videos and other social media content to raise awareness about each stage of the campaign.

Showcased the breadth of Krylon’s portfolio and “Make It Yours” tagline:

•Secured impressive coverage that reached readers of key outlets, including Good Housekeeping, which highlighted 13 Krylon creations showcasing Krylon’s sponsorship and ability to “Make it Yours.”

•Landed 50 placements resulting in over 40 million PR impressions highlighting the event, yard sale tips and product benefits.

•Generated 22 blog posts from on-site bloggers that were instrumental in driving consumers to visit Krylon’s Truck and purchase items on Pinterest.

Drove social media engagement and fan acquisition:

•In four weeks, the campaign delivered 77 million impressions, nearly 1.5 times higher than Krylon’s 2014 engagement level.

•Daily visits to Krylon’s Pinterest post-event increased by 400% and followers doubled

•Krylon127yardsale.com microsite received 56,000 visits during the campaign

Donation to charity:

•All items from the Pinterest Yard Sale were sold, generating $2,000 that was donated, along with Krylon product, to a non-profit charity called Charity.

Krylon had been searching for an innovative way to bring to life its spray paint’s tagline and consumer promise, “Make It Yours.” The classic 127 Yard Sale held each summer across six states was the perfect event to reach Krylon’s “Do-It-Yourself” target and serve as an all-American backdrop for online storytelling. We showcased the breadth of Krylon’s paint product line through a comprehensive media campaign that created excitement and inspired creativity every step of the way.

We had two primary strategies. First, stage a major presence at the 127 Yard Sale and cover as much of the 690 miles as possible to inspire creativity every step of the way. Secondly, amplify our event presence to reach the DIY crowd online through design-oriented sites.

For the ground operation, we enlisted a Krylon Crew led by designer Amy Devers, host of A&E’s Fix This Yard. In a Krylon-branded truck, Devers’ team made pit stops along the route, selected 127 items for the first-ever Pinterest Yard Sale, and held events to transform them into treasures using Krylon. The krylon127yardsale.com microsite allowed fans to follow the truck along the route and we filmed everything for online content. Through research, we knew that our audience consulted online reviews, so we also enlisted home design and craft bloggers to showcase the makeovers and drive fan interest.

Every summer, over 100,000 shoppers and 5,000 sellers from around the country commune on lawns along U.S. Route 127 to participate in the second hand shopper’s idea of paradise: “The World’s Longest Yard Sale.” The four-day festival winds 690 miles from Alabama to Michigan and bargain hunters hit the road to uncover that priceless diamond in the rough for pennies on the dollar. We’d been searching for an innovative way to blast Krylon’s tagline and consumer promise, “Make It Yours,” and in this mother of all yard sales we realized the perfect opportunity. So in 2015, we made Krylon the 127 Yard Sale’s first-ever title sponsor.

Our objectives were two-fold: Showcase the breadth of Krylon’s portfolio and bring alive the consumer promise, showing how easy and rewarding it can be to use the paint to turn other people’s throwaways into new treasures; and, drive social media engagement and fan acquisition.