When does enviable brand recognition become
a liability? When you’re La-Z-Boy and you need
to convince consumers you sell a range of
furniture beyond recliners.
Ride the Storm: Navigating Through Unstable Periods / Katerina Rudko (Belka G...
Brooke Shields Brings La-Z-Boy Up To Date
1. Brooke Shields Brings La-Z-Boy Up to Date
Nov 24, 2010
- Noreen O'Leary
When does enviable brand recognition become
a liability? When you’re La-Z-Boy and you need
to convince consumers you sell a range of
furniture beyond recliners.
La-Z-Boy is convinced Brooke Shields can put a
modern, stylish face on a company associated
with a chair favored by her parents’ generation.
Five TV spots, the first of which broke this week,
will roll out over the next few months. In one,
Shields talks about how the La-Z-Boy favorite
“dad’s chair” has morphed into a room of
favorite furniture. Print ads break this month in
January magazines.
This is not the first time La-Z-Boy has used
celebrity spokespersons. In the 60s, 70s and
80s, the company hired pitchmen like Bing Crosby, Joe Namath and Johnny Carson.
With the new campaign, via lead agency RPA, Santa Monica, La-Z-Boy hopes its target consumer will relate to
Shields. “We’re using Brooke Shields to raise awareness among women that we make something other than
recliners,” said La-Z-Boy CMO Doug Collier. “She tested well with working moms who are balancing careers with
raising kids. She came across as down to earth while having great style.”
The ads introduce a new tagline, "Live life comfortably," which replaces "Comfort is what we do" (in use since Sept.
2007).
Like other furniture retailers, La-Z-Boy has been hit hard by the weak housing market and consumers’ reluctance to
spend. On Nov. 22, the company reported second-quarter results that were lower than investor expectations. Sales
in the quarter dropped 2.6 percent.
The importance of La-Z-Boy’s new marketing initiative was underscored in the company’s announcement about the
earnings. In a statement, La-Z-Boy chief executive Kurt L. Darrow said: “Although we remain concerned about the
macroeconomic environment . . . we are making moves to position La-Z-Boy to take full advantage of an upturn in
consumer spending for furniture. We have the strongest brand in the business and believe our new marketing
campaign, featuring Brooke Shields, and a targeted message will enhance our market penetration and reach.”
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