← Business Models: Industry Specific (Industrials & Materials) (all topics)
Influencer marketing - building materials (masons, carpenters, electricians)
What it is
Building-material brands are chosen by the tradesperson who installs them - the mason for cement and rebar, the carpenter for adhesives and panels, the electrician for wire and switches, the plumber for pipes. The person specifying the brand is not the person paying
Brands reach them through loyalty programmes, training, technical support and trade schemes rather than consumer advertising
Impact on industries
- Reaches the actual decision-maker in a purchase the end consumer cannot evaluate, which is why brand premiums survive in commoditised products
- Relationships are built person by person over years, so a competitor must replicate the network rather than outspend it - the strongest moat in building materials
- One field infrastructure serves several categories, which is why cement, paint, adhesive, wire and pipe brands all run the same model
- Loyalty programmes are a permanent cost that can become a discount in disguise, and influence weakens as construction shifts to organised developers