Brian Idler, co-owner of Idler’s Home in California, stars in the business’s latest marketing video.
Idler’s popular videos promote the business with a fun twist
By Janet Weyandt, YSN
The people at Idler’s Home know how to have fun.
If you don’t know them personally, you only have to check out the marketing videos they have posted over the past few years. Featuring siblings Jennifer and Brian Idler, who co-own the business with their father, BrandSource Hall-of-Famer Don Idler, the videos give a real sense of what Idler’s Home is all about.
Out of the Box
“My brother and I decided a few years ago we don’t want to be generic,” Jennifer said. “We want to do something to be bold in our marketing, but also get our point across. Sometimes our ideas can be a bit outlandish.”
The most recent video, released in August, features Brian delivering appliances on a bicycle, in a canoe and on roller skates to stress the business’s excellent customer service.
Watch video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-P2p0FFqvw
“We do whatever it takes to make our customers happy,” he says to the camera with a big smile.
It follows three other videos the siblings created with the help of a local marketing company, beginning during the pandemic. One of the clips features the siblings and staff working in their robes and pajamas, shuffling around the store in slippers. Jennifer had her cat on her lap.
The point was to lighten the mood during a stressful and serious time, Jennifer said.
“We need to do something funny to let people know we’re still here for them,” she said. “This will be our message: Life’s heavy, we’re here for you, we’ve got your back and have fun doing it.”
The other spots include a game show spoof centered on low prices and a “bedroom re-do” concept.
Viewers’ Choice
Each time Idler’s Home releases a new video, it gets a lot of attention.
“The biggest way we track that is people telling us,” Jennifer said. “There hasn’t been a day since we released that in August that somebody hasn’t come to our stores and talked to my brother or me: ‘Hey I saw that commercial.’ Even after a year, we will still hear it.”
They use the commercials in between promotional seasons, or when they need something evergreen, she said.
Brian features prominently in all the videos, but he’s the main player in the most recent one.
It took about a day and a half to shoot, using gear they already owned.
“It was a lot of legwork, getting the stuff: My sister’s canoe, my bike,” said Brian, who said the skates were a new addition and took some getting used to. “It wasn’t one take, let me tell you that. It was a blast making it.”
But they all had fun doing it, and the feedback from the video — which is playing on local TV, Hulu and other OTT platforms, YouTube, Facebook and others — is serving its purpose.
“I would also say it’s very worth it, just from the amount of feedback we get and from customers coming in,” he said. “It wouldn’t work for everybody, but it definitely works for us in our market. We get people calling, leaving us messages: ‘Wow I just saw the commercial!’ It’s neat to see that.”
A Different Mindset
Their dad, Don, is the third co-owner of the business but maintains a hands-off policy when it comes to his kids’ marketing ideas, Brian said.
“I think he realizes it’s going to take a different mindset from what we used to have, especially on the marketing side,” he said. “It’s probably nothing we would’ve done maybe even 10 years ago, but … we need to do something different. You can’t just sell, sell, sell; you’ve got to show yourself, whatever your personality is, to connect with customers and neighbors.”
They shoot a new video roughly every year or so; if they wait too long, they hear about it.
“The last one ran a little bit long, and a lady called: ‘I’m ready for you to do a new one,’” Jennifer said. “It’s part of our marketing budget and we know that has to increase a little bit every year. You have to be planning that in-between time, to keep sales steady.”
Change it Up
Brian urged other independent dealers to try something a little different with their marketing efforts.
“That’s definitely what we try to do and I’d encourage anyone else too — think outside the box, maybe do something silly, something different,” he said. “I think it was worth taking the chance.”
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
