YellaWood

YellaWood® Turned a Commodity into a Category Leader 

Lumber isn’t exactly an emotional purchase. Until it is. A single campaign made YellaWood® the #1 brand of pressure-treated pine and earned every metric to prove it. 

  • 37 Point

    Awareness lift

  • 16 Point

    Purchase intent lift

  • #1

    Top performer against competitors in All Branding Metrics

At a Glance

Client
YellaWood®
Campaign
Five-Star Backyards
Audiences
Contractors and Consumers
Client Relationship
10+ Years

Overview

Growing their business required making an emotional connection between YellaWood® as a commodity brand and it’s B2B and B2C customers.

YellaWood® is the kind of brand that shouldn’t work as a creative brief. Lumber is a commodity. It’s functional, interchangeable, and about as far from an emotional purchase as you can get.

But that’s exactly where the opportunity lived.

Research showed that both contractors and consumers has something in common—they cared deeply about the end result. Not the lumber itself, but what it built. So we built a campaign around that: Five-Star Backyards. Spaces people actually love to be in. And a ragtag team of beaver bandits willing to risk it all to build one, too.

The result was a single campaign that spoke to two completely different audiences without every losing the plot. 

Recognition

Graphis Advertising Awards

Platinum (“Save the Heist”)

Graphis Advertising Awards

Platinum (“Roasting Mashmallows”)

Graphis Advertising Awards

Gold (“Bocce”)

The Goal

YellaWood® needed to bridge the gap between commodity product and an emotional purchase decision—for two very different audiences at the same time.

  • Brand Trust

    Push contractors to specify and trust YellaWood® over competing brands 

  • Consumer Pull

    Motivate consumer to seek out YellaWood® by name rather than defaulting to another brand 

  • Category Leadership

    Establish YellaWood® as the definitive brand of pressure-treated pine 


The Challenge

The answer had to work for two audiences simultaneously without watering down the messages for either. Contractors need a reason to specify YellaWood® on the job. Consumers needed a reason to ask for it by name at the point of purchase.

That’s a rare creative ask. One campaign. One idea. Two completely different motivations to move.


The Solution

Two beavers hanging on a billboard taking a wood star off the billboard with a two by four with a tag that says Yellawood pressure treated pine. Five beavers stealing a fifth wood star on a billboard that says, For Five-Star Backyards. With a two by four with a tag that says Yellawood pressure treated pine

The insight was simple but powerful—both audiences cared more about what lumber builds than the lumber itself. “Five-Start Backyards” gave YellaWood® a platform that contractors and consumer could rally around.

  • Five-Star Backyards

    A single positioning that bridged B2B and B2C audiences 

  • Beavers

    Award-winning, category-defining, impossible to forget

  • TV & OOH

    Anchored and established the campaign

  • Social & Print

    Extended the idea across every touchpoint

The idea came to life across TV, OOH, social, and print—anchored by one of the most memorable creative devices in the category: a ragtag team of beaver bandits pursuing their own Five-Star Backyard, willing to risk it all to get their paws on YellaWood®.

  • #1 brand

    of pressure treated pine

Two Beavers looking inside of glass doors
Two Beavers looking inside of glass doors
Two separate pictures of a beaver repelling from the ceiling of a store

The Proof

  • #1

    Top performer against competitors in all branding metrics

  • 16 Point

    Purchase intent lift

  • 37 Point

    Awareness lift


We have been so pleased with the work Brunner has done for us over the course of our relationship. They not only created an amazing campaign with The Woodlands Most Wanted, but their integrated approach has helped us grow and meet impressive sales goals. We are so thankful for their diligence and enthusiasm throughout the duration of this campaign.

Rob Pongonis

CMO

The Home Depot Rental

The Home Depot Rental: One Stop Shop. Record-Setting Results.

The Home Depot Rental: One Stop Shop. Record-Setting Results.

  • 100%+

    YoY clicks and page interactions

  • 16

    Years together

  • Y/Y

    Record-setting rental transactions

At a Glance

Client
The Home Depot Rental
Audiences
Pro Contractors and DIY Consumers
Approach
Audience-First, Full-Funnel
Client Relationship
16 Years

Overview

Research led us to understand that each of the audiences had unique needs and motivators.

The Home Depot is one of the most recognized brands in America. But The Home Depot Rental? That was a different story and a real opportunity.

The audience was split: professional contractors with job-critical needs and DIY consumers with project-driven motivations. Same brand, but two completely different conversations.

So we built and audience-first strategy that spoke to each group in their own language, on their own timeline. From the moment they started planning to the moment they need the right tool, truck or large equipment in their hands. 

The Goal

The Home Depot Rental needed to move customers from unawareness to action — across two very different audience, each with their own reasons to rent.

  • Awareness

    Build recognition and the “One Stop Shot” value proposition.

  • Conversion

    Drive customers through the full funnel from awareness to rental transactions. 


The Challenge

The Home Depot’s brand recognition didn’t extend to its rental business. Awareness of The Home Depot Rental and what it actually offered was low, even among the contractors and DIYers who needed its services the most. A single message couldn’t fix that.

Pro contractors and DIY consumers shop different, think differently, and need different reasons to act. The strategy had to speak to both, without losing the clarity of a single, unified value proposition.


The Solution

A skidsteer digging dirt in a yard with a home depot rental truck with an auger leaning against it. A Home Depot rental truck with a trailer and wood chipper with a chainsaw A person jack hammering concrete and an excavator scooping up the concrete and putting it into a trailer

One value proposition. Two audiences. A strategy built to reach both on their terms and timelines.

  • One Stop Shop

    A master value proposition anchored every message. 

  • Audience-First

    Unique language and visuals tailored to Pros and DIYers.

  • Planning Season

    Inspirational messaging met customers at the start of their project or job.

  • Doing Season

    Solution-focused messaging pushed for conversion when customers were ready to act.

The strategy came to life across OOH, TV and social media. Each channel, message, and moment were built to move the right audience on step closer to action.

The Home Depot Rental

The Home Depot Rental


The Proof

  • 100%+

    YoY clicks and page interactions

  • 3%

    YoY brand sentiment increase

  • Y/Y

    Record-setting rental transaction among professional contractors

The audience-first approach delivered. The Home Depot Rental didn’t just grow, it hit record-setting weeks in rental transactions and saw year-over-year revenue growth across the entire rental business. 


We have what you have termed a ‘retail metabolism’ and your team has measured up to that in every way. Nimble. Quick. Preemptive. The reporting is what we base everything on and we match that up to our numbers on the sales side.

The Home Depot Rental Client

Home Improvement Retailer Case Study

GEO Test Proved Paid Search ROI 

A statistically clean test turned a hunch about nonbranded search into a defendable growth case. 

  • 100+

    Stores tested in a statistically valid geo experiment

At a Glance

Client
Large home improvement retailer
Engagement
Paid Search, Marketing Mix Modeling
Project
Geo Testing
Focus
Prove incremental ROI of nonbranded paid search before reallocating spend 

Overview

Platform metrics looked promising, but promising isn’t proof.  

A large home improvement retailer needed a defendable way to measure the return on nonbranded search investment before changing channel allocation.  

We treated data and creative as one system of proof, not separate workstreams, and built a geo test designed to hold up under scrutiny. 

The Proof

The test measured a consistent, statistically significant sales lift from nonbranded search. Results stayed aligned with industry norms and validated the channel across markets. The region saw over 2 percentage points of growth in total revenue. 

  • Over 2 Percentage Points

    Revenue growth across region

  • Statistically Significant

    Result validity


The Goal

Measure the true incremental impact of nonbranded paid search before the retailer committed to a bigger channel shift. 


The Challenge

Platform metrics and informal pre- and post-reads suggested the channel was working, but the client needed a comprehensive ROI measurement they could trust. The test design also had to account for shoppers who visit multiple stores and for real market differences across a large region. 

A person shopping in a home improvement store

The Solution

We designed a geo test across a region with more than 100 stores. We segmented stores using historical sales patterns and trade area signals like local demographics, weather, and macroeconomic factors, then matched each store with a statistical twin to create a clean control set. That architecture gave the client an apples-to-apples read on performance and made the result explainable. 

A person shopping for a weedwacker

THDR Case Study

Search Data Shaped DIY Content 

Reading homeowner search behavior as one system turned timing into a content strategy. 

  • 35

    Product priorities identified from search behavior

At a Glance

Client
The Home Depot Rental
Engagement
Content Strategy, SEO, SEM
Focus
Align content timing and priorities with DIY homeowner search behavior

Overview

Knowing what homeowners wanted wasn’t enough — we needed to know when they wanted it.  

The Home Depot Rental needed a sharper read on DIY homeowner behavior so its content could meet people at the right moment, with the right message.  

Knowing what homeowners wanted wasn’t enough — we needed to know when they wanted it.  

We connected content marketing, SEO, and SEM to read search behavior as one system instead of three disconnected data sets. 

The Proof

We identified 35 product priorities based on search behavior and opportunity, and 24 DIY projects based on trends and homeowner search behavior, then turned those into content that could support the brand throughout the year.

  • 24

    DIY projects identified

  • 1

    User-centric content strategy


The Goal

The Home Depot Rental wanted a content strategy grounded in real homeowner search behavior rather than assumptions. 

  • Timing

    Understand when DIY homeowners plan vs. when they start projects

  • Trends

    Spot trending DIY projects and the moments search interest peaks

A person looking on a mobile phone

The Challenge

The challenge was timing. The Home Depot Rental needed to know not just what DIY audiences cared about, but when they cared about it. Without that, content could miss the planning window, the project window, or both. The team also needed a way to turn search trends into something usable across content, PR, influencer, and web efforts. 


The Solution

Our content marketing, SEO, and SEM teams worked together to read homeowner search behavior from the same system. We reviewed impression volume for the brand’s tools and equipment using SEM data to define product priorities.

A person typing on a laptop

Then we layered in Pinterest Trends, Google Trends, and SEO keywords to identify trending DIY projects, spot search spikes, and find the right moments for campaign flighting. That connected view gave The Home Depot Rental a content strategy grounded in proof, not guesswork. 

A person looking on a mobile phone

We created one content strategy that fed integrated marketing efforts across PR, influencer, and website work, plus one annual content production calendar to map cross-channel topics and efforts across the year.

METUS SEM Case Study

Machine Learning Scaled HVAC Leads 

Broad match had to earn its place in the media plan before it earned a national rollout. 

  • 2x

    Increase in click-to-lead conversion rate

At a Glance

Client
Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US (METUS)
Engagement
Paid Search (SEM)
Focus
Improve non-brand lead generation efficiency

Overview

We treated it like a question worth proving, not a claim worth believing. 

Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US needed a smarter way to grow residential lead generation without wasting spend.  

Google had just updated broad match, but a promise of more reach wasn’t reason enough to trust it.  

We treated it like a question worth proving, not a claim worth believing. 

The Proof

We validated the approach across four regions before national rollout, making the result explainable and repeatable rather than accidental. The tests also clarified channel behavior: broad match scaled for non-brand search, while exact and phrase match stayed more efficient for brand search. 

  • 29%

    More efficient lead generation

  • 4

    Regions tested before national rollout


The Goal

Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US wanted a more efficient path to lead generation that could support sales goals and its contractor network. 

  • Discovery

    Find new customers earlier in their research stage

  • Efficiency

    Make non-brand lead generation more efficient


The Challenge

The team needed to support sales goals and contractor demand with better lead efficiency. Google’s broad match promised more reach and relevance, but it had to prove it could outperform legacy campaigns in the real world, not just in theory. 


The Solution

We built a regional testing plan for non-brand search keywords using Google’s improved broad match. After strong results in two regions, we ran a second test in two more regions to confirm the pattern and test scalability.

A person typing on a laptop

Once the tests reached statistical significance, broad match rolled out nationally across non-brand campaigns. We also separated the brand search finding clearly: exact and phrase match remained the more efficient choices there. 

METUS SEO Case Study

SEO Lift For MITSUBISHI Electric Trane

Technical fixes and content strategy worked as one system to move search performance. 

  • +29%

    YoY lift in organic search traffic

At a Glance

Client
Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US (METUS)
Engagement
SEO
Focus
Increase organic visibility for high-value, transaction-focused keywords

Overview

We treated technical SEO and content SEO as one connected system, because that’s how search actually works.

Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US (METUS) already had solid organic visibility. But the site’s own code was holding it back. JavaScript barriers kept search engines from fully reading key product pages, capping how far that visibility could grow.

The Proof

Removing technical barriers and strengthening content signals moved the needle across the board. Over time, that showed up in the numbers: 

  • +51%

    Increase in non-branded search visits from high-value terms

  • +29%

    YoY lift in top 10 keyword rankings

  • +24%

    YoY lift in top 3 keyword rankings

That’s what happens when technical access and content signals work from the same plan. 


The Goal

METUS wanted to win more share of voice for high-value, transaction-focused searches, while also reaching prospects earlier in their journey. 

  • Visibility

    Increase organic visibility for high-value, transaction-focused keywords

  • Reach

    Expand to connect with prospects earlier in their consideration


The Challenge

Our content marketing, SEO, and SEM teams worked together to read homeowner search behavior from the same system. We reviewed impression volume for the brand’s tools and equipment using SEM data to define product priorities.

Person typing on a keyboard with a search field overlayed

Search engines also had trouble discovering and parsing some product-page content because of JavaScript roadblocks, which limited how fully the site could show up in search. We needed technical access and stronger content signals working together — not as separate fixes.


The Solution

We built a connected system across technical SEO, internal linking, and content: 

  1. Technical SEO

    Worked with METUS developers to remove JavaScript barriers so crawlers could find and read product-page content on mitsubishicomfort.com. 

  2. Internal Linking

    Strengthened the site’s internal linking so Google could better discover, index, and understand the full page set. 

  3. Content & Metadata

    Refined metadata, webpage elements, and site copy with the METUS marketing team to improve priority pages for valuable search terms across informational and product-focused content. 

One connected system, built for search visibility, and the numbers that followed weren’t luck. They were structure. 

RWC PR

Always-On PR for RWC

RWC faced supply chain pressure and limited news in fiscal 2022, trade coverage kept them visible and customers engaged.

  • 2.0M

    earned media impressions

At a Glance

Client
RWC
Engagement
PR & Trade Publications
Duration
24 Months
Focus
Building a positive reputation during a difficult moment

Overview

We looked for usable story angles instead of waiting for a big headline to break.  

Reliance Worldwide Corporation needed a sharper way to stay visible when fiscal 2022 brought supply chain pressure and only one major announcement: a new acquisition. We kept the PR engine running anyway. The team story-mined angles for interviews, bylines, and product highlights. Trade coverage, original press, and sponsored content widened visibility. 

The work focused on trade audiences, clear brand messages, and consistent proof across earned coverage, original press, and sponsored content.

The Proof

An always-on, proactive media relations approach gave the brand reach and a cleaner reputation profile. 

  • 100+

    Earned stories

  • 24

    Months with zero negative mentions


The Goal

Keep RWC visible, earn more interviews and bylines, and surface product stories even in a year with limited company news. 


The Challenge

RWC faced supply chain issues and a thin news calendar in fiscal 2022. With only one major announcement of a new acquisition, the brand needed another way to stay in the conversation with industry stakeholders.

  • Visibility

    A slow news year meant there wasn’t anything organic to build on – but they needed to stay relevant. 

  • Perception

    Supply chain issues posed a risk to contractor perception of the product that we had to stay out ahead of.  


The Solution

We ran an always-on public relations strategy built around story mining, trade coverage, original press, and sponsored content. We centered the work on visibility and perception, then shaped pitch angles that could earn interviews, bylines, and product highlights without waiting for major news to land. Trade Coverage secured includes: 

Four logos which include: Contractor.com, Plumbing Perspective, ASPE and PHCP Pros

The result was steady attention RWC could count on — and a media footprint that was measurable, repeatable, and explainable. 

Rinnai Case Study

Tankless Truths Built. Myths Busted Across Channels.

Rinnai needed to cut through stubborn myths about tankless water heaters that were impacting adoption among plumbing professionals. Influencer activations put trusted voices behind tankless truths, educating pros and driving awareness.

  • 6M

    Combined impressions

  • +225%

    Over eblast video start goal

  • 20k

    Landing page views

At a Glance

Client
Rinnai America Corporation
Engagement
Influencer, PR, Traditional Media, Paid Social, SEO, Content Strategy
Channels
Trade Publications, YouTube, Instagram, Website 
Audiences
Industry Experts, Plumbing Contractors, Plumbers, Plumbing Engineers
Focus
Education campaign busting tankless water heater myths

Overview

Media relations, influencer thought leadership and trade partnerships, worked as one system to earn confidence.  

Rinnai needed to prove to pros that tankless water heaters were worth consideration despite long held industry myths.

We built an influencer campaign around education, not flash, so the audience could hear trusted voices explain the real story behind tankless water heaters — and not fall for the myths.

The Goal

Increase quality coverage for Rinnai products, and build awareness and consideration among plumbing professionals by giving them a clearer, more accurate picture of what tankless water heaters can do. 

  • Coverage & Credibility

    Strengthen Rinnai's visibility with industry experts through education-based communications, trade activations and earned editorial presence.

  • Pro Audience Consideration 

    Reach plumbers, contractors, and plumbing engineers with the kind of proof that changes how they think about the brand and the product.


The Challenge

Misconceptions about tankless water heaters were stalling consideration among contractors in the US.

Rinnai needed to connect with plumbers, contractors, and plumbing engineers in a crowded category where those myths could slow understanding and buy-in. The work had to reach a niche audience efficiently and hold attention long enough to change how people thought about the brand. 

Rinnai Tankless water heater
Rinnai Tankless water heater

The Solution

We developed the Tankless Truths campaign, where we partnered with four well-known influencers in the pro-contractor and plumber space to create educational, testimonial videos that tackled common myths about tankless water heaters. We then built an educational content-driven public relations program through the website, YouTube and Instagram that did more than chase mentions. It gave the market a reason to pay attention.

Using second-party data from key trade publications to target the selected regions and distribute the testimonial video, we paired our audience architecture with co-branded eBlasts and personalized copy and creative, to increase resonance.

Targeted outreach and content built to explain the category and correct misconceptions created continuity across every channel, connecting media relations, thought leadership, trade association partnerships, and trade events. 


The Proof

Rinnai came away with 70 assets it owns or licenses for use across different media channels. Contractor skepticism in cold-weather markets gave way to engagement that beat every goal. The message didn’t just reach the right people, it moved them from skepticism to action. 

  • 24

    Earned stories

  • +113%

    Over eblast open rate goal

  • +50%

    Over eblast CTR goal

  • 950k

    Combined video views

  • $0.18

    Cost per view

YellaWood SEO Case Study

YellaWood® SEO Grows Plan Downloads

Updated optimizations and strategic search architecture drove growth in site engagement and in-store purchases.

  • 58%

    YoY increase in plan downloads

At a Glance

Client
YellaWood®
Engagement
SEO & Content
Duration
6 months
Focus
Increase project plan downloads

Overview

YellaWood® needed more site traffic and more DIY project plan downloads. We rebuilt project plan landing pages around search intent and user value. Each new batch of optimized plans helped drive measurable YoY growth. 

YellaWood® DIY project plans already had a clear role in the purchase journey. When people downloaded a plan, they were showing intent that could lead to product use and, ultimately, a sale.  

The problem was simple: traffic was soft, and downloads had fallen. 

We responded with a search-first system that made the pages easier to find and more useful. When the content answers the question faster, users move faster too. 

The Proof

Ongoing SEO revisions drove new users to DIY project plans and increased downloads. Each new batch of revisions drove incremental traffic and engagement. 

  • +40%

    Month-one traffic growth, Batch 1

  • +194%

    YoY traffic growth in six months, Batch 2

  • +97%

    YoY traffic growth after two months, Batch 3

  • +35%

    YoY increase in plan downloads after just one month


The Goal

Increase traffic to YellaWood® DIY project plan pages and drive more plan downloads from Organic search.

  • Traffic

    Increased rankings for plans people wanted to complete would drive them to the site.

  • Downloads

    Helping people understand what was inside the gated content encouraged interaction. 


The Challenge

Project plans encourage smaller scale, but more frequent in-store purchases. The client has seen a correlation between volume of downloads, dealer searches, and in-store foot traffic. But project plan traffic had fallen, and downloads were down in 2020.

adirondack chair
A corn hole set with yellow and blue bean bags

The pages need to rank better, answer search intent more clearly, and give users a stronger reason to download.


The Solution

We used keyword research to shape project ideas, optimizing the project plan landing page and six individual plan pages. Then, we expanded the effort across three additional batches of project plans.  

Outside deck with a love seat in the background with a close up of a coffee table with a plant on it
  1. Copy Edits

    Tightened page copy to help users get the more impactful information up front ― so they knew they wanted the plan ― and used keyword research to guide optimization based on what users were looking for in a plan. 

  2. Design Improvements

    Improved the design so users could see more of the project in the hero image, and more of the content before they got started – including adding a Plan Preview function so they knew what cuts and materials they would need, seeing the value before they committed to a download.

  3. New Plans

    Created new plans based on search intent. Keyword research identified a gap in the market – users wantaed plans they could build with YellaWood® that they weren’t offering yet. We worked with YellaWood® to build new plans that captured user interest, traffic and downloads.

The result was steady traffic gain, stronger download volume, and a clearer connection between search performance and user action. Data and creative worked as one system: search intent shaped the content, and the content and design updates made the pages more useful. Ongoing SEO revisions kept the momentum going.

Mitsubishi Electric Media Case Study

METUS Turned Data-Driven Media into Measurable Growth

HVAC isn’t a category people think about until they need it. A push/pull strategy built that brand and the business simultaneously and delivered from month one.

  • 30%

    Increased call and lead volumes in the first three months

  • 10%

    Increase in ranked keywords

At a Glance

Client
Mitsubishi Electric Trane US (METUS)
Product
Ductless & Ducted HVAC Solutions
Audiences
Contractors & Consumers
Channels
TV

Overview

Two problems. One strategy. The push/pull approach didn’t just move the needed. It moved it in ways we could actually measure.

Mitsubishi Electric Trane US had a real problem — two of them, actually. Brand awareness was low. And lead generation was essentially unmeasurable. For a company selling heating and cooling solutions across wildly different climates and geographies, that combination made growth harder than it needed to be.
 
The strategy had to do double duty.
 
Build the brand by introducing consumers to the idea of zoned comfort — a smarter, more personalized way to think about heating and cooling. Then build the business with regionally targeted campaigns and a contractor-facing app that made the sales process easier at the point of decision.

The Goal

METUS came to Brunner with a clear ambition — grow the brand and the business at the same time. That meant getting consumers to understand and want zoned comfort, while giving contractors the tools and support to close more sales. All of it measurable. All of it accountable to real results.

  • Brand Awareness

    Introduce consumer to METUS and the concept of zoned comfort 

  • Lead Generation

    Build a measurable pipeline across both consumer and contractor audiences

  • Regional Relevance

    Tailor the strategy to geographic and weather-related influences


The Challenge

The strategy had to account for more than just two audiences. METUS operates across regions where climate, geography, and seasonal weather patterns directly influence when and why someone considers a heating or cooling upgrade. A one-size-fits-all media approach wouldn’t cut it.

At the same time, the creative had to introduce an unfamiliar concept — zoned comfort — in a way that felt relevant and worth acting on.


The Solution

We developed a brand and business building strategy built around a single, powerful idea — zoned comfort. Breakthrough TV creative introduced consumers to a smarter way to think about heating and cooling, while regionally targeted campaigns made sure the message landed in the right market at the right time of year.

  • Zoned Comfort

    Breakthrough creative platform giving consumer a new way to think about HVAC

  • Regional Targeting

    Campaigns tailored to geographic and weather-related influences to maximize relevance and timing

The business side got its own dedicated support. A contractor-facing app gave METUS’s sales team a tool to guide customers through the decision at the most critical moment — the point of sale.

  • Contractor App

    Purpose-built sales tool that extended the strategy to the point of decision


The Proof

  • 30%

    Increased call and lead volume in the first three months 

  • 10%

    Increase in ranked keywords 

  • 6 Years

    YoY lead generation growth

The data-driven approach delivered from the start. In the first three months alone, call and lead volume climbed 30%. And the results kept compounding — six years of year-over-year lead generation that proved the strategy wasn’t a one-time win.


We love working with the team… we see you as an extension of our team. We trust your opinions and rely on your help to service our internal customers.

Michelle Rob

Sr. Director of Marketing