Chili, chocolate, ketchup stains no match for SmartStrand
September 2/9 2013; Volume 27/number 10
By Melissa McGuire
That’s a wrap! The East Coast leg of Mohawk’s License to Spill tour concluded with a bang, securing more than 1 billion consumer impressions for the company.
License to Spill kicked off in March and traveled to Boston; Atlanta; Hilton Head, S.C.; Chicago; Philadelphia, and Highlands, N.J. In each city, the License to Spill campaign participated in popular local festivals to showcase the cleanability of SmartStrand and promote local Floorscapes and ColorCenter retailers.
“We were thrilled with the outcome of our East Coast tour,” said Elise Demboski, vice president of creative services for Mohawk. “The family-friendly festivals were perfect for giving consumers and their children a ‘license to spill.’ It was fun to see the parents’ reactions to the spills and watch their amazement as they cleaned the carpet with just water.”
At each event, consumers were blown away by the performance of SmartStrand and its inherent cleanability. To make things even more interesting, Mohawk invited prominent local chefs from each city to spill their favorite menu items on the carpet. Time and time again, SmartStrand reigned victorious. None of the featured delicacies—from chocolate fondue to seafood chili dogs—proved messy enough to leave a lasting stain.
Here’s a closer look at the festivals that served as pit stops on the East Coast:
• Boston’s New England Home Show. Boston’s favorite home show has been a tradition for families in New England. As the original, largest and longest-running home show in Boston, millions of homeowners have visited this event for 63 years.
• Hilton Head’s Seafood Festival. The family-friendly event featured area restaurants and chefs serving up seafood specialties and other tasty cuisine, live entertainment, a Kids Zone, silent auction, Iron Chef-style competition and more.
• Atlanta’s Dogwood Festival. An Atlanta staple for more than 75 years, there was something for everyone at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival. Virtually every kind of art imaginable was represented at the festival, with a nationally renowned-juried Fine Artist Market that included sculptures, paintings, pottery, jewelry, photography and much more.
• Chicago’s Chocolate Festival. Every year, thousands of festival-goers of all ages stroll through the cobblestone streets of downtown Long Grove, home to more than 50 shops and restaurants, including the Long Grove Confectionery. Restaurants, cafes and food vendors featured amazing chocolate specialty items, such as the Apple Haus’ famous Johnny Pop, a signature apple cider donut smothered in Long Grove chocolate and served on a stick.
• Philadelphia’s Italian Market Festival. The nation’s oldest outdoor continuous market hosted the highly anticipated annual Italian Market Festival and featured a variety of fun-filled events, including live entertainment, the Procession of Saints, a family-fun zone and lots of Italian food to sample.
• New Jersey’s Highlands Clam Fest. Located on the beautiful New Jersey coast in Huddy Park, Highlands, the 19th annual Clam Fest offered attendees fresh seafood, live entertainment, contests and children’s activities.
For those who did not get a chance to make it to any of the East Coast stops, there are several opportunities to catch up on what was missed. For starters, Mohawk Floor-ing’s website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube platforms have a variety of photos, videos and stories from each city. In addition, “The Better Show,” which broadcasts in 170 markets and reaches more than 1 million viewers, has been documenting the tour since its kickoff. After each event and at the conclusion of the East Coast tour, “The Better Show” aired a recap on its nationally syndicated TV show. After the segment airs, Mohawk’s Floorscapes and ColorCenter retailers receive exclusive usage of the footage. Scan the QR code to see an exciting and informative video on the tour’s progress so far.