The great
indoors

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Off the Wall

Like every paint brand, Behr faces an inherent difficulty with demonstrating how its paints actually look when they’re on the wall. Stores can provide all the color chips and knowledgeable clerks they like, but ultimately it’s impossible for consumers to tell exactly how paint will integrate with a home until it’s in use—well after the purchase and emotional commitment have been made. Consumers are left disappointed if the results don’t align with what they envisioned, and it can be costly to switch once a choice has been made. Behr wanted to combat this issue with technology, hoping to both educate consumers and differentiate itself from competitors in the crowded paint market. They looked for help devising a solution.

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Inviting Behr Inside

The team began brainstorming the best way to help consumers invite Behr into their homes. The goal was commitment-free education: how could technology be employed to give homeowners a glimpse of paint selections and combinations in their own interiors? Moreover, could it be done quickly, easily, and reliably?

The answer was ColorSmart, a tool that helps users see paint selections in stock interior pictures or pictures they’ve uploaded online. All the consumer has to do is select their picture and let technology do the rest, matching walls, trim, wainscoting, and more with the Behr paint colors of their choice. The tool makes recommendations for paint and color combinations based on current trends, but otherwise lets the consumer tinker and explore. They can accept Behr’s pallette recommendations, or come up with a combination all their own. Finally, once color selections have been made, the tool automatically loads the Behr products into a Home Depot shopping cart, ready for checkout.

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Picture Perfect

ColorSmart is a key component of Behr.com as well as customer-service kiosks in select Home Depot locations, helping to smooth the path between consideration and purchase. A groundbreaking tool in the industry, it has significantly eased the burden of imaginary , giving various audiences (home owners, contractors, employees) a powerful tool for guiding decisions. It’s also shifted consumers’ attentions away from price, allowing them to confidently move in a creative direction with less fear of a mismatch between expectations and reality. Finally, it makes the sale when consumers are most primed to buy—when they’ve invested time in the decision-making process and have fallen in love with their creation.