• by David Kaplan , May 5, 2005

Thanks in large part to people like Bob Vila, Martha Stewart, and Ty Pennington, the percentage of homeowners who performed any home improvement project during the past year has increased 18 percent since 2001, according to a study by Scarborough Research.

Clearly, that area is on the minds of advertisers these days, as home improvement retailer Lowe's has put its estimated $300 million advertising and media account in review. Interpublic Group shops McCann Erickson and Universal McCann, the incumbents on the account, are contending to hold on to the business.

Additionally, in light of the heavier competition in the category, Havas media shop MPG recently advised its client, Delta Faucet, to advertise more heavily on Scripps Network's home improvement advice channels HGTV, DIY, and the Food Network--as opposed to running less ads on more broadly targeted media.

As for Scarborough's study, the market analyst firm finds that 65 percent of America's homeowners invested in any home improvement project during the past 12 months, such as landscaping, painting, or remodeling. Scarborough also found that homeowners are focusing more inside the home, although that information may be skewed by the colder winter, said Alisa Joseph, vice president, advertiser marketing services for Scarborough.

Several interior home improvement categories have increased since Scarborough's 2001 analysis, Joseph noted. Home improvement centers should take note that Scarborough finds that interior paint/wallpaper is the leading home improvement project. Thirty-five percent of homeowners currently cite this as an enhancement they have made during the past year. This category is up 30 percent since the 2001 Scarborough study.

"I think it's more likely that as the warm weather settles in, the improvement trend will move outdoors to the exterior of the house," she said.

Other interior projects that have increased since 2001 are carpeting/floor covering (a 13 percent increase), bathroom remodeling (a 27 percent increase), and kitchen remodeling (a 25 percent increase). Landscaping, the top home improvement category in the 2001 report, has dropped to number two in 2004.

The reason for this, Joseph said, is the "nesting" tendency on the part of homeowners that has grown since the bursting of the dot-com bubble a few years ago, and the strains in the economy brought on by the 9/11 attacks.

"The overall increase in projects is due to the fact that today's homeowners have an investment mentality--the thinking is that if one invests in a project today, it will pay off with the eventual sale of the home," said Bob Cohen, president and chief executive officer, Scarborough Research. "This mentality manifests itself in the Scarborough study, as we see more homeowners taking on involved and expensive projects, such as remodeling. Additionally, the focus on interiors can be in part attributed to the insecurity of today's world," continued Cohen. "People are taking refuge in their homes more than ever, and keeping one's sanctuary fresh and new--even by taking on simple, inexpensive projects--adds to the feelings of peace and warmth people get from their home."

Joseph added that those are the themes advertisers working in this category need to be cognizant of.

Still, for those media buyers and marketers looking to "home improvement hot spots," Scarborough pointed to Minneapolis as the top U.S. local market for home improvements, among the 75 markets it measured.

About 74 percent of Minneapolis homeowners conducted home improvement projects during the past year, and they are 13 percent more likely than all homeowners nationally to have done so. Rochester, NY, Salt Lake City, Providence, RI, Buffalo, NY, Philadelphia, and Hartford, CT trail closely, as 73 percent of homeowners in these local markets performed enhancements during the past 12 months.

"Undoubtedly, home improvement has a new role in popular culture," Joseph said. "There are countless television programs and seminars on the topic--and the hosts are young and hip artists and contractors who make even the most complex of projects feel attainable to the average American. This has given rise to a new generation of do-it-yourself homeowners who eagerly roll up their sleeves and grab a paintbrush or hammer and get to work on the home."