Marketers who work in the world of wall and floor coverings have a pretty tough job. Consumers don’t get emotional about tiles and bathroom furniture the way they do about cars and shoes. It’s difficult to make products stand out when their main function is to blend in.
Since the eighties, the Spanish ceramics giant, Porcelanosa, has consistently excelled at turning bathroom and kitchen fit-outs into a high-level brand experience. An extensive network of showrooms around the world showcases Porcelanosa’s commitment to style and quality, and has been instrumental in establishing the brand as a global leader in interior and exterior materials.
For the recent Cersaie trade fair, Porcelanosa Grupo unveiled a new programme that will surely reinforce this standing.
Porcelanosa Premium Collection is a new brand platform that cherry-picks the very best offerings from four of the group’s smaller, more specialized subsidiaries – Gamadecor, Systempool/Krion, L’Antic Colonial and Noken.
Premium Collection presents nine distinct aesthetics for bathrooms, kitchens and living spaces, and the glue that holds it all together is a collaboration with Valencian architect & designer, Ramón Esteve.
Eteve’s architectural work has largely been local, but his designs have featured at manufacturers like Vondom and Vibia, and he recently received wider attention for Casa Sardinera – a stunning new residence near Alicante.
A common business model operated by premium interiors firms is to commission capsules from star designers – using their creativity to explore new techniques and materials, and their reputation to project a certain style and/or celebrity. It can be an expensive exercise, and designers’ activities with other brands – sometimes competing brands – can cause confusion.
In this project, Esteve’s collaborative role is more subtle and holistic. It relies on his authenticity and taste more than his notoriety, but the outcome is surprisingly persuasive.
His main role is as stylist/architect, curator and narrator, helping clients navigate their way infinite product combinations. Unlike a typical designer capsule, the number of products actually created by Esteve is very few. Through this curatorial approach, and by retaining creative control over the look and feel of displays and materials, the ambiances and propositions he creates are compelling. Using a magazine style of presentation, he also makes it possible to link to other figures of authority, such as Michelin chef, Quique Dacosta.
The use of Esteve to spearhead this project provides a reminder of how collaborations are not always about reach and attention, they can also be extremely useful for creating clarity and earning trust.
From a practical standpoint, Esteve solves complex problems for Porcelanosa Grupo in a remarkably elegant way. Premium Collection provides a platform where the products of minor subsidiaries can be brought to the front-line and add to the overall value proposition of the Porcelanosa brand.
As we say so often in collaboration and co-branding, the result is much greater than the sum of its parts.
Look inside Porcelanosa Premium Collection
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