Visualize2Realize: A Game Changing Innovation in the Cabinetry Industry
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2011 Masco Corporation Award for Innovation
Visualize2Realize™: A Game Changing
Innovation in the Cabinetry Industry
Title of New Innovation: Visualize2Realize™ Virtual Selection Center
Introduction Date: May, 2011
Business Problem
Masco Cabinetry has a large independent dealer network across the United States that sells our
products. A typical consumer interested in a new kitchen or remodel will work with designers at a dealer
location to select the palate of material choices that will ultimately make up their kitchen. There are
several inherent issues in this process for both the dealer and the consumer making the selections.
For the dealer retailer, most have to limit the choices they can show consumers in their showrooms due to
floor space restrictions, cost constraints, or new product time to market issues. Additionally, many
dealers may not even be aware of all product offerings that are available or how to upsell the higher
margin items. For the consumer, this process is very difficult in that most are attempting to visualize what
the final kitchen will look like with the myriad of finish and material choices that have to be made. These
items can include the cabinet door style and finish color, countertop color, wall color, flooring options,
decorative hardware, appliances, etc.
Providing a way to resolve the above issues would represent a breakthrough in how the selling process
takes place today.
Key Actions
After attending a trade show several of us saw a demonstration from a display manufacturer that had an
electronic version of their physical display. This was a non-interactive item but caused me to think of how
we could utilize this type of technology to solve the above problem. Over the next several weeks I
became convinced we could merge our 20-20 CAD design software that designers all over the country
use to design kitchens, with a photorealistic kitchen rendering for consumers to visualize the final room.
I began meeting with the manufacturers of the 20-20 software as well as other CGI technology companies
in order to find a workable solution. Unfortunately, the technology did not exist yet to “render” the images
automatically. Although several companies believed they could do not, none were able to accurately re-
create a photorealistic look. Ultimately I decided we would work with our digital agency partner to create
the software tool on our own. After successfully lobbying for, and receiving an innovation “grant” from
Masco, and several years of development later, we were successful in launching what is now known as
the V2R, or Visualize2Realize.
A Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Selling – and buying – new cabinetry is now an interactive experience with all the benefits digital
technology endows. Masco Cabinetry’s Visualize2Realize™ (V2R) virtual selection center is easy,
adaptable and social. Available as a wall-mounted (See Image 1) or stand-supported (See Image 2)
touchscreen computer, the V2R is a revolutionary new tool that is fundamentally changing the way
cabinetry retailers sell, and the way consumers shop in our industry. The V2R puts a virtually unlimited
number of design options at consumers’ fingertips that they can touch, tap and swipe to visualize their
dream kitchen in real-time with nearly photorealistic quality (See Image 3).
Consumers can now view all available KraftMaid, Merillat and QualityCabinets door styles and finish
options at authorized retail locations. They also can explore combinations of cabinetry styles and colors
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with various countertops, flooring, appliances, paint, accessories and storage solutions – combined to
create a complete, personalized design plan that they have confidence in buying. Consumers have the
ability to envision the entire kitchen design as a whole, rather than as a collection of chips and samples.
The experience consumers realize in retailer showrooms with the V2R has no match with competitor
brands. It established a fundamental shift in the competitive environment, differentiating MC brands and
improving brand stickiness for fickle consumers who crave something different. This new way of engaging
consumers in the sales and design process in showrooms changes the level of the playing field against
competitors without compromising on price.
The sustainable competitive advantage for Masco Corporation includes the ability to incorporate various
brands and products across business units. The unit currently features Behr paint in versions where it
does not present channel conflict. It could potentially incorporate other business unit brands/products, i.e.
Delta Faucets, Liberty Hardware.
Competitors in the cabinet industry have copied our original idea and offer some similar individual
elements of the V2R solution but not the whole experience, which is greater than the sum of its parts. For
example, several competitors have online planner tools or visualizer tools, but these do not extend or
integrate with the live showroom experience or into the actual design process with a retailer. The few
visualizers out there have an unrealistic image quality with a cartoon-like or CAD/drawing feel rather than
a photorealistic representation of their finished design
A Fundamental Change or Shift in the Competitive Environment
Not only is the V2R virtually unlimited when it comes to the products and styles that can be included, it is
also vastly adaptable in terms of updating, testing and enhancing versions of the interactive experience
for customers and consumers. The V2R is brand agnostic, allowing MC to provide a flexible experience
for the various brand combinations and (customer) channels in which products are sold. It’s simple to turn
on and off specific brands based on what the individual retailer is authorized to offer. It even enables the
use of different door style and finish names for the same products in disparate trade channel
environments That means there’s one selection center that works for all retailers across all channels and
that it can be flexible in terms of what combinations of brands and product lines (i.e., KraftMaid, Merillat,
QualityCabinets, DeNova, Behr Paint), as well as what specific door styles, finish and paint names are
shown.
Interactive/Digital Showroom Experience for Today’s Digital Consumer
Today’s retail consumer is most likely to research online and offline extensively before making a purchase
decision1. As Generation Y (Gen Y) rapidly approaches dominating the workforce2 (and spend-force),
retailers who want to stay relevant and win this group over need to adapt to the way they live, work and
shop. They are tech-savvy, living and breathing interactive technology throughout half of their day. They
embody the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) consumer3, who researches and depends on the
collaboration, sharing and referrals of their friends and social networks to inform his/her purchasing
decisions. They scan, engage and compare before deciding.
The V2R provides all of this capability, bringing online-type activities into the in-store shopping
experience, while also allowing electronic sharing. This makes the V2R attractive and sticky to a Gen-Y
shopper who characteristically looks for relationships with brands, but needs a memorable experience,
relevance and interactivity for a brand to be worthy of their loyalty. It also shortens the sales cycle as
consumers get through critical decision points more quickly.
A Tool for the Design Savvy Consumer
The V2R caters to all ages and levels of technical sophistication. It’s an easy-to-use system that is a
consumer’s dream. Today’s and tomorrow’s shopper wants to create and own their design selections, not
have a designer do it all for them. It’s also important that their shopping experience is multisensory,
multichannel and entertaining. The V2R lets shoppers co-create their design options, while making
cabinetry showrooms fun, interactive and relevant to them. Here are a few of the features that support
this characterization:
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The V2R allows consumers to create and save multiple design combination favorites.
Consumers can create mood boards with their selections and email or print them to share with others
who inform their decisions (See Image 5).
In addition to designing, consumers can learn about cabinetry construction (See Image 6), wood
species as well as new features and innovative functionality through the pages, images, videos and
interactive hot spots throughout the V2R experience.
Results
The V2R system is a patent-pending, custom-developed solution that is far ahead of any competitor tools
for planning and visualizing cabinetry selections. For Masco Cabinetry and retailers, it’s an easily
adaptable technology solution that enhances the sales and design process while exponentially expanding
the product offerings they can affordably show consumers in a physical showroom.
It also offers tremendous advantages to our customers by aligning the showroom experience with the way
consumers prefer to shop in today’s digital world – enhancing the cabinetry selection process by giving
them the power to envision combinations of design options. (See Customer Feedback in Figure 2)
This is something no competitor is currently offering for the physical showroom environment. As we
continue to see the generational shift impact the characteristics of shoppers in terms of style preferences
and in shopping processes, the V2R keeps MC retailers relevant on both fronts due to its easily adaptable
and interactive qualities.
Reduces Dependence on Physical Displays
The manufacturing, purchase and maintenance of physical selection/merchandising centers can be costly
and difficult to manage. The V2R limits this dependence and reduces the costs and time-to-market
required to keep updated product offerings available to consumers. It can also be difficult and disruptive
to the process to go back and forth between a design consultation area and a physical selection center
when changes are made. The V2R combines both product offerings and selection ability together with an
interactive design experience that the consumer can use independently or to co-create with a designer
Easily Adaptable
The V2R is not limited to the offerings that are included at any fixed point in time. As products launch, MC
easily and quickly makes them available in local retail showrooms with the touch of a button, eliminating
the cumbersome, expensive and time consuming process of bringing new products to market via
traditional means. It makes staying current effortless and affordable, with no additional cost to retailers for
automatic updates to the newest MC product offerings for their consumers’ consideration.
Helps Generate Traffic & Close Sales
Customers who advertise the V2R report that it is generating increased showroom traffic. MC dealers
report that the V2R helps turn shoppers into buyers faster by piquing consumers’ interest and preparing
them for the next step in the purchase process. This is reflected in the month over month increase in
percentage of dealer sales generated by V2R owners.
Built-in Upsell & Attachment Opportunities
It is easy for dealers to upsell and increase attachment rates for cabinetry using the V2R. Customers
report that showing the decorative enhancement options (See Image 7) and storage solutions, as well as
combinations of cabinetry with different countertops and appliances on the V2R, help naturally generate
consumer interest and sales on additional products.
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1 According to research by Google/OTX, 66% of cabinetry consumers use the Web to start their research and will go through six
phases of researching, digging, comparing and sharing information before they are ready to buy.
2 Gen Y: People born 1979-1997; 87 million (92 million by 2020 due to immigration); consider by comparison there are 80 million
Baby Boomers and 40 million in Gen X. Gen Y will make up half of the working population in the U.S. by 2018. 37% of Gen Y
already own homes.
3 Google concept that describes the online, social decision making processes of today’s consumers. See
www.zeromomentoftruth.com for more.
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