Natralis Product Launch

Before exploring the possibilities of the Natralis™ launch, we were asked to provide advice on the development of the Natralis™ product itself, a range inspired by the diversity of Australia’s flora, fauna and natural landscapes. We advised on range breadth, colour tone and product composition, all with the Australian specifier market in mind, culminating in the formation of a cohesive and beautiful range of 22 colours. We simultaneously undertook a comprehensive communications review, designing and facilitating an industry survey to learn and validate specifier experience and expectation around product and brand. This knowledge established core strategic thinking and would go on to inform the Natralis™ launch creative design direction.

We assessed Armstong Flooring’s recent rebrand, executed in the USA, to ascertain and apply to an Australian commercial market, considering brand representation, visual language and tone of voice. A creative photography shoot showcased the Natralis™ product alongside leading Australian furniture and building products, with the imagery being the central visual language in a rollout of printed collateral, sample packs and digital assets.

The Natralis™ product launch practices design excellence with respect and flair; it is a campaign that understands and embraces local manufacturing, the importance of the imagination in the creative process and the value of authentic brand representation. Campaign strategy and direction was informed by considered research, market insights and specialist advice, while client trust and confidence gave vital freedom to the formation of creative content.

The Natralis™ imagery is distinct in its visual storytelling, embodying Australian colour and connection to landscape while expressing the forms of interior spaces, whether a lively educational experience or calming aged care atmosphere. The product is shown alongside leading Australian furniture and building products, brought to life through the work of photographer Lillie Thompson and stylist Marsha Golemac. Campaign collateral keeps the specifier in mind, both informative and inspiring, with a product range folder, fandeck, sample packs and custom packaging all using Australian and sustainable paper stocks (where possible).

Local printers and manufacturers were engaged, keeping production at home and reflecting the brand values of local industry. The Natralis™ product launch is a showcase of Australian manufacturing, creativity, design and production.

As a local Australian manufacturer of high-quality and trusted flooring, reinvigorating the Armstrong Flooring brand and products in the creative minds of Australian specifiers was our key challenge. The concept of authenticity is at the heart of the Natralis™ storytelling – staying true to function and values while not forgoing beauty and the wonder of the imagination.

We focussed on amplifying the representation of the Natralis™ product, displaying vinyl as it has never been seen before, refreshing the idea of how this humble product can be used and reigniting creative thinking. Campaign photography explores four deconstructed interior spaces, each evocative of colour, place and emotion. Swathes of vinyl sheets fill each photo, complemented by the playful and varied forms and tones of styled materials, furniture and objects. These a colour-rich narratives that enliven and engage.

Fundamentally, these stories are also true to function and values. Each narrative is inspired by actual interior space within market segments such as healthcare, education or aged care. The vinyl’s scale and varying shapes speak to its application and customisation capabilities while all materials, paint and furniture are appropriate to real-life commercial applications and sourced from Australian brands and manufacturers. Core messaging ‘Play with Colour, Connect with Place’ also speaks to authenticity, linking the beauty of the natural world with the creative process and the built outcome. While it may not be immediately noticeable, these images express real environments for real designers.

As an outcome, the Natralis™ product launch has been a confident and honest initiative in the Australian architectural and design market and a highly successful commercial move. Armstrong Flooring have not shied away from engaging with specifiers directly, asking for feedback, integrating new brand guidelines and investing in creative content they have never produced before. They have retained their values of brand authenticity, connection to landscape, sustainability and local manufacturing, while increasing their production output and growing their customer base.

Campaign creative, communications and collateral all align with these values, staying true to Australian colour and application, being low impact and sustainable solutions and keeping the tone of voice at once pragmatic and playful. Armstrong Flooring have forged new alliances with local specifiers, brands, manufacturers and creatives, improving their standing in the industry and stepping up into new conversations. Our contributions have enabled Armstrong Flooring to stay innovative, informative and imaginative.