Kleber & Associates

06/03/2026

PGT Windows and Doors just rebranded for the second time in three years.

The first one worked. 40% sales growth. Doubled brand awareness. And a 60% acquisition premium when Miter bought the company a year later.

So why rebrand again?

The new identity leans into Miter's national scale and a more polished lifestyle narrative — "Engineered for Here," "Framing home in a new light."

It also quietly drops one word from the name: "Custom."

One word removed. Significant meaning lost.

In building products, "Custom" wasn't decorative. It signaled made-to-order, specification-grade product to the builders, architects and dealers who drive the majority of purchasing decisions in this category.

A visual refresh is the easy part. Preserving trust is the real test.

PGT Windows and Doors’ new identity. What happens when a highly regional, technically respected brand begins evolving?

05/22/2026

Some building product brands are growing.

Others — with bigger budgets and larger teams — are losing ground despite working harder than ever.

It isn't a lack of effort. The environment has changed.

Tighter budgets. Constricted timelines. AI reshaping discovery. Specifiers researching independently, before a manufacturer ever enters the conversation.

More activity. Harder work. And results that don't scale.

The pattern points to one root cause: misalignment between sales and marketing. And it's solved — or left unsolved — at the leadership level.

This week's edition unpacks why growth has become a system challenge, what misalignment quietly costs, and how leading companies are pulling ahead.



https://bit.ly/4nJp5i0

It isn’t a lack of effort, the environment has changed.

05/07/2026

AI search continues to get all the buzz on how buyers find products before they ever reach your website.

But AI is not the only growing way of search. Quietly… social media has become a search engine too.

Not something that is gaining traction. Rather, a new way to search that is already taking share from traditional search engines.

For Building Product Brands, that changes the visibility equation. Google is now one portion of a broader discovery ecosystem. And being indexed is no longer the same as being found.

This week's edition unpacks what social search rewards, why SEO and GEO can't stand alone, and how visibility ultimately becomes trust.

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Social media has quietly become a search engine. What that shift means for building product brands working to be found, trusted and chosen today.

04/29/2026

Apple transferred the CEO baton from Tim Cook to John Ternus. The story isn't just about succession, it's about transferring trust.

What Apple’s CEO Transition Says About Trust in Building Products



https://bit.ly/4cEbaGl

Trust isn’t relegated to a consumer product like a smart phone.

04/23/2026

Short-Form Video Strategy Tips for Building Product Brands

Short-form video has quietly become a pressure test for the rest of a brand's content.

04/15/2026

Want a Loyal Audience? Start Thinking Like a Franchise.

Brand loyalty doesn’t work the way it used to. Thinking like a Franchise may help.

Brand loyalty doesn’t work the way it used to. Thinking like a Franchise may help.

04/08/2026

What the Moonshot Still Teaches Building Product Brands

What an Inbox Can't Tell You…
Jobsite communication is one of the most underused competitive advantages in the channel.



https://bit.ly/4cx4Hg7

Jobsite communication is one of the most underused competitive advantages in the channel.

04/01/2026

Brand Differentiation Success For Challenger Brands

In crowded categories, the brands that win need not be the biggest.

In crowded categories, the brands that win need not be the biggest.

03/26/2026

Campaign Critique: True Value “Your Project, Your Way”

When Meaning Replaces the Hard Sell Product Claims and Promotions Can Resonate



https://bit.ly/3PzULtk

True Value’s latest campaign delivers a shift that prioritizes brand meaning… over technical persuasion.

03/18/2026

Entry Level Homeownership | Solutions for Channel Success

Young homeownership isn't disappearing - it's delayed. What this shift means for housing, builders, and building product brands.



https://bit.ly/4lBMZLz

Young homeownership isn't disappearing - it's delayed. What this shift means for housing, builders, and building product brands.