Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast, brought to you by Mitre Brands University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Conner and I am your host.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: Good morning. We are here on the Clear Impact Podcast and. And today I'm talking to one of my favorite people, Debbie Bondonzi. Welcome to the podcast.
[00:00:33] Speaker C: Thank you, Sheri.
[00:00:34] Speaker A: It's been a while since I've been wanting to have you on here, and you've managed to elevate other people on your team to take the space. So I'm glad that you and I are getting to talk today. But before we launch into the topic at hand, tell us a little bit about you.
[00:00:48] Speaker C: So, sure. I started with CGI back in 2012. I was the director of Marketing at the time when we were this little small company.
But over the next few years, we definitely made a name for ourselves, and eventually we were acquired by pgt. Since then, I've held various positions at pgt and I'm currently the marketing manager for this house.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: Okay, that's awesome. So you're still living in the Miami area?
[00:01:10] Speaker C: I am.
[00:01:11] Speaker A: And we're phoning in this interview because you were not going to be over in Venice anytime soon, and we wanted to get this recorded. So we're going to be talking about PGT today.
And some people know this, but many do not. But PGT actually stands for Progressive Glass Technologies.
And this year marks the 45th year of being in business, and obviously things morph and evolve and change over time. And the brand has changed, the logo has changed, and we're about to be making even more changes to the logo and even the color.
So this is kind of strange to be looking at PGT logos that don't look the same as they used to. But can you talk us through, through this and what exactly is changing?
[00:02:00] Speaker C: Sure. So since the acquisition by Mitre, you know, we've taken a lot of steps to keep improving, and we feel really confident at this point in time that those improvements are being felt by our customers, too. So we thought that was only appropriate. It's a good time that we align with our sister brands and go red. We're actually going red.
So overall, you know, we want our customers to know the color is changing. Yes, but the value of PGT is not. The brand is still going to have the same regional feel that it has today, but this update just allows us to streamline stuff like brand management so that we're putting more resources toward improving our quality and reliability, offering better customer support, and just exploring new innovations.
[00:02:39] Speaker A: Yeah. And so this takes place starting in April.
[00:02:42] Speaker C: That's the plan.
[00:02:43] Speaker A: And so why do people rebrand? I mean, yes, we want to look a little bit more like MI and Milgard and the other companies that Mitre owns. But what's the move behind that? Like, why would a company put together a fresh look so specifically for us?
[00:02:59] Speaker C: In Mitre, red is not just the color. Right. For us, it means excellence is in store. So part of this rebrand to us is just communicating the advances and the strides that we've made for our customers. And we just want them to realize we're working hard every day to change what wasn't working before and just to perfect what is working.
[00:03:16] Speaker A: Oh, that makes sense. And so I know that means a lot for us. Like, obviously you said before we started recording, a new website is going to be launched.
That's reprinting of digital assets, that's signage. Like, all the things have to be flipped over. And our team is going to be working hard to redo some of our content on the learning management side. But what does this mean for our dealers?
[00:03:41] Speaker C: So hopefully our dealers are already experiencing some of these wins that I've been talking about, but it means they now have a team who's going to follow the red pledge. And in case you all don't know what the red pledge is, it's our promise to live out the brand promise every day. It's going to be them seeing us, us live up to that relentless pursuit of 100% every day. And I know you mentioned all the items that are going to be changing. So along with updating our marketing materials and website, our plans to create content that they can use on their own sites and socials as well. We're going to try and provide a little more hand holding so that we can get them where they want to be marketing and advertising wise, and have approved content to do so.
[00:04:19] Speaker A: Okay, so when they're flipping over their things, I mean, it takes a while, right? You don't just like throw everything in the garbage and then start fresh the next day.
[00:04:28] Speaker C: Exactly. We're considering this, what's called a rolling change. So we're going to update all the important stuff, but there's going to be things that are going to take a little bit longer to be up to date with the new logo.
[00:04:39] Speaker B: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window and door industry. Whether you are a customer selling our products or a homeowner doing research, the Clear Impact podcast provides helpful content that makes an impact. Subscribe today. Wherever you listen to podcasts
[00:04:57] Speaker C: Right.
[00:04:57] Speaker A: And so that's how we're going to support them, is just making sure they have access to everything that they need to incorporate the new color and the new logo.
[00:05:06] Speaker C: Yeah. There'll be a dealer portal like they have now, but it'll have the updated information. So it'll have those new brand guidelines, it'll have the new logos, it'll have some content that they can use and such.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Okay, perfect. And then I wanted to ask you about this. So there are brand pillars, and I don't know what that even really means.
[00:05:24] Speaker C: And.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: And so if you can tell us what brand pillars mean, and then what are the brand pillars for pgt?
[00:05:29] Speaker C: Yeah, so there are guidelines that we follow when we talk to our consumers. We want to make sure everybody's on the same page. And we currently have four brand pillars. Did you want me to go into a little bit more detail on those?
[00:05:39] Speaker A: Yeah, please.
[00:05:40] Speaker C: So the first one is experience is everything. You know, we've been here for 45 years, and we're striving for the path to perfect windows and doors, and we're going to continue to do so. The second one is my favorite, and that's engineered for here. We know the challenges that Homestead face because we live and work here, too. So I feel really strongly about that one. Then there's every detail every day. We all know that details matter, Right. So we're focusing on every detail that we can, and we're keeping our eyes on the needs of the market and then innovating to those to the best of our ability. And then the last one but not least is confidence to create. So we strive to serve all of our customers with a level of quality and support that others can't match. We want them to feel confident as possible that they're getting what they're paid for. So those are our pillars right now?
[00:06:26] Speaker A: Yeah, I hadn't seen those. Are those gonna be posted somewhere? I'm sure they'll be on the website. Right.
[00:06:31] Speaker C: So they're part of those brand guidelines that we're talking about. And when you look at our materials, those will start coming through. So, yeah, you are gonna be able to see some of that content and that text in our brochures.
[00:06:40] Speaker A: Well, that's amazing. I learned something today. That's great. Okay. And so I have two last questions, and this is kind of what we've been doing in the We Are Florida series, which is almost over. I think we're. We have just a few more episodes to record on that. But the We Are Florida is The campaign that we've been doing for the last several months.
So what does the We Are Florida mean to you?
[00:07:02] Speaker C: So We Are Florida actually started out as a campaign idea because we realized a couple things. We realized when we're prepping for a storm, our customers are prepping for a storm, or vice versa. And when they're cleaning up after a storm, we're cleaning up after a storm. And why is that? It's because we're here, right? We are you. We live, work, and we play here. Like I said before, we know what it takes to be a Floridian and what you need to be prepared. So who better to engineer these products or manufacture these products but us? We quickly came to realize that this wasn't just a marketing message anymore. It's just who we are.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: Yeah. No, I love it. I love that the windows and doors I'm putting into my house, I can go right outside the door to my office and see where they're being built. Like, yeah, that's amazing.
And then one last question, and I can't wait to hear your answer on this. So there's a bunch of statements that make up the Mitre brand's DNA. And this is really how we operate. And it's not just words on a wall, but it's actually how we operate as a team and as a company. Which one of these is your favorite?
[00:08:03] Speaker C: So there is one that resonated with me the most from the get go. And it's the worst decision is making no decision at all. And those of who know me know that I don't like to stand still. Right. I like to think through the options and I like to overthink the options. Then I just go with it. So we're not supposed to be afraid of making mistakes. What we should be afraid of is not learning from those mistakes. So I appreciate that. Here it's okay to take a step back if something didn't work and just try again. I feel it's really important process that most companies are afraid to let their employees undergo. But here at Mitre, we're given that freedom.
[00:08:36] Speaker A: Yeah, I love that one, too. When I first heard that, I was like, whoa, that's amazing. And I heard that early on. I think it was my first recording with anybody from the Mitre team, which was Brock Snyder.
And I think at that time I was asking, like, what's your favorite piece of advice? And his answer was, I didn't even realize it was part of the DNA at the time. And that was almost two years ago. So yeah, that one jumps out with me as well.
[00:09:01] Speaker C: Yeah, the first time I heard that was at the CX event. And we're having this huge event, and so many good pieces of information came out of that. But that one really resonated with me because I'm like, okay, thank goodness, because I'm kind of doing that anyway. So now I like to know that I have permission, so it's great.
[00:09:18] Speaker A: Yeah, I love that. And I think that fits you. If I had to guess which one, I probably would have picked that one for you. But anyway, is there anything else we need to add to this?
[00:09:27] Speaker C: Nope, I think we're good.
[00:09:29] Speaker A: Okay. All right. Well, Debbie, I really appreciate your time today. Thank you for shedding some light on the upcoming changes to the PGT look, and I'm sure we'll talk again soon.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: Yeah, we're excited for you all to see it. Thank you.
[00:09:42] Speaker A: All right, thanks. Have a great day.
[00:09:43] Speaker C: You, too.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: The Clear Impact podcast is brought to you by Mitre Brands.
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