Life’s Material Difference

Saint-Gobain:

Life’s Material Difference

The Challenge

Saint-Gobain had a long global history and a multi-billion dollar portfolio, but low brand awareness in the United States. Many of its individual businesses, such as CertainTeed and Sage, were better known than the parent company. The challenge was to create a unifying brand platform that clearly connected these sub-brands to Saint-Gobain, while making the company’s full impact easy to understand and relevant to U.S. audiences. At the same time, the brand needed to come to life in a high-profile way at Greenbuild, reaching industry stakeholders, employees, and the broader public.

Saint-Gobain was a brand with a deep history – but one that was largely unknown in the United States. It needed a new way of showcasing the depth and breadth of its multi-billion dollar portfolio in a relatable, easy-to-understand way. Additionally, some of its sub-brands, such as CertainTeed and Sage, were much more well-known by audiences. Saint-Gobain wasn’t looking to change this level of recognition– just make the connection to the corporate parent clearer.

The Solution

Saint-Gobain partnered with Peppercomm to build a new brand from the ground up. Through research and strategic development, the platform “Life’s Material Difference” was created to capture how the company’s innovations impact everyday life. The positioning provided a clear throughline across the portfolio, allowing each business to connect back to the parent brand.

To bring the new identity to market, Peppercomm led a fully integrated launch. A new visual system anchored the effort, supported by employee training to ensure teams could confidently communicate and cross-sell the brand. The campaign extended beyond the convention center with a city-wide presence across Philadelphia, including transit hubs, outdoor placements, and taxi screens.

Experiential moments further reinforced the brand story, from a lunch-and-learn highlighting product innovation to high-profile events designed to engage key stakeholders. Measurement was built in throughout to assess impact across audiences, from attendees to local residents.

The Result

Aided awareness increased significantly from 51 percent to 68 percent
One in eight were familiar with the slogan “Life’s Material Difference” and of these 40 percent already associated the slogan with SGNA and its subsidiaries
Sixty-nine percent of attendees believed that “Life’s Material Difference” was a relevant tagline to their line of work
One of five Philadelphians interviewed (19%) were familiar with SGNA, up from only 10% before the conference
Awareness of what SGNA does skyrocketed from 0 percent before the conference to 35 percent afterward

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