Housewares get “inspired”

A new online resource created by the International Housewares Association (IHA) delivers fresh content on emerging home trends and housewares products.

The site, IHAInspiredHome.org, offers compelling information and ideas across a broad spectrum of home lifestyle categories, enabling consumers to connect directly with brands and companies that can meet their housewares needs.

Visitors to IHAInspiredHome.org and corresponding platforms on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube will find beautiful imagery, DIY tips, home ideas, seasonal recipes and information about new products from industry experts, bloggers and media personalities across variety of topics: cooking and baking, dining, entertaining, home organization, cleaning, personal care and wellness, and more.

"We designed Inspired Home to be an informative, fun online resource by creating it in a highly visual, editorial style, which we know consumers seek out when looking for home inspiration," said Phil Brandl, president and CEO of the International Housewares Association.

Research shows that consumers head to the web when seeking information about housewares products and making purchasing decisions. According to JLL Research women, in particular, are more likely to engage with media that seamlessly integrates into and improves their day-to-day lives, and millennials are 247% more likely to be influenced by blogs or social networking sites than other age groups.

Inspired Home marks the first venture into business-to-consumer marketing for the IHA, the 76-year-old voice of the housewares industry. Until now, the IHA focused its efforts on serving as a business-to-business trade organization connecting companies and brands to retailers in an effort to facilitate global commerce, primarily through its annual International Home and Housewares Show.

As savvy consumers increasingly turn to the web to select kitchen utensils, organization tools, cookware pieces, home decor and more to "make their house a home,” IHA launches Inspired Home with the goal of educating consumers about their housewares options and showcasing its 1,600 members' products. The organization represents some of the most well-known brands in the housewares industry, such as KitchenAid, Hamilton Beach, OXO, simplehuman, Keurig, Conair, Pyrex and many more. In addition to the new website, Inspired Home spans IHA's social media channels, public relations efforts and strategic partnerships.

Products of IHA member brands and companies will be woven throughout Inspired Home's platforms, in order to organically build relationships with consumers, elevate the housewares industry overall and ultimately drive sales. In addition to inclusion in featured content, each exhibiting IHA member company will have its own profile page on IHAinspiredhome.org, highlighting up to 50 product images for consumers to easily access, along with links to the member's website and social media platforms.

"We want to be influential in the consumer's path to purchase," says Derek Miller, IHA's vp, global marketing. "Through Inspired Home, our members will be able to share new products and innovations with consumers throughout the year, driving awareness of what they have to offer. We are extremely excited about this new consumer awareness initiative and the visibility it will provide for our members."

IHAInspiredHome.org was designed to appeal to those who seek out lifestyle imagery and content for home and housewares inspiration. As such, visitors to the Inspired Home platforms will find eye-catching photography, informative slideshows and concise tip lists to pique their interest and introduce them to products.

Content will be offered in a "news you can use" format, presented from the perspective of a multitude of trusted experts. The Inspired Home content team includes leading color forecaster Pantone, high-profile digital influencers and housewares industry authorities, such as Frank Fontana, chief contributing editor to Inspired Home, who's best known as an HGTV interior designer, best-selling author and radio personality.

"When connecting with audiences, it's so important to share information that they can immediately put into practice in their daily lives," said Fontana, who welcomes visitors to IHAInspiredHome.org in a video on the site's homepage and who will contribute monthly content to the site. "That is exactly what Inspired Home does, and we're helping consumers take even greater command of their purchase power."