In the sunny showroom at Choo-Choo Carpets and Floor Coverings, there is a flipbook display of various multi-colored Shaw carpet swatches against the front wall. And another display of floppy Shaw carpet samples against another.
There are handfuls of other manufacturer-branded displays just like them in the shop, bearing names like Beaulieu, Shaw and Mohawk -- the giants of the industry.
But the question -- even among the makers of floor coverings -- is whether average consumers go looking for the Shaw, or Mohawk or Beaulieu name when they walk into a place like Choo-Choo Carpets and Floor Coverings.
And in many cases, the honest answer is no, according to Curtis Smith, owner and president of the North Shore carpet retailer.
"They're not sure if they want a pattern or a loop," said Smith. "That's the question they ask: I need some help. I need some carpet."
And because it's no secret to the flooring world that Smith's experience is typical, some floor covering companies are on the offensive.
Shaw Industries, for instance, recently released a new string of marketing materials in the "Awesome Happens on Shaw Floors" campaign. It's heavy on human connection, and it appeals to a new generation of homeowners.
"The digital revolution has changed a lot of the consumer research," said Todd Callaway, director of digital content at Shaw.
He said modern consumers are researching their flooring options online, and many go long stretches -- decades even -- without setting one foot in a hardware or retail store.
So Shaw is taking 99 digital steps in the consumers' direction.
Since the launch of the "Awesome Happens" campaign, Shaw flooring products are now attached to human stories and intentionally tug at the hearts of potential buyers. The company remodeled its online image with a slick, user-friendly website and a series of touching YouTube videos.
Shaw ponied up advertising and marketing dollars, shook off the Great Recession blues and departed from its previous marketing tactics.
On the totally revamped Shaw website, a GIF image of a toddler stacking wobbly blocks on a Shaw hardwood floor loops nonstop on the homepage. An out-of-focus female figure (presumably the toddler's mother) stands on her toes in the background and reaches for something out of the frame.
Shaw has created an image of a happy family, happening on Shaw floors.
"Some call it flooring," the website states. "We call it a foundation for awesome."
But in the toddler image, nowhere is the Shaw name visible, outside a logo in the navigation bar at the top of the homepage.
"The truth is, once the flooring is installed, you don't see that name of the brand, so it's harder for it to be top-of-mind," said Callaway. "That's a hurdle that we have to overcome."
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Before the Great Recession, the wholesale flooring industry in America was, in 2006, valued at roughly $26 billion, according to Kemp Harr, publisher of Floor Focus trade publication. By 2009, the industry's wholesale value had dropped $10 billion to about $16 billion.
"Now, it's back to just over $20 billion," said Harr.
But the dramatic loss of business and income over the last seven years rattled many flooring manufacturers, and ones advertising directly to consumers cut their marketing budgets when it came time to tighten the belt.
"Armstrong was the last big manufacturer in the U.S. that did consumer advertising, and they quit three years ago," said Harr.
In 2005, 638,000 homes were sold in the South, according to the United States Census Bureau. It was an all-time high, but darker days were immediately around the corner.
For the next six years, home sales in the region fell, each year worse than the previous one.
And in 2011, only 168,000 homes were sold in the South -- an annual low not seen since 1966.
Home sales didn't break 200,000 again until 2013.
Last year, 243,000 homes were sold in the South, and 437,000 homes were sold nationwide -- both nearly back to 2008 numbers.
With home sales already down, flooring manufacturers were faced with declining interest in carpet as a floor covering and increasing unemployment, which meant decreasing disposable income.
And the thing about flooring, said Harr, is you don't replace it "until you feel comfortable enough about your economical situation to spend some money."
In other words, flooring is a "postponable purchase," says Kathy Young, vice president of marketing services at Shaw.
"We were looking at 10, 15 -- and I don't want to say it -- even longer replacement time periods," she said.
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Thank goodness for HGTV, DIY Network and the rise of the weekend warrior, said Young.
And especially for Pinterest.
"Back in the '70s, and in the '80s and even now today in many homes, everything was done in one color," said Young. "It was one color of flooring. You put it all in, and the thought of replacing all that carpeting was a big, daunting task."
But variety -- even mismatching, to a degree -- is cool now. And not only does that free up homeowners to shop for different kinds of flooring, it also frees them up to go at a remodel one room at a time. It's cheaper and less intimidating.
"That was like, a wonderful day in the life of manufactured flooring for us," said Young.
Shaw, for that reason, is also taking its new "Awesome Happens" campaign to consumers via their TVs, with paid spots appearing on HGTV, DIY Network and TLC.
And with homeowners perusing idea-sharing sites like Pinterest, "we get to be in the conversation and in the mindset a lot more now," said Young.
So far, so good, she said, though she noted the "Awesome Happens" campaign is only a few months old.
Still, the emotional and do-it-yourself approaches -- carried out in new mediums -- are generating feedback.
"We are getting unsolicited social remarks from our customers, which we love," Young said. "We know the emotional connection it has made is working."
Whether the campaign results in increased sales, time will tell.
"[Retailers] have been all been very vocal in how much they like it, but the rubber meets the road when we see how many advertising tools they have downloaded from the Shaw Advantage site," said Young.
And as important as a successful campaign, supporting retailers' relationships with customers is huge, she added.
It's the retailers' ability to get and keep customers coming through the door that determines whether consumers ever lay eyes on the slick new, in-store Shaw sample displays.
And whether those consumers walk away with orders for Shaw flooring.
"The reality is," Young said, "we are the manufacturer."
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6480.