Ghaster Painting & Coatings Editorial Brief

Ghaster Painting & Coatings has been serving Arizona as a full-service painting contractor for over 45 years. It’s a small, family-run company, not a franchise and its focus is on commercial and industrial projects (i.e. not residential). Much of its work is on medium- and large-scale projects such as medical facilities, manufacturing plants and educational institutions where the emphasis is on quality and a job well done as opposed to hiring the company that will do the work for the lowest price.

• Exterior Process

• Preparation consists of washing, patching, caulking, scraping, masking and priming.
• Main body paint is typically flat exterior paint or a waterproof coating that is applied using a sprayer or brush and roller depending on the number of coats that are needed to cover the surface.
• Accent paint used on trim, doors, rollups, stairs, downspouts and possibly window frames is typically a metal paint or semi-gloss.
• Clean up and Punch walk.
• Boom and/or scissor lifts may be required.

• Interior Process

• • Preparation consists of patching, caulking, sanding, masking/covering and priming.
  • Application of main body paint color is by brush and roll and or using a sprayer depending on the number of coats that are needed to cover the area.
  • Semi- or high-gloss paint or stain is used on trim, doors, millwork, wood base areas.
  • Exposed ceiling with ductwork is typically sprayed using a dryfall product.
  • Specialty services offered include wall covering, multi-speck, epoxy, urethanes (for piping, etc.), electrostatic painting.

• They do not provide floor painting or coating services.

• Tanks (Storage, Water, Fuel, etc.)

• Ghaster offers containment services when blasting and spraying such as dust collectors to trap blast material from surrounding areas or tenting of towers to protect the surrounding are on a job-by-job basis. However, it subcontracts the blasting work.
• Ghaster does not repair tanks as part of its painting prep work, but it does seal and paint tank interiors.
• A third-party SSPC/NACE Coatings Inspector works with the customer’s Safety Team to handle permitting and coordinating of regulatory inspections when necessary.
• Written warranties from both GPC and the coating supplier are required to guarantee compliance with government regulations.

Target Audiences

• Commercial Property Managers (75% of customer base; many manage multiple properties)
• Commercial Property Owners (many own multiple properties)
• Facilities Managers/Plant Operations
• Primary business is schools, commercial and industrial buildings, retail, manufacturing, high rises, medical facilities, hotels and sports facilities. 
• Avoid apartment complexes, condos (sometimes) and homeowner’s association (HOA)-related projects.
• Geographic reach is all of Arizona, but mainly Phoenix Metro Area and Pinal County

Top Competitors

• Danny White 
• Certapro 
• Arizona Painting Company
• Empire 
• Indigo
• Crout & Heller 
• Riddle Painting
• Bullseye Painting (no website)
• Ganado Painting 
• Envision Painting & Coatings
• Penington Painting
• Metzger Painting
• A&H Painting - Mohave Contract for Schools (use contract number, SAVE #)

• We have a SAVE contract #19-16-23 for Painting Services for Tempe Elementary School District
• Mohave contract #: 20A-GHAST-0404
• We also have these two that may not be SAVE’s but have cooperative language that could be used to piggy back on:
  • Contract #2018165 for Painting Services for the City of Mesa
  • Contract #BF7-910-3730  for Painting Services for the City of Chandler

Customer Pain Points

External

• Concerned about curb appeal and keeping tenants happy
• Increasing brand awareness for their customers
• Fresh color – Wants to modernize to attract customers and increase sales
• Sealant needed to prevent water intrusion and leaks (ie. Coatings business)

Internal

• Wants company to be responsive. Doesn’t want to have to chase them
• Wants the job done quickly and efficiently. Tenants don’t like disruption and they don’t want to have to deal with requests for free rent
• Wants to avoid problems and hassles and doesn’t want to hear tenant complaints
• Fair price and responsive service
• Busy and struggle with vendor management

• Philosophical
  • Concerned that it makes them look bad to their tenants/owners if they hire the wrong company 

 Value Proposition

• • In business since 1976: 45 years of experience. Often used as a “benchmark” by competitors.
    • In copy, refer to more than 45 years of experience
  • Licensed – Bonded- Insured
  • Crews are composed of employees, not contractors or day workers. Most have been with the company for 10+ years
    • In copy, refer to employees, crews, or painters rather than technicians
  • English speaking crew/team
  • Doesn’t subcontract or do piecework labor
  • Completes projects on time, on budget and does the work right the first time
  • All crews have OSHA 10 certification
  • 6 million dollars of insurance coverage
  • Signature three-year warranty
  • Perfect record with the Registrar of Contractors
  • A+ rating with BBB
  • All employees are background checked and drug tested
  • Doesn’t “bait and switch” on product.
  • Unlike many companies, Ghaster offers straightforward, insurance-approved pricing and never charges for job-related functions such as photo documentation and administrative time.
  • They also assist with insurance claims and FEMA, if applicable.
  • Ghaster Guarantee – “We take pride in our ability to not only make your building shine, but give you confidence for the future. With 10-year labor and material warranties available, you can rest well knowing that your building is in expert hands.”

• Be careful about discussing 10 year warranty on weatherproofing since it may not apply to all weatherproofing products/services.

• Note: DO NOT SAY GHASTER HAS THE BEST PRICE.

Reference these with regard to price

Ghaster Painting and Coatings Mission/Vision/Core Values

Mission Statement:  Our Jobs Look Better Longer

Vision Statement:  To be an industry leader in Knowledge, Service and Professionalism

Core Values:  The Continual, Intentional Pursuit of Honesty, Generosity and Dependability.

What kinds of problems might customers experience if they work with a competitor?

• Underinsured, safety issues
• Undocumented workers
• Understaffed jobs
• Work subcontracted
• Bait and switch on product (i.e. fail to adhere to job specifications and scope of work)
• Lack of painting experience (i.e. common with franchises)
• Premises liability
• Poor communication and responsiveness issues
• A mess to clean up 
• Mad tenants / mad owners

Editorial Style

VOICE

• • Speak to readers instead of at them using an authoritative and expert tone.

• Use as few words as possible. Less is more. 

• Choose plain text and avoid business jargon.

• Write in a style that is factual and objective, yet clear, immediately understandable, and reader-friendly. Use plain language and avoid jargon.

• Avoid passive voice.

• Use plain English and a professional, personable tone. 
• Content should be direct and actionable. Do not use passive voice. Tell users what they should be doing and why.
• Refer to customers as “clients” 

• CTA should always be request a bid.

STYLE

• • Articles should be 500-700 words.

• Refer to the company as Ghaster Painting and Coatings. The logo is the only place where “and” is replaced by “&.”

• Use bullets, numbered lists and subheads to break up text for readability.

• Tips, steps, “how to,” quizzes, tests.

• Be succinct. Write no more than 50% of the text you would have used in a hardcopy publication.

• Write for scannability – do not require users to read long continuous blocks of text.

• The Web is an informal and immediate medium, compared to print, so users appreciate a somewhat informal writing style and small amounts of humor.

• Limit the use of metaphors, particularly in headings. Users might take you literally.

• Use simple sentence structure. Convoluted writing and complex words are even harder to understand online.

• Remember that you are writing for many different types of readers in different positions. Ensure there is an appeal to a large audience.

• Write in a style that is factual and objective, yet clear, immediately understandable, and reader-friendly. The tone should be expert and authoritative as well as engaging and entertaining.

• Avoid using text that appears to be self-praising or that contains “hype” or “fluff”. Instead, focus on results, insights, and interpreting information in a way that users will find valuable.

• Check all facts for 100% accuracy. Support assertions with citations and/or links to the information source. 

• Copy should be clean with no spelling errors, no missing words, no typos, and no formatting issues.

• PROOF & CHECK ALL COPY USING GRAMMARLY!

EDITORIAL NOTES

• Using the symbol % is fine, rather than spelling out the word percent.
• Capitalize all principal words in titles and headlines for consistency. 
• Avoid zealous capitalization for simply dramatizing emphasis.
• Whenever possible, break up long paragraphs of more than four sentences into smaller paragraphs for greater readability and use bullets where appropriate.
• Spell out acronyms and abbreviations on the first mention in a piece; it is OK to use acronyms and abbreviations from that point onward, or in charts and graphs on the first mention.
• Spell out numbers 1-9, then use numerals from 10 on up. Loan maturities are an exception.
• Capitalize “White” and “Black” when referring to race.
• In bullets, use a period only after full sentences.