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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

 

 

  • 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 GuaranteeWe 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” 

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.

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