Branding Restrooms Supports Facility Goals

This is part two of a three-part article on customizing restroom fixtures.

“The biggest requests that we’ve seen have come from higher education and universities that want to brand themselves and their stadiums,” says Thompson.

These custodial managers are interested in adding logos or colors to promote their brand and team. Most requests are for customizing roll towel dispensers, but there are also occasional requests for customizing toilet tissue dispensers.

“I think it’s just another way for the facility to promote their brand image and reach people in a different way,” says Thompson.

In addition to schools and colleges, “high-traffic facilities such as airports, stadiums, healthcare facilities, as well as hotel and lodging facilities are trending towards customization,” says Jeff Fox, director of brands and marketing at Wausau Paper. “To market themselves, many of our distributor partners also take advantage of customizing dispensers with their name, logo or slogan.”

At Cascades Tissue Group, they’ve noticed that healthcare facilities are especially interested in adding hygiene messages to dispensers. Anything from hand washing reminders to instructions for proper hand washing can be added to dispensers.

A message that is important in K-12 schools is to communicate their commitment to the environment.

“A lot of schools have green committees that are involved in the purchasing decision,” says Andrew Sheridan, Cascades Tissue Group marketing manager of AFH North America. “Whatever you can offer in terms of added value to promote that message and promote, for example, that you have 100 percent recycled towel and tissue in the restroom is a big plus.”

In keeping with that value, Cascades puts a generic insert on its towel dispenser to promote hand washing as the best method to control the spread of bacteria. Also, their toilet tissue dispensers include messaging about the environment and how that particular facility is using a 100 percent recycled product.

When dispensers offer a display window, options for customization are endless. For example, Dan Renner, director of marketing with Kutol Products Co., says if a school is playing in a basketball championship, they may want to print a “Go Tigers!” card for their dispensers, so visitors see their team spirit. And restaurants can easily swap out messages such as, “Ask servers about our daily specials.”

Although customization from end-users is picking up, “a lot of our customers are independent distributors that supply to facility managers in schools, hospitals, public office buildings or government facilities,” says Renner. “They get some ownership by having their name on the products that they distribute.”

Utilizing dispensers with custom branding allows facility managers to create a unique and consistent image. They spend a lot of time and money designing and maintaining facilities in order to make a good impression on tenants, patrons and visitors, and dispensers are one more way to accomplish that goal.

“A unified look throughout the facility helps to foster appearance and reiterate the importance of attention to detail, even within the restroom areas,” says Fox.

Manufacturers agree that requests for customization have increased.

“You definitely see the trend toward facility managers wanting to add that extra layer of promotion and communication,” says Sheridan, who adds that buyers are seeking out manufacturers that can give them extra custom options.