Dawn Perry joined CertaPro Painters®, North America’s Most Referred Painting Company®, in August 2022 as the Chief Brand Officer. In this role, she is responsible for leading the company’s brand strategy and marketing. With more than 15 years of franchise marketing expertise and 30+ years of marketing experience, she has a proven track record of driving lead generation and delivering extraordinary brand experiences with a customer-centric approach.
Ms. Perry has received several accolades for her innovative branding and marketing strategies with bottom-line impact, including being a recipient of the Consumer Marketing Achievement Award from Time Inc., in addition to receiving the Alex Perriello Innovation Award, and the Realogy Round of Applause recognition during her time at Realogy Corporation. She is currently a member of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and was previously a Forbes contributor. She also holds a master chef certificate from The French Culinary Institute.
Q: What do you think makes CertaPro Painters stand out?
A: “A strong brand is built on its core values, and at CertaPro Painters, those values permeate every facet of the business. While we operate as a franchise, the essence of our brand is conveyed through the experiences customers have with our franchisees, their teams, and our painters. Our commitment is to deliver extraordinary service, but the real measure of success comes when customers truly feel that we’ve fulfilled our promises.
Here’s an example of what I mean. A franchisee was sharing a story where their sales associate met with a customer to provide an exterior home painting estimate. After speaking with the homeowner and understanding the magnitude of projects they were trying to accomplish, the associate explained to the owner that the exterior paint was still in good shape and could wait. They didn’t need to paint now. The homeowner couldn’t believe they were told to wait – surprised that CertaPro wasn’t just focused on the sale. This example represents what the CertaPro brand is all about. It’s about meeting the customers’ expectations, not about the job itself. It’s about delivering an extraordinary experience and creating raving fans.
I recently came across a customer review that perfectly illustrates how a brand or service can profoundly touch someone’s life. The customer had been postponing painting her late mother’s home for a long time. The emotional weight was just too much, and she felt overwhelmed by the process. On top of that, she thought it was beyond her budget.
She had reached out to several painters for quotes but ultimately chose CertaPro. Why? Because when our consultant visited her, they truly listened. They didn’t just offer a service—they guided her through every step, reassuring her that she didn’t even need to move out during the project. This was a stark contrast to the other painters who insisted she leave for a week.
In the end, she put her trust in CertaPro, and our franchisee and painting crew delivered not just a fresh coat of paint, but a renewed sense of peace for her home.
You see, painting isn’t just about achieving excellence with a brush. When we’re invited into someone’s home, we’re stepping into their life—the memories, the emotions, the stories that fill those walls. There are countless reasons why people want to paint, and that’s why “Painting Happy” is more than a tagline. It’s about transforming a space in a way that goes far beyond just applying a new color. It’s about creating an experience that touches the heart.
Q. Are you working on any exciting new branding projects now?
A: We recently unveiled a brand refresh with a more modernized and refined creative aimed at helping make an emotional connection to our customers like the one I just mentioned. The CertaPro Painters brand refresh encapsulates the core benefit of elevating the painting process and experience for consumers and eliminating any of the stress or angst that comes with home service providers. More than a painting company, our brand promises consumers that it’s devoted to painting every side of life. It’s not about transforming just their walls; it’s about transforming their entire experience.
The brand’s new campaign “Painting Happy” showcases CertaPro Painters pride in offering expert services that are delivered properly so that our customers experience a superb process every step of the way. Our goal is to leave customers with a welcome sense of positive change because the job has been done well, and it has served their sense of home and life. That’s Painting Happy!
Q: Why is it important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
A: The journey to brand recognition starts with a clear and compelling brand identity. But in an ever-evolving landscape of customer preferences and different types of media consumption, a brand must evolve to match new customer dynamics. At the end of the day, without larger brand awareness, it’s much harder to make your tactical application and customer conversion rates grow. And a brand is not just about how you go to market with customers, it’s also how you go to market internally – from your hiring process for new employees to how you interact with each other. At CertaPro, our core values are always front, and center, and we start every meeting with those in mind.
Q. What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
A: A well-known saying in our field is “content is king,” and that saying rings true even more online. Great social media content is essential to a brand’s success today. The content not only reflects your brand, but it also allows you to consistently deliver your brand message across various channels to build awareness. Video and images get the most attention on social media, but the challenge for any brand is to make a connection to the customer before they swipe away. To build a customer connection, brands should stay authentic to who they are, and provide content that is information, education or entertainment-driven, or a mixture of all. Without a doubt, social media plays a critical role in a brand’s overall success.
Q: What charitable initiatives are important to CertaPro Painters?
A: CertaPro Painters just launched its Paint it Pink campaign for the sixth consecutive year in partnership with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) and Breast Cancer Canada, to help raise money in support of breast cancer research. Since 2019, CertaPro’s Paint it Pink has raised $555,000, which equates to approximately 11,000 hours of BCRF research.
CertaPro Painters franchisees that participate in Paint it Pink will donate a percentage of every painting project completed between October 1 and November 30. CertaPro aims to increase its donations every year, with a goal of achieving $160,000 during the months of October and November 2024. All donations will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in the U.S. and Breast Cancer Canada. If CertaPro reaches its 2024 funding goal, its Paint it Pink campaign will support roughly 3,200 hours of research for BCRF or the equivalent to 64 patients’ enrollment in a BCRF-supported clinical trial. In past years, local businesses have partnered with participating CertaPro franchises by hosting fundraising events and even painting their building pink to support the cause!
