o showcase its mainstream Delta and upscale Brizo brands together at the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show & Conference (K/BIS) in Chicago, the Indianapolis-based Delta Faucet Co. knew it needed a booth that somehow contrasted and complemented the brands, like the hot and cold valves on its faucets.

Delta started with eye-catching 25-foot-high exterior walls covered in tension fabric the color of the Mediterranean Sea. Next, the company divided the structure, which resembled a massive cube of water, into two distinct sections - one for its Delta product line measuring 70-by-60 feet, and one for its Brizo brand running 30-by-60 feet. The two-story-high walls were inlaid with 23 seashell-white, porthole-like openings. Inside them, Delta products rested on shelves like glittering gems in a Tiffany showcase.

In the Delta brand space, the hardware was king. Here the company set small groupings of faucets on polished-metal cabinets and pedestals. Near the hardware were graphics - some nearly 42-by-12 feet - of the plumbing, while the brand messaging focused on the faucets' functional attributes.
Fashion held sway over function in the Brizo area. Rather than physically spacing out its products as widely as it did in the Delta area, the company bunched many of the faucets like stemware in a Pier 1 Imports store on cream-colored counters that topped mocha-hued bases. Instead of blown-up pictures emphasizing the products, Delta hung four 14-by-14-foot posters of couture-clad models in gowns designed by Jason Wu (who did First Lady Michelle Obama's inaugural gown) from an overhead truss.

By physically separating its two brands into adjacent areas, grouping the products differently, and altering the accompanying brand messages, Delta created a clear, distinct identity for each line. Increasing its leads almost 30 percent over the previous year, Delta's strategy proved to be a plumb smart idea.e