Driving sales of showers for Bristan

Solution

• We created a smart integrated communications strategy, starting with in-depth audience analysis.
• This revealed most competitors were focused on product-centric communications. This opened a gap in the market for Bristan to reinforce its heartland: customer experience. We then identified what is important for each audience:
  • Installers: Community spirit
  • Specifiers: Brand reliability and expert advice
  • Merchants: Face-to-face connection amongst industry stakeholders 
• Having explored the audience, we developed a customer-first communications strategy, devising a content framework using the channels in our PESO (paid, earned, shared owned) ecosystem
• Our challenge was to take technical information and communicate in a readable and enjoyable way, to allow time-poor professionals to extract the key features and benefits of products
• Equally, the brand-focused content had to be authentic, adopting a tone of voice that made business customers feel as though Bristan was a partner, rather than simply a supplier
• Within this, we delivered a host of tactical activity designed to target each audience group and deliver on objectives
• Plumbers are often lone workers and, therefore, seek the company of likeminded working professionals, so we invested our time in cultivating a dedicated ‘On Tap’ Installer Facebook Group
• The community wasn’t about Bristan; it was about providing a space for installers to share advice and join in friendly conversation. We used our strong customer network to recruit an experienced plumber as a moderator, offering valuable insight as we evolved our content plan, while also acting as a trusted ambassador to members
• We engaged our specifier customers by delivering a topical gated whitepaper on infection control for water, bringing together the views of 200 frontline workers. Supplementing this activity, we conducted targeted media outreach to secure thought leadership pieces within key specifier titles
• We also showed our support to the merchant sector by delivering the industry’s first-ever virtual roundtable debate in partnership with Builders Merchants’ News

Impact

Our work saw year-on-year growth for Bristan, allowing us to exceed all yearly KPIs:

• Achieved an average reach of 415,375 per month, exceeding our target by 315%
• Over 100 pieces of trade coverage secured in leading titles including Health Estates Journal, AJ Specification, Installer Online, PHAM News, and Builders’ Merchant News — exceeding our target by over 30%
• Drove over 37,000 web visits in 2020 alone, up on our target by 270%
• Generated 4,779 sign ups to the On Tap database because of our dedicated Facebook group, up on our target by over 300%
• Our impressive guestlist for our roundtable event included John Newcomb, CEO of Builders Merchant Federation; Robin Beal, Founder and Chairman of The IPG; and Andrew Harrison, CEO of Travis Perkins Plumbing & Heating Division

Our impact went beyond our agreed KPIs:

• Two CIPR PRide Awards won — Gold in Corporate and Business Communications Campaign, and Gold in Construction, Property and Infrastructure Campaign
• Best of all, the brand saw a surge in shower searches on Bristan.com thanks to our comms — up 47% YoY