Polypipe (Floor Heating)
"We had no idea of the scale of benefit a focused marketing strategy would bring to Polypipe Floor Heating. The awareness, interest and sales achieved by the campaign Rare created for us have far exceeded our expectations. It definitely helps that Rare is an agency that understands the dynamics of our market and applies that expertise to our great benefit." - Dave Raynor, Polypipe
The Client
Polypipe Building Products: the UK leader in plastic piping, plumbing and heating systems.
The Challenge
Create a marketing communications strategy to extend the reach and market share of Polypipe under floor heating systems. Building on the existing Polypipe strength in the self-build market, position the company as the value leader in the category, and extend the reach into general consumer markets.
The Solution
Rare were initially retained to conduct a strategic review of the marketing options, from which a cohesive communications plan was developed and implemented. Central to the campaign was a multi-tiered strategy aimed at merchants, installers and consumers. The creation of a group of registered installers, to act as a referral body for consumer leads, was also a critical building block. With the marketing strategy in place, we then set out about finding the Big Idea. The central theme that would ignite the campaign. Competitor research revealed that nearly all under floor heating companies looked similar. Typically, ads and brochures would show the same kind of "warm, furry" images: baby crawling on carpet, young girl lying on floor with dog etc. To stand out, Polypipe needed a different approach.
We found the Big Idea when considering the hidden benefits of the product. Putting your heating under the floor removes the biggest problem with traditional radiators: they are always in the wrong place? So the hidden benefit was total design freedom, which was soon translated into the consumer campaign message:
Free Your Walls
Rare handled all print, production and fulfilment and has continued to work on the campaign for the past three years.
The Creative
To accompany the campaign theme a new look and feel was created for all consumer facing materials. Out went the Polypipe corporate blue (retained for all trade facing materials, of course) to be replaced with warm oranges and reds. Striking photographic imagery was also used to complement the overall image of an inviting environment.
The new branding was applied across a wide range of materials and activities including consumer website and brochure, installer recruitment direct mail campaigns, van livery decals, and packaging. Awareness was boosted by a Talksport radio campaign and online competition that saw a 635% increase in web traffic over a six week burst, with over 6000 enquiries generated.
In parallel to the consumer work a sustained package of trade support activity was staged, including direct mail, point of sale, merchant evening events and a "nominate an installer scheme".
The Results
Outstanding first year results included a 17% increase in the stocking distributors, the recruitment and training of the first 100 registered installers, and most importantly a 45% increase in sales.
Subsequent extensions to the activity have seen all these metrics increase significantly with sales now running at 150% above the start point three years ago.
