Sun 1 Jun 2008
June - Campaign trail
Coordinating a hard-hitting marketing, PR and advertising campaign is no mean feat. Cheryl Markosky dissects Churchill Retirement Living's promotional material.In the year that brings us the sultry American drama Mad Men about advertising in the Sixties, it is perhaps a good time to ask what makes a good campaign. In the Sixties, the Madison Avenue executives in their black suits and gleaming white shirts came up with original ways to tempt consumers to buy anything from cigarettes (and boy, they smoked a lot back then) to cars, perfume and alcohol.
Alas, the property world is not best known for its witty and captivating campaigns (sorry guys, but there you are). This does seem a bit strange, as selling a gutsy emotional product like the very home where someone lives should be an exciting prospect. Ask anyone to come up with a memorable property advert and I bet the best they will do is recall Barratt Homes somehow being linked to helicopters, which is a bit sad really - in both senses of the word.
In this feature, the first of a new series, we discover the best campaign of the month and analyse all its components - from the original notion right through to brochures, signboards, virtual tours, website links and anything else the developer uses to support the message.
So, what makes a good marketing campaign? Property marketing consultant Bob Barlow, who has worked for major house builders for over 20 years, believes: "there is a lot of mumbo-jumbo talked about marketing, mainly by the people engaged in it."
For Barlow, any marketing campaign has two purposes:
To provide a firm platform for the sales effort, so the sales team get good quality traffic and the necessary volume of sales completions.
To support the brand, underpinning all the values - quality, price, service and so on - that you hope your brand stands for.
"In my experience," continues Barlow, "most developers don't want to hear too much about brand values, trading style, marketing integration and all that - they are far more worried about targets, margins and the bottom line. But you do need to look at marketing with a 'family' eye, making sure that everything - from ads and brochures and websites to design, logos and even the way the staff talk and listen to customers - breathes your company's ethos and reflects its identity and emotional style."
It is easy to see how marketing professionals can over-complicate all this and start to wallow in the mumbo-jumbo-ness of it, argues Barlow, but it is really very simple. "You build on the qualities and values that people already understand about you."
It sounds easy, so how come many developers aren't getting it right? Housebuilders fail to coordinate their marketing efforts, points out freelance PR consultant Lana Wrightman. "They embark on an advertising campaign before engaging a public relations agency, or begin a publicity campaign before the website is up and running. At best, this undermines the efforts put in by the various marketing and PR professionals and, at worst, it frustrates the potential buyer put off by the lack of available information," she says.
Often, housebuilders are keen to start off-plan sales as soon as possible, but buyers will not commit to a major investment if marketing materials are lacking, suggests Wrightman. "A glossy brochure, an informative website and a synchronised marketing and PR campaign all give consumers reassurance as to the quality of the product. It is therefore imperative that the marketing material is prepared and a timeline set out and agreed between all marketing contributors before sales are launched."Perhaps Wrightman will cheer up when she hears about the marketing campaign this month from Churchill Retirement Living. Taking a clear idea to solve a marketing dilemma, the whole team has been involved and marketing and PR are definitely working together in order to communicate to the target market.
Eight months ago in a sort of Big Brother reality TV way (stick with us, it isn't as bad as it sounds), Churchill decided to do away with professional models (because they either look too American, or ironically, the same few are used over and over again) and hunt for the 'new face' of Churchill among residents.
"We carried out some research and discovered people younger than we were aiming for were visiting sites," explains Spencer McCarthy, chairman and group managing director of Churchill Retirement Living. "We are trying to attract purchasers around the average age of 70 and found people aged 55 plus wanted larger units and parking spaces. With limited two-bedroom homes and parking due to government directives, we had to come up with a new strategy to attract the right market."
Spencer and group marketing manager Suzanne Revell dreamt up the notion of portraying the type of person they would like to see buying. "What better way than through pictures?" asks McCarthy. To track down the right photogenic people they decided to run a competition among existing owners to hit upon the face of Churchill.
After obtaining photographs from entrants, Churchill chose 'lead couple' Harry and Patricia Thomas, aged 80 and 70 respectively, as the winners, along with several other 'runners-up' to be part of the campaign. Funnily enough, the Thomas's didn't enter the competition directly, but had volunteered to be a case study when they bought their second floor one-bedroom flat for £197,000 at Andrews Lodge in Lymington, Hampshire, three years ago.
"Mrs Thomas has a soft, happy grandmotherly face," explains McCarthy "and best represents our kind of buyer. Mr Thomas was self-conscious because he has a few missing teeth and asked us to do something about it. With a bit of technical trickery, they have been replaced."Another plus about using real people is the cost. Frankly, it costs several thousand pounds to employ professional models, while everyone who sent pictures in got Marks & Spencer vouchers, the Thomas's received a payment of £300 and the others chosen £50 to £150, according to Revell.
"We are lucky as our owners are not doing this for the money, but because they are happy where they live and want to help us promote the product. In a tough market, you need to look at things differently. Our buyers and their families are very astute and can see through advertising with younger polished models who would never live on the developments," Revell says.
Working with its ad agency Summerhouse, Churchill has spent about £25,000 on the campaign so far, and brochures, advertisements, newsletters and signboards will feature the Thomas's and some of the other owners. Money has been allocated to updating the website too - Churchill has hired a small in-house team headed up by Paul Newlin - and already the recent re-launch of the entire site with the new campaign is reaping benefits. McCarthy says there were 976 inquiries in February compared to 444 this time last year - remarkable in a falling market."We are updating the site that was a bit clunky and uninspiring, putting text behind every image so search engines capture it," explains web designer Newlin. "Also, the sales team can update information immediately, making the whole thing more current."
Newlin reports 250 new visitors are going onto the site every day, with only 20 per cent not staying. "We are trying to make the site more personal by highlighting individuals like the Thomas's and with surveys." The current survey asks whether Churchill schemes should have part- or full-time concierges.
Drawing on real people certainly helps Churchill's reputation says its public relations adviser, Lucy Matthews. "I can say these are real people, they love their place and here's their photo. If you bought a Churchill home, they would be your neighbours and they're your kind of people."
Matthews believes house builders are getting better at letting PR teams explore avenues other than ads in the local paper with a glaring "incentive" across it, using PR and marketing below the line. "One new project I am involved in is talking to Brownie and Guide troupes about helping old people for their hostess badge. They come to retirement developments and cook them tea."
One downside with reality advertising, however, is control, admits Matthews. "People could have skeletons in their cupboards," although she believes it is unlikely anyone is about to unearth pictures of the Thomas's naked.
"There is a nice honest feeling about this campaign. What we are saying in marketing terms is the truth," Matthews concludes.
www.churchillretirement.co.uk
Posted by Show House
in Barratt Homes, Bob Barlow, Campaign of the Month, Churchill Retirement Living, Lana Wrightman, Lucy Matthews, Spencer McCarthy, Summerhouse, Suzanne Revell on Sun 1 Jun 2008
Have your say and comment on this article