The recession has hit the construction industry hard. With fewer projects being commissioned, hire firms such as Hewden have been under enormous pressure to maintain market share in a fiercely competitive marketplace.
In early 2010, the company was sold by Finning International to Sun European Partners. Given the new ownership, the firm was keen to strengthen its leadership position in the market, especially with national accounts, following a high investment in the availability and depth of its product portfolio.
Objectives of the campaign
Hewden recognised that it needed to have a point of difference, focusing on a few key things and doing them well. The objectives were:
- Raise awareness of Hewden’s range of equipment among core target media
- Enable Hewden to engage in face-to-face dialogue with new and existing customers
- Drive traffic to the Hewden website
- Generate and convert new business leads – ultimately increasing revenue for the business
To help achieve these targets, Hewden’s in-house marketing team launched a cost-effective campaign called Construction Site Soccer, designed to capitalise on the pre-existing World Cup buzz and ensure that Hewden was front of mind among construction site workers ‘talking football’.
The campaign involved three key elements:
1. The launch of England branded hire equipment
- Hewden held a photoshoot under Tower Bridge – an Iconic English landmark – to launch its range of branded equipment. This provided perfect PR material to take to the media and raise awareness of Hewden’s fleet
- A nine-tonne red and white dumper was also driven to various construction sites across London where workers could also have their picture taken
- At each location, Hewden sales representatives gave out free branded footballs and flags
- A David Beckham lookalike was also present to pose for pictures and add to the excitement
2. Dedicated ‘footy website’ www.hewden.co.uk/football
- In April, during the build up to the World Cup, Hewden was quick to launch its own dedicated football website where construction professionals could access all the latest World Cup news without having to surf the net
- The website used free RSS feeds and Widgets from Fifa to ensure that cost was kept down but workers had a central place to feed their World Cup hunger
- The website also had football polls and the option to hire the exclusive range of equipment ensuring that Hewden was able to capture valuable data and drive sales
3. Construction Site Soccer 5-a-side tournament
- To build relationships among potential and existing customers Hewden held two regional five-a-side tournaments.
- Both events provided the perfect platform for Hewden’s sales representatives to engage in face-to-face dialogue with key contacts – something too often overlooked in today’s digital age
- Hewden announced the winners to local media and a post-match review provided extra collateral to further engage with customer that attended the event
The target audience
Hewden’s target audience is primarily purchasing decision makers within construction firms. This immediately presents a challenge because depending on the size of the business, this could include site managers, procurement managers, or for smaller firms owner/managers.
Given the disparity of the target audience and the fact that the industry remains males dominated, football was the perfect topic to hijack and launch a campaign as it has wide spread popularity among males from all demographics.
Media, channels or techniques used
Hewden regularly carries out audits among its client based to determine how they like to be communicated with. As a result, Hewden found that although many now embrace social media, traditional media online and in print are the main way they consume information. Also, face-to-face communication was also valued highly among the target audience.
Taking this into account, Hewden targeted both online and offline construction trade titles and launched a fully integrated marketing campaign that covered PR, direct mail, telesales and face-to-face communication with senior sales representatives.
Public relations
- Hewden held a photoshoot and launched its England branded fleet to the media
- Hewden also announced the winner of its 5-a-side tournament and developed customer case studies when equipment was hired
Direct Mail
- World Cup themed marketing materials such as branded footballs and flags were mailed out to potential and existing clients
Online
- Through the www.hewden.co.uk/football website, customers were encouraged to hire equipment that they hadn’t previously hired. As an incentive, Hewden offered those customers a free football shirt of their choice.
Telesales
- Hewden used the 5-a-side tournament to personally invite key customers. Personalised invites were also developed and sent as a follow up
Face-to-face
- The launch of the branded equipment provided the perfect platform for senior sales executives to liaise with potential customers on-site
- At the two regional 5-a-side tournaments, Hewden’s sales team were able to engage in meaningful dialogue with customers rather than the hard sell approach
This integrated marketing approach meant that Hewden was able to overcome the challenges of communicating with its target audience and reach decision makers within the construction industry over multiple platforms.
Timescales of the campaign
The campaign was planned and delivered within an extremely tight 4 month period between March and June.
March – June
- Planning & development of microsite, five-a-side tournament and branded kit
April
- Soft launch of Microsite (limited content)
9th June
- Launch of branded equipment & photoshoot in London
10th June
- Regional five-a-side tournaments held
Results
The campaign is still running but in just one month since official launch it has achieved:
- Extensive coverage in tier one media titles – reaching an audience of more than 200,000
- 118 per cent increase in traffic to the website
- 921 new business leads as a direct result of the campaign
- Increase in hire revenue of approximately £230,000
- Projected increase of hire revenue of more than £500,000 after three months
