Marshalls

To address outdated but long-held industry perceptions of concrete facing bricks, Marshalls needed a new way to reposition concrete as a viable and sustainable alternative to traditional clay. Marshalls sought Liven Creative’s expertise to create a new brand narrative that would help their target audiences see the potential concrete bricks can offer.

Building a sense of urgency
Our solution looked to put the climate emergency at the forefront of the message, encouraging housebuilders to fast-track low-carbon building materials in advance of the government-imposed 2050 deadline. Our integrated approach leveraged multiple touchpoints to drive awareness, start new conversations and create new opportunities.

The campaign asked a simple question ‘What If’? A springboard for those with the imagination to challenge the status quo. The communication directly appealed to trailblazers with unarguable sustainability and product benefits, encouraging them to learn more and specify the products for forthcoming developments.

After the initial tranche of brand marketing activity, the campaign was further extended to incorporate the launch of a new brick texture, giving housebuilders more choices and providing sustainable options for more traditional architecture.

Driving awareness
Leveraging targeted digital and print media during the developers’ specifying window, to draw attention to different, and more sustainable options for facing bricks.

Starting new conversations

The overarching campaign narrative intuitively created mini stories for social media, reaching existing and new contacts to keep the message and CTA top of mind. At the same time, personalised collateral was developed for building relationships with targeted development companies.

Creating new opportunities in traditional ways

Although digital media was used extensively, printed direct mail pieces were also sent to housebuilder decision-makers inviting them to discuss how to balance style and sustainability with concrete facing bricks. The direct mail was supported with an email campaign to create new opportunities for concrete bricks to be specified as part of future development projects.

With the campaign gaining sufficient momentum for clay brick manufacturers to start taking notice, we’re hopeful that this brand marketing campaign will result in more UK homes being built using sustainable concrete bricks. A great result for Marshalls, but also for the climate.

Working with a branding agency can help you to view a challenge through a new lens. For established brands such as Marshalls, our approach to brand storytelling is building brand preference and firmly establishing concrete facing bricks as a sustainable alternative to clay.

If you’d like results like these, call us on 01483 331250 or email hello@livencreative.co.uk to get a fresh perspective.