Construction Marketing Blog
David Blackburn | August 19th, 2008
This is a case study by i am associates.
Douglas & Gordon
Douglas and Gordon are a new breed of estate agent. They are professional, innovative and caring, qualities rarely associated with their profession. Their environments and brand experience did not adequately reflect this: By expressing their unique qualities through their brand experience they would gain a significant advantage in such a competitive sector.
The Brief:
‘i-am’ were asked to design striking modern environments and a distinctly memorable client experience that reflected the Douglas and Gordon brand values and personality. The final solution to the brief also required the development and expression of tangible points of difference, reinforcing the considered high level of service that Douglas and Gordon have become renowned for.
The Solution:
First ‘i-am’ analysed every element of the Douglas and Gordon customer experience and then proposed a bespoke design solution in the form of a rich, warm and inviting workspace now popular with staff and clients alike. ‘i-am’ also proposed a strategic advice driven process that celebrates the role of the estate agent.
The Result:
The concept is currently being implemented across the Douglas and Gordon estate. Branches that have been transformed show significant uplift, improving levels of business while reinforcing the brands values and its unique proposition.
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
David Blackburn | August 18th, 2008
This is a case study by i am associates.
Material Lab
Material Lab, offers designers and architects an inspirational resource where they can meet and discuss projects, explore the potential of tiles and discover innovative new materials…
The Brief:
H&R Johnson are one of the UK’s largest, oldest and most well-respected tile manufacturers. They needed to create awareness for up-and-coming architects and designers.
The Solution:
‘i-am’ and H&R Johnson agreed that a radical step was needed…. Most showrooms are stuffy, underused and boring; it definitely couldn’t be yet another showroom! So, Material Lab was born…
Located in the heart of London, Material Lab demonstrates the latest innovations in tiling and the flexibility and creativity possible with surface materials.
The ‘Wet Zone’ explores the effect of water and steam within an alpine spa that includes a Jacuzzi, steam room, shower and water garden. The ‘Dry Zone’ is an Arizona landscape that explores the textures and colours associated with such a hot arid environment.
The Result:
Since Material Lab opened in January 2006, the environment has been tremendously successful for the client in focusing awareness and has received acclaim from such architects as Piers Gough and Will Allsop.
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
David Blackburn | August 15th, 2008
This is a press release by Camargue.
LAFARGE’S £15 MILLION RAIL EXPANSION SUPPORTS SOUTH EAST SUPPLY
- Cement company takes delivery of rail wagons built to unique design -
Lafarge, the UK’s market leader in cement manufacture, has taken delivery of 48 bespoke, ‘environmentally-focused’ rail wagons at its Hope Works, in Derbyshire, as part of a £15 million rail expansion programme to supply its customers in the South East.
The wagons will be used to extend the company’s rail distribution operations for transporting cement to the South East following the end of clinker production at its Northfleet Works in Kent earlier this year. The development means that, each year, Lafarge is able to replace 50,000 long distance lorry journeys in the UK by rail freight, using its network of 10 rail connected depots to provide ‘short-hop’ lorry journeys to final destinations.
The move is being supported by improvements at its West Thurrock depot, where new rail sidings were installed as well as discharging and loading equipment. Much of the product received by West Thurrock will be packed in waterproof plastic packaging that can reduce product wastage by over 10 per cent, bringing cost and environmental benefits.
In addition to increasing the amount of cement moved by rail from Hope to around 1 million tonnes each year, the new rail wagons have been developed with up-to-date technology to reduce noise and impact on the surrounding environment. Taking product out by rail will replace an estimated 6,800 lorry loads around the Hope Valley, with only one additional train journey a week required to carry the extra tonnage. Existing rail stock will continue to be used to transport cement and other materials, including product addition such as Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA), which supports the development of more sustainable cementitious products.
Dave Burley, Lafarge’s supply and distribution director explains: “The arrival of these new wagons marks a significant landmark for two of Lafarge Cement business priorities. It is the final piece of the jigsaw for our major project to supply the South East, enabling us to ensure the reliability of supply to our customers in this busy market, following the end of clinker-making at Northfleet.
“The development also demonstrates our commitment to a more sustainable supply chain network, reducing CO2 emissions from transport and removing vehicle movements from UK roads. This is in addition to our dedication to operate to highest standards by developing bespoke rail stock built to reduce noise and friction between the wagon’s wheels and the rail-line.”
The new stock has been built to a unique design, able to carry over double the load (nearly 80 tonnes) of the 320 existing wagons in the Lafarge UK fleet. Their prime role will be carrying cement in 22-wagon loads from Hope Works to depots in the South East, although their increased capacity means that over 100 fewer train journeys are required, offering further environmental benefits.
The wagons are built to the most technologically advanced standards. The body is manufactured from aluminium and fully enclosed with all controls replicated on both sides to ensure operational flexibility. The suspension systems on the wagons have been specifically designed to minimise noise and tension on the rail-line. Loaded, the wagons will be pulled at speeds of around 60 mph, and cement can be discharged at rates of up to one tonne a minute, ensuring high levels of efficiency and keeping customer delivery times to a minimum.
Extensive infrastructure improvements were required at Hope in order to receive the new wagons, including a revamp of rail loading and marshalling operations with the construction of five new sidings, new storage silos and loading heads and the moving of the works and logistics offices to make room for the development.
Dave adds: “The development of our rail network and bringing these new wagons on line is a clear demonstration of our commitment to maintaining South East supply in an efficient and environmentally-aware way. It also consolidates our position as the only UK cement manufacturer with true national coverage, distributing cement from over 20 manufacturing points and depots across the UK, including Northern Ireland.”
ENDS
Lafarge Cement UK is part of the Lafarge Group, the world leader in building materials, with top-ranking positions in all of its businesses: Cement, Aggregates & Concrete and Gypsum. With 90,000 employees in 76 countries, Lafarge posted sales of Euros 17.6 billion and net income of Euros 1.9 billion in 2007.
Lafarge is the only company in the construction materials sector to be listed in the 2008 ‘100 Global Most Sustainable Corporations in the World’. Lafarge has been committed to sustainable development for many years, pursuing a strategy that combines industrial know-how with performance, value creation, respect for employees and local cultures, environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources and energy. To make advances in building materials, Lafarge places the customer at the heart of its concerns. It offers the construction industry and the general public innovative solutions bringing greater safety, comfort and quality to their everyday surroundings.
For product information and guidance on application please log onto www.lafargecement.co.uk or contact the Lafarge Cement technical helpline on 0845 812 6232.
For further media information, please contact Ellie Rymer or Emily Luscombe at Camargue on 020 7636 7366 or via email at erymer@camarguepr.com / eluscombe@camarguepr.com
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
David Blackburn | August 14th, 2008
This is a press release by Barbour ABI.
Barbour ABI are proud to announce the launch of further services to boost our online offering. Evolution which was introduced earlier this year has now evolved to incorporate a new marketing feature called List Track and advanced services for larger split-territory sales teams with the Management Pack.
By tracking projects from concept to completion, we ensure our clients always get value added roofing data for their subscription, and by reporting on 100% of planning applications, even for smaller domestic projects, we offer the best coverage of planned work available.
Users already benefit from being able to share notes across their organisation about each project they have worked, as well as set watches on particular projects or companies of interest to keep them alerted to latest developments. But now they can also keep track of who they have mailed or called using our revolutionary List Track feature and using our Management Pack, they can track and manager their usage of the service to ensure they are getting the most out of their subscription.
David Andrew, Director says: “From user feedback already received we know that these new modules will play a central role in the sales and marketing activities of our clients. We’re really pleased that the investment into our key services in recent months is translating into such a powerful and time-saving set of genuinely value-adding features for customers”.
Our investment into new and existing products, underlines our commitment to both new and existing clients to go above and beyond there expectations.
Mark Terry from Howarth Timber has been a client of ours for 15 years, he says: “To date Barbour ABI have helped us generate a substantial amount of new business, somewhere in the region of £500k.”
“Your Evolution product in particular has made a resounding difference to our marketing strategy. It’s flexibility to help us access targeted data to reach our niche market is a major asset for us. Evolution is the best system in the marketplace today by a country mile!”
For further information please contact:
Anne Kelly, Marketing Executive on 0151 353 3445
anne.kelly@barbour-abi.com
www.barbour-abi.com
Notes for the Editor
About Barbour ABI
We are the leading provider of construction intelligence products, providing UK companies with sales leads, contact data, CRM software and market intelligence. Our reputation is built and maintained by our in house team of market researchers who have excellent working relationships with planning authorities and other relevant information providers – this comprehensive approach means that we research and report on 100% of planning applications in the UK. These unique credentials mean we can tell our customers about the ‘who, what and where’ about every UK construction project, taking the guesswork out of their sales and marketing strategies. Barbour ABI is part of the Built Environment, a division of United Business Media, a leading global business information company.
About the new modules launched within Evolution
List Track is a clever tool which means an end to de-duplicating against previous marketing lists – saving time and money. The most powerful part of this function is that clients can track companies/projects easily to follow up, or simply exclude any who have been contacted within recent months from future mail merges.
Our Management Pack module is an add-on to the standard Evolution features package, providing management tools to help make life easier. The Management Pack includes:
- Activity Manager which allows the client to see who has logged in and when. Viewable by day, or by searching within two date ranges, clients can also view and download details of all the projects/companies they have been looking at.
- Territory Manager allows clients to set up other users’ viewable projects and companies by location, which is invaluable if for example they have a sales team on the road who only work in certain territories.
For further information please contact Anne Kelly, Marketing Executive on 0151 353 3445.
anne.kelly@barbour-abi.com
www.barbour-abi.com
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
David Blackburn | August 13th, 2008
This is a market forecast by Leading Edge.
Do you know what is happening in your market this year and next year? The Leading Edge construction forecast provides a detailed 5 year forecast and gives a comprehensive background to what’s happening in the UK construction market and individual sectors within that market such as education and health. The computer generated model looks at construction output in key sectors within the economy including:
- Commercial including offices and leisure
- Public including education, health, leisure and law & order
- Industrial including warehousing, distribution and industrial units
- Infrastructure including rail, roads and utilities
- Housing
- R & M Housing
- R & M Non housing
If your business is active in any of these sectors and you wish to assess the spending trends in your markets and the impact on your sales then the forecast and commentary is essential reading.
The forecast is a 6 monthly report that has been published for the last 18 years and is one of the more highly respected in the industry. Our subscribers, who number over 100 and come from a range of sectors, include Tarkett, Gradus, Twyford Bathrooms, Wolseley, Kingspan, Price Waterhouse Coopers and NBG.
Cost of the report
If you would like to find out more about this report or see a detailed list of the contents then please visit our website here. Please contact us directly if you would like to order a copy, the cost is just £100 plus VAT.
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
David Blackburn | August 1st, 2008
This is a press release by Camargue.
Ocon Construction has started on site at Chettles Yard, a massive 1,000-bedroom student accommodation building in Nottingham. The modern student accommodation building boasts central biomass burners to heat water, which would burn locally sourced woodchips.
The high quality building will be complete with office and retail space, ensuring Chettles Yard becomes fully integrated into the surrounding community. Chettles Yard, which sits on a 10-acre site, will push Ocon past the 7,000 bedroom milestones mark for all its student accommodation projects across the UK, since the company’s launch in 2004.
The modern building is being constructed for Opal Property Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of student accommodation, and is the 14th project that the two organisations have worked together on, demonstrating the strong relationship that has been built over four years.
Clive Williamson, Ocon Construction’s Managing Director says: “We are delighted to start on the construction of Chettles Yard. The scheme is really exciting, with biomass burners and the potential for off-site construction, which really adds to the building’s sustainable credentials.”
“We have a really strong track record in delivering student accommodation, with projects completed in Nottingham, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. All this knowledge, together with delivering over 6,000 bedrooms to date, has given us the opportunity to ensure that the 1,000 bedroom Chettles Yard building is a project which Nottingham can be thoroughly proud of.”
Phase one of the project is due to be completed in 2009, with the entire project finished by 2011. Although building work has just started, Ocon Construction began work at Chettles Yard over a year ago, when it decontaminated the site.
Formerly an industrial site, the land was laden with toxic chemicals, which were removed by using naturally occurring microbes. Ocon’s innovative approach to decontamination meant that over 4,000 lorry trips were avoided from trips to landfill sites. The clean-up budget was also slashed from £2.5 million to £700,000, adding real benefits to the client.
Ocon is also about to start work at Sutton Bonington, the fourth project is has built at Nottingham University’s Campus, following the completion of two student accommodation buildings and an Olympic standard Sports Hall.
- ENDS -
For more information contact Ben Heatley / Martin McCrink / Tom Underwood on +44 (0)1242 577277
Issued on behalf of Ocon Construction by Camargue, Corporate and B2B Communications,
901 Eagle Tower, Montpellier Drive, Cheltenham, GL50 1TA.
Tel: +44 (0)1242 577277 Fax: +44 (0)1242 527277
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
David Blackburn | July 24th, 2008
This is Advertising Artwork by Moggs.
From the original PDF: When You Absolutely Need Cable You Can Trust
Not all cable is the same. Neither is the commitment from the manufacturer you ultimately buy it from. Our customers specify Draka because we are passionate about developing world-beating products that deliver exceptional performance and value. And they trust us to deliver outstanding customer service, technical back-up and innovative solutions to meet their needs. So, when you need cable you can trust, totally, get the strength of the Draka organisation working for you.
Draka UK Limited, P.O. Box 6500, Alfreton Road, Derby, DE21 4ZH, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1332 345431 Fax: +44 (0)1332 331237 www.drakauk.com
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
David Blackburn | July 24th, 2008
This is Advertising Artwork by Moggs.
From the original PDF: Two Great Companies Rolled Into One
JCB Vibromax is now ready to roll out a new range of high performance compaction equipment Built to world-class standards, using Vibromax’s 80 years of compaction know-how and backed up by the best dealer network in the business.
The range provides a choice of over 60 models Self-propelled rollers from 4.6-20 tonnes Full range of Tandem rollers up to 10.2 tonnes. To find out more about why compaction is now part of our attraction call 0800 581761.
JCBSales Limited, Rocester, Staffordshire ST14 5JP
www.jcb.com/homepage.aspx
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
CMG Member | July 23rd, 2008
This is a press release by Moggs.
Moggs, the Derby based marketing communications agency who won the “Highly Acclaimed Construction Marketing Agency of the Year award in December 2007, has launched a new division specialising in online communications, called Moggs DIGITAL.
Moggs DIGITAL has been established with a clear objective in mind and that is to help companies in the construction sector generate more business through their online and website activities. It will offer specialist advice on website design, search engine optimisation, e-commerce, email marketing, pay-per-click, online display advertising and viral marketing.
The division will be managed by specialist Zoe Hendricks, who joins Moggs as Account Director. Zoe was previously an award-winning Senior Manager for the on-line arm of Northcliffe Media and was responsible for helping to establish the hugely successful “This Is” brand.
With £46bn spent online last year (up 54% on 2006) according to the IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group), online retail now represents an impressive 15% of all UK retail sales.
Managing Director Roger Moggs said, “As consumers turn to the Internet to purchase an ever larger range of goods and services, making sure your product ranks high in search engines for keywords related to your business has become marketing common sense, if not a matter of business survival”.
“In a relatively short time, Moggs has established a reputation for marketing excellence and generated some impressive results for our clients. It’s a logical step for us to add online marketing techniques to our services portfolio as more and more clients are now looking to develop internet-based solutions. I am delighted to welcome Zoe to Moggs as she’s bringing tremendous experience and energy to the team here”.
Hendricks sees joining Moggs DIGITAL as a rare opportunity; “I was hugely impressed by the professionalism of the team at Moggs, in particular their creative thinking and passion for helping clients grow their business. I will be bringing my internet marketing skills to the mix to service existing clients and to build a new division specialising in online marketing techniques”, she commented.
www.moggsdigital.co.uk
EDITORS NOTES
Moggs was established in 2001 and has become one of the fastest-growing marketing communications specialists in the East Midlands, with billings now exceeding £2million.
It was the first agency in the UK to operate the “Virtual Agency” business concept, matching high calibre creative and marketing specialists to clients briefs.
In December 2007, Moggs won “Highly Acclaimed Construction Marketing Agency of the Year” award, organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, for its work on clients such as JCB, Draka and Kalmar and also for its innovative “Construction Marketing Centre of Excellence” concept launched the same year.
Moggs continues to win prestigious clients: Artex has recently appointed the agency to re-position it’s brand in UK trade and consumer markets and ventilation market-leader Vent-Axia has hired the agency to produce a new integrated marketing campaign to launch a series of new products to the electrical industry.
Photograph shows managing Director Roger Moggs and Moggs DIGITAL Account Director Zoe Hendricks.
For further information, please contact:
Roger Moggs, Managing Director, Moggs marketing Communications Ltd, The Mill, Lodge Lane, Derby, DE1 3HB. Tel: 01332 363925. Email: roger@moggs.org
www.moggs.org
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
CMG Member | July 23rd, 2008
This is an article by David Simpson of Mainstream Marketing.
The new research, carried out by leading market researcher GfK NOP Consumer, coincides with the launch of the UK’s biggest ever industry-wide mystery shopping study to find the country’s Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service. This independent initiative, led by Call Centre Focus magazine, aims to recognise good practice and raise customer service standards across the industry.
The research focused primarily on the B2C experience but as sure as eggs are eggs, the same results would be reflected in a survey of a company’s B2B Call Centre operation. The results & comments below have been abridged for the sake of brevity but they show a marked trend towards the necessity of the “personal” experience of the face of your organisation (i.e. telephone contact) being too important to leave to chance.
Findings include:
* 69% of UK consumers would be less likely to purchase after a negative call centre experience, rising to 75% amongst 16-44 year olds
* Seven out of ten customers say they might or would definitely tell someone about a negative call centre experience
* Almost half of 25-44 year olds have changed suppliers because of a negative call centre experience compared to 35% across whole population
The growing importance of word of mouth recommendations was highlighted by the research, particularly amongst younger consumers, with 51% of 16-24 year olds saying they would definitely tell someone about a negative call centre experience, compared to 38% of 45-54 year olds.
Dr. Max Blumberg, Customer Management Strategist and Visiting Researcher at the University of London, who specialises in motivating workforces, leadership teams and sales forces said:
“Companies need to understand that the service provided by call centres is a key component of brand value in driving customer acquisition and repeat purchasing; it is no longer enough to focus on product and price alone. Consumers take a more holistic view of value when making purchasing decisions and the UK’s most affluent demographic groups are most likely to wield their buying power by changing suppliers.
“Yet even though the importance of customer service is well established many companies invest more in innovative product development and pricing strategies than they do in customer-oriented call-centre strategies. These companies usually end up with fantastic, well-priced products, but with markets that will not buy them because of personal or word-of-mouth negative call-centre experiences.
The research also revealed that good customer service can produce powerful brand advocates with 49% saying they would be more loyal to a company after a positive call centre experience and 23% saying they would definitely recommend an organisation to other people.
When asked to select the three most important aspects of customer service, friendly agents were seen as key by 53% of consumers, alongside speed of call answering (57%) and knowledgeable agents (49%). These qualities were seen as much more important than having their problems resolved in a single call (41%), being told their position in the queue while on hold (21%) and agents having access to their account history (20%).
The highlighted text is our own and indicates Mainstream Marketing’s opinion on some of the key facts that this research has revealed.
To find out how to approach your customers in a Positive, Friendly and Profitable manner, contact
David Simpson
Mainstream Marketing
01483 456700
www.msm-uk.co.uk
…
If you would like to talk to CMG about receiving a range of marketing quotes, please call us on 01256 810110, or make an enquiry here.
