In Wood We Trust: a digital and press campaign to deliver tangible sales results

About The Grounds

The Grounds is a residential development by Tallwood at Hobsonville Point in Auckland's northwest. The 42 high quality apartments in the development will be built with engineered timber. Timber will form the structural members (posts and beams), and walls, floors and roofs. Although innovative for New Zealand, this is a proven method of construction in Europe and Scandinavia. It means a higher percentage of the building can be manufactured in a factory, rather than on site, increasing the speed and accuracy of construction. 'Tall timber' buildings are strong, enduring and aesthetically appealing.

The Brief

HLC supports innovation and wanted to find a way to help Tallwood reach targeted sales so that construction could start. A flooded market and tighter loan restrictions were making it tougher to sell apartments off the plan than it had been in the recent past. Lion's Share was asked for a targeted and cost-effective campaign that could be implemented quickly with the aim of reaching sales targets so that construction could get underway.

Strategy

Kiwis love wood and there's a body of research internationally that points to the benefits of living with timber. Having wood around us lowers our blood pressure and stress levels and increases our well-being. Armed with that knowledge, our strategy was to evoke the warm feelings we associate with wood, bring to life the characteristics of tall timber buildings, and then, once potential homebuyers were engaged, show them why these apartments will provide more value for money than many competitive products.

But when you buy an apartment you're not just buying bricks and mortar (or timber and glass) – you're buying into a neighbourhood. So we also needed to offer a reason to buy at Hobsonville Point.

‘Closer to nature’ was the promise for the campaign. That allowed us to link and show off both the apartments and Hobsonville Point's gorgeous coast and bush and great outdoor amenity. This promise was brought to life with a 90-second video and served up to a carefully selected target audience on Facebook. The combination of the imagery and the music lyrics communicated the calming effect of living with wood.

The video was also tested as native content on websites such as Stuff and NZ Herald. More traditional methods, such as press ads and EDM to HLC's database, also formed part of the media mix. All content led potential homebuyers to a campaign landing page where they learned more about the apartments, were told about a purchase offer (a whiteware package) and invited to download an ebook full of a new, richer seam of information about the development.

The Grounds Landing Page

 

The Grounds E-Book

 

The Outcome

We were able to measure the degree of engagement from each channel in the first instance. And then further, to match that initial interest with more serious consideration in the form of ebook downloads.

The results allowed us to accurately compare the cost effectiveness of each channel in attracting people with a high degree of interest. By the end of the campaign the sales goals had been reached and construction on the 42-apartment development was able to start.