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Chaloner Associates |
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Creative & Imaginative PR |
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Case Study: Grand Designs 3D
Introduction Grand Designs 3D is a range of home design software released under the Grand Designs name. Grand Designs is one of the top ranking programs on Channel 4 and a very strong brand. The software is produced by Eleco Visualisation Software a plc based in Germany and the UK. Eleco acquired the rights to use the Grand Designs brand in mid-2008. We had previously worked for Eleco promoting a similar range of home design software branded as ARCON. Chaloner have been involved with the Grand Designs 3D project from its inception, providing advice to Eleco on market placement, packaging, marketing and PR. The software range comprises of three distinct titles that allow the user to draw plans in 2D and easily visualise them in 3D at the press of a button. Grand Designs 3D Self Build & Development - £199 Self Build & Development allows the user to design a complete building project including multiple buildings and exterior spaces. The software is primarily aimed at the self-build & professional user. This product is capable of producing plans for outline planning applications. Grand Designs 3D Renovation & Interior - £49.99 Renovation & Interior allows users to draw plans for renovating, extending or redecorating their home. This software package is aimed at people carrying out alterations to their current property, for example building an extension or remodelling the interior. Grand Designs 3D Kitchen & Bathroom- £24.99 Kitchen & Bathroom is targeted at home owners who are planning on renovating their kitchen or bathroom. The software offers users the opportunity to visualise how their plans will look in 3D. Target Audience Primary: · Dedicated amateur Self-Builders or DIY enthusiasts with a specific project they wish to undertake. Casual home improvers who want a cost effective way of visualizing their ideas. Secondary: · Professional builders & architects who want a cost effective way of allowing their clients to visualize plans in 3D. Software enthusiasts who are keen to try and design their own Grand Design. The Brief Eleco have involved Chaloner in the Grand Designs 3D project prior to signing the licensing agreement. Our role was to maximise PR coverage across all media sectors. Little money was available for marketing and so virtually all the generated publicity has been generated via PR. Eleco were keen to emphasise the high quality, up market brand strength of Grand Designs 3D. We were asked to assist in the launch of the products at the NEC Grand Designs Live show in October 2008. Prior to the show we contacted a wide range of journalist attending the show and succeeded in getting many to attend the stand and cover the products. In the build-up to the launch of the product, we released several press releases targeting both the general public and trade press. The latter in order to assist the sales team in getting the products into retail. After release of the products we started the PR campaign in earnest targeting the following printed press & online sectors; PC software, building/DIY, Lifestyle, National & Regional newspapers. We achieved considerable success in these sectors (please see below), generating product reviews, news pieces and competitions to win some of the software. We are currently broadening the ongoing PR campaign to target, specific Men’s & Women’s Lifestyle magazines & websites. During the course of the campaign we have released regular press releases to maintain interest in the products. Results Competitions We targeted a selection of Home Improvement websites and magazines as well as the specialist PC Press & lifestyle in total reaching well in excess of 10,000,000 potential consumers. (Please note this is only a very small selection of the competitions we have setup)
Reviews Again we targeted, National Newspapers (home & DIY supplements), DIY/Home Interiors magazines, Lifestyle & Technical press. A small selection of the coverage we have achieved.
Quotes from Reviews
Channel4.com - "The first thing I should stress is that this is the real deal…"
Tiscali - “Once mastered, this application is straightforward to use…….”
review centre - "Grand Designs 3D has no steep learning curve & allows for non-qualified CAD users like myself to very quickly produce instant results"
PC Advisor - "...this Grand Designs Renovations & Interior package with its super-slick user interface is CAD home designing without the pain"
Kevin Mcloud - “easier and more intuitive than any of that free downloadable nonsense”
Grand Designs Live Excel- http://www.granddesignslive.com/home
We attended a second Grand Designs Live show at the Excel Centre, London on the Press Day (Monday 26th April, 2009).
We were responsible for inviting press along to the stand in advance of the show, we contacted many of the National press including The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, Exposed Magazine, House Beautiful Magazine, Build It, DIY Week, The Sun, The Sunday Times (Home supplement). We are still finalising details of coverage with the press who attended the show but the Times will be covering the software in the property section in the next few weeks.
In addition Chaloner staff were responsible for canvassing both the public and press who were interested in the product and convincing them to have a full demo of the software with the Product Managers who were in attendance.
The Future
To further promote this product we are working closely with our clients Eleco Software to assist them in further penetrating the retail market, via a continued PR assault on the media sectors outlined above.
The Software is reviewing extremely well and consistently achieving reviews scores in excess of 80%.
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