A highly fruitful property development completion campaign: top quality product + inspiring concepts + great people to work with = brilliant PR
Background
Property developers Newmason Properties regenerated a Victorian mill complex and added futuristic new builds to create a £70m luxury, gated community in West Yorkshire.
Having promoted the development from its inception, Litmus devised a final 12 month campaign to coincide with the completion of the development.
Objectives
- To maximise positive press coverage within a budget of £10,000
- To use creative PR techniques to deliver key messages to all identified target audiences – individual buyers/tenants, investors, local community and businesses
- To continue to augment Newmason Properties’ leading development reputation
Strategy
For us the challenge was to find new and interesting ways to keep the Newmason story in the media.
Campaign activity included:
- Conducting competitor media research to ascertain points of difference
- Developing a selection of releases, features and comments to amplify the points of difference
- Commissioning award winning photographers to create highly appealing and versatile images
- Co-ordinating journalist visits to sample the facilities
- Creating a targeted investor brochure
- Developing the script and voice-over for a promotional video
Evaluation and Measurement
The PR coverage achieved was so effective that Newmason stopped advertising the development and relied solely on the fruits of the PR campaign.
- At the end of the period the development was 99% sold, with just eight of it’s 447 apartments still available
- 76 articles were achieved in the local, regional and national target publications
- TV coverage achieved included: two interviews for BBC Look North and an expert panel appearance on Channel 4’s ‘Vocation, Vocation, Vocation’
- Web traffic increased by 41% and telephone inquires by 56%
- The campaign contributed to Newmason winning five leading property awards
- Some of the photographs commissioned were used in The Times and at the MIPIM international property exhibition.
Results Against Objectives
Newmason Properties was highly delighted with the results of the PR campaign…but don’t just take our word for it!
“The Litmus team are so versatile and flexible that we really got our money’s worth. As far as I’m concerned Litmus do a cracking job and give great Yorkshire value.”
Chris Pratt, finance director, Newmason Properties
