Innovative brand campaign achieved a 1:37 return on marketing investment
Client
Millboard
Services
Strategy
Brand
Creative
Digital
The Challenge
We were approached by Millboard in 2017 to help an already successful business move to the next level. The start of this was to assess the brand by undertaking extensive research into the business and its customers, combing a series of ethnography, focus groups and surveys to provide solid insights.
The Solution
Millboard was competing directly with manufacturers of composite decking, a market that accounts for only 3% of total annual decking sales. We realised there was a bigger opportunity – one which would enable Millboard to break free from the confines of this relatively small and saturated bubble, and vastly improve its visibility whilst potentially increasing its market share.
The crucial insight? Millboard decking is exactly like wood, but only without the associated drawbacks that come from Timber. We developed a brand strategy that would reposition Millboard outside of the ‘composites’ category. And instead, boldly go head-to-head with the traditional timber market.
The resulting brand campaign used lines including “Can’t see the wood for the Millboard” playfully drawing on the subtle distinction between basic natural Timber versus Millboard’s unique material. The sentiment here being that at a glance, you can’t tell that it’s not wood, and in reality it’s a composite material that’s better than the real thing. All the benefits of wood – with none of the disadvantages that timber brings.
The Result
As a direct result of the repositioning and campaign activity – including digital and press advertising, and the use of Direct Mail – Millboard experienced a 55% year-on-year increase in web traffic, and an 81% rise in product sample requests; a figure made all the more impressive in its post-GDPR compliance landscape.
Sample requests were a key component within Millboard’s lead generation activity and increasing the number of these had a direct correlation to an increase in overall sales. The campaign delivered an impressive 1:37 return on marketing investment after 12 months out in the market.
55%
Year-on-year increase in web traffic
81%
Product sample requests
1 : 37
Return on marketing investment (ROMI)