Problem: the product is a game-changer, but the audience is hard to reach

Lafarge is a top-ranking global player in cement, aggregates, concrete, and building solutions, and its presence in Poland dates back to 1995. It offers comprehensive, innovative, and sustainable products for the construction industry. As a supplier of building materials, they collaborate closely with contractors, subcontractors, investors and construction site managers. Lafarge is known for its insulation products and efforts at following the circulation economy.

Our client approached us with a unique challenge. The company had a problem with achieving the intended effect with promotion of its innovative product, Airium™ mineral insulation foam. As opposed to most of Lafarge’s products addressed to major investors, developers, or architects, Airium™ was to be communicated to building contractors, who frequently influence the decision to purchase a specific solution. In their campaign, the client had attempted to reach the intended target audience using their usual B2B channels and tone of voice. Previous campaigns have not met expected results, as the acquired leads had mainly come from the end-user group of future homeowners. The company struggled to get through to their desired prospect group and reached out to us for support in developing an effective lead-generation strategy.

Approach: extensive product, solution, and audience research to reevaluate strategies

We started by exploring the product itself through detailed quantitative research and a series of qualitative interviews. We left our desks to visit construction sites for a sneak peek of constructors at work. Finally, we carried out competitor research to comprehensively determine the unique advantages of our client’s product.

The Airium™ system offers many benefits, such as 100% biodegradability and great sound-absorbing capacity, but application in a standing position is the most unique one. That’s why we picked the latter feature as the big idea for our campaign directed at building contractors. This particular advantage–carrying a powerful promise of an improved, more comfortable application process–was most likely to appeal to them on a convenience level. As the only solution on the market boasting such a feature, it seemed attractive to someone used to spending hours on their knees tediously applying insulation layers. It only had to be communicated to the target audience effectively.

Upon researching the target audience profile, we realised this particular professional group was not customarily present on B2B social media platforms, such as LinkedIn. However, they were active users of other platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube, primarily for entertainment and private purposes. But we also discovered that they tended to seek work-related information by joining trade-focused social groups and watching instruction videos. To reach building contractors with our campaign, we had to take these factors into consideration.

Solution: follow the audience and speak their language

We crafted a full-funnel campaign revolving around the idea of bringing contractors back to their feet thanks to the revolutionary standing application method of the product. We came up with a catchy slogan, “get up from your knees”, which drew on a shared pain point and instantly appealed to the target group. The eye-catching visuals complemented the amusing message. Google Network, YouTube, and Facebook were the main channels the campaign was launched on. The tone of voice, messaging, and visuals were adapted to each of the platforms and funnel stages. We created a compelling landing page with a visual summary of the key advantages of the product to help capture the leads. Since we were aware that the target group was mainly using mobile devices for work, the campaign was entirely mobile-friendly.