Our Brand Communications team in Belfast enjoyed a glamorous evening at the CIPR NI Awards late last month, taking home three awards on the night.
The standout campaign of the night was Cavendish’s collaboration with local comedian, Paddy Raff for housebuilder client, Lagan Homes.
‘BT7 is the New BT9’ – a postcode worth moving for’ was crowned winner in the Best Use of Digital and Social Media and Low Budget Campaign of the Year categories.
One of Northern Ireland’s largest housebuilders, Lagan Homes tasked Cavendish to help launch The Hamptons, a £32m development in South Belfast. A challenging brief that required homebuyers to look beyond Belfast’s desirable BT9 postcode to one just across the river in BT7.
Identifying social media as the leading source of real estate sales after direct referrals, Cavendish spotted opportunity to partner with a local comedian known for his sketches revolving around his alter-ego Nigel, a BT9 afficionado who won’t leave the postcode for love nor all his money.
A clever script would see Nigel wake up after a night of partying and realise he wasn’t in BT9 anymore. What’s worse is that he was impressed by his surroundings. Too impressed.
This clever social content had real impact, reaching 155,000 views across Facebook and Instagram within one day. The release of the content was timed to coincide with the official show home launch, even incorporating a surprise ‘gatecrashing’ appearance from Nigel. A move that had the whole of South Belfast talking.
The content seamlessly integrated with Paddy Raff’s existing online personality, enabling Lagan Homes to hit the cultural relevance nail on the head.
Engagement metrics translated to real-world results, as the show home was immediately booked on launch night and a further six converted in the month that followed. Overall, that equated to over £5m of house sales.
Not bad for a campaign that cost just a little bit less* than that to deliver.
*A lot less.
The Belfast team also took home the Silver in the Integrated Campaign of the Year category for its work with broadband provider, Fibrus.
