Challenge

The new Part E of the Building Regulations (resistance to the passage of sound) demanded higher-than-ever acoustic insulation standards. Many in the building industry feared that this meant going back to slow, messy, old fashioned plastering (“wet trades”) instead of quick, clean plasterboarding.  It also introduced the scary concept of Pre-Completion Sound Testing (PCT), with failure threatening expensive and time-consuming refits or potentially ruinous legal action. 

The only way to avoid such problems involved another unfamiliar concept: Robust Details. By using approved products in carefully specified ways, Robust Details make it possible to comply with the new Part E without having to go through the dreaded PCT. Isowool manufacturers British Gypsum Isover had a unique solution to all these concerns: a party wall insulation system featuring RD35 acoustic slabs that was just about to be approved as Robust Detail E-WM-8. It also met the growing industry demand for more sustainable products. 

Creative thinking

Our client now needed a campaign to cut through all the complexity and tell installers/specifiers that the insulation solution they needed was:

Officially approved (Robust Detail E-WM-8)

Only achievable with Isover RD35 acoustic slabs

The E-WM-8 campaign encompassed product cards, mailings and a variety of ad formats. 

When Robust Detail E-WM-8 became official, the occasion was marked with a gatefold front cover of Building Products magazine. Innovative space buying then came to the fore with a split-page ad, in which the magazine’s gutter represented the wall cavity. 

Results

The campaign generated 1147 enquiries – that’s 55 per insertion and 72% above average for a standard product ad in similar media. The gatefold cover alone brought in 137 enquiries and the highest performing product card attracted 188 responses. 529 enquirers switched from an existing Robust Details registration to the new E-WM-8 as soon as it was launched. 9 months after launching E-WM-8, Isowool’s market share had grown from zero to 10%.