Captured on video

BLINDWARE

“Recently, in a bid to cling onto the last remaining slivers of sanity during Lockdown Mark 2 in Melbourne, we had a trampoline delivered. A big trampoline. The kind that has an intimidatingly large number of springs, screws and other unrecognisable bits and pieces. Diligently (and with a fair bit of colourful language) we worked our way through the installation manual, until we became completely and utterly stuck. ‘You want us to do what with the springs? Unless you’re double jointed and/or have seven people at your disposal to complete the job, it just wasn’t possible.’ Or was it? We Googled ‘how to install [brand and size] trampoline’.  Up popped a video and we saw, in fact, if you angle your wrist ‘just so’, indeed it is possible. If we hadn’t found the video, we would have had to call the company, spend ours and the company’s time and resources talking through the problem. A simple two minute video told us everything we needed to know. A good experience for us, a positive response to the company, which will lead to positive reviews for anyone who asks us about the trampoline.”

“In 2020, we are staying home. Covid-19 has utterly changed the way we work, the way we live and certainly the way we consume media. We have more time than ever before to consume media, and we are hungry for entertaining, engaging content. When we’re not working from home, we want to be entertained, and we want to understand how to fix that wonky blind that has been annoying us for a few years but has remained on the to-do list. Instruction manuals are great, they certainly give a high level of product detail, but nothing beats video as a way to communicate your product and how to install/use/fix ii simply and with minimal company intervention.”

Norton’s view is that in 2020, if video is not a prominent part of a business’ marketing campaigns, it needs to re-think. By 2022, 82% of internet traffic will be driven by video (Cisco Annual Internet Report (2018–2023) White Paper). 

“Video is used not only to effectively convey a product or brand message, it drives click-through rates, conversion rates and overall customer satisfaction. As video quality improves with 4G and soon 5G streaming, so will people’s viewing time. By the end of 2020, on average people will watch 100 minutes of video per day. Unlike television, which is often put on in the background with ad breaks serving as a quick chance to get a cuppa or scroll through your phone, users actively seek out video advertising – a good digital media strategy will place the right video advertisements in the right place so the experience fits with people’s expectations of the site they are browsing.”

“Videos aren’t only useful for high engagement, sophisticated categories like sports cars and alcohol. No matter what the product or brand, video can work hard for a marketer through every aspect of the sales funnel, from driving brand awareness to after-sales support and research. Video can make a traditionally impersonal business like a bank seem positively likeable, while making highly technical products less daunting by demonstrating assembly and use step-by-step for those less tech-savvy consumers. Window blind components can be a challenge to talk about in a way that makes sense to people who aren’t across the technical aspect of blind-making, and who simply want to give their own customers a blind that looks good, and keeps the heat and light out. Showing customers each component and telling a story of how a quality component drives overall performance, not only educates them about a topic that can be dauntingly technical, but can really visually showcase the quality of your products vs those of your competitors.” 

“Video is accessible, loved by consumers, and can be very inexpensive. It can and should form part of a robust marketing strategy to deliver your key messages and product information to your customers in a way that really resonates. With a bit of planning and thought, it can bring your products, brand and staff to life in a way that static media just cannot.”

SOMFY

Somfy has continued to maintain its proactive approach to developing innovative digital solutions, according to Somfy Oceania’s Marketing Executive Mary Maidiotis. 

“Understanding the full potential that digital technologies hold, Somfy’s focus has been on driving the digitalisation of our value chain and core businesses,” she says, adding that, with digitalisation a key component of its global strategy, its importance is now heightened; the company takes the view that the impact of Covid 19 has accelerated this drive for digitalisation, particularly with the adoption of online video to continue to support customers as best as they can.

“Google Search trends showed that during the peak of the lockdowns across Australia, searches for ‘virtual consultations’ were trending upwards,” says Maidiotis. “We decided to capitalise on that, not only in terms of our own marketing but by supporting our Somfy Experts to ensure they were well-equipped to handle virtual consultations.”

“End users were spending a lot of time at home, considering updates to their home especially if they had money saved up for a holiday they could no longer take. However, many weren’t comfortable meeting face to face given the unpredictable climate. Together with Somfy Experts we ensured we were able to cater to those needs.”

The team at Somfy helped educate Somfy Experts with best practices on running virtual consultations including advice on which technology to use and tips for adapting the traditional sales process to a virtual environment.

“During that time, although a lot of our Somfy Experts were still open, our Sales team weren’t able to visit our customers, so we had to adopt our processes with our own customers too,” says Maidiotis.

With customers still requiring training and education on Somfy products, the Somfy team adapted their Somfy School training to a webinar. Somfy customers were able to schedule a time with their Regional Sales Manager to run through the training online via video call.

“It worked well, particularly because we were able to include so many people in a single training session. This is one of the things we will be taking from this experience and running with it beyond the pandemic.”

Dollar Curtains & Blinds 

In order to maintain consistently high levels of service during Covid 19 retailer Dollar Curtains & Blinds has established e-consultations, promoted through its social media platforms, confirms Ryan Crosby, Operations & Product Development Manager. 

“Using apps such as Skype and FaceTime has helped us to continue to provide a one on one consultation service to our clients, many of whom have enjoyed the comfort and safety of remaining in their homes during this difficult period.  

“Although for our business e-consultations will never stack up to a traditional home or office visit by one of our experienced consultants, many of our clients are excited to see us adjusting to cater to those who initially, were more at risk or coming in contact with those at risk, to now many more as stage 4 restrictions have been implemented in a large part of Victoria.” 

“It’s been important for us that the service is still personal. So we have set up a dedicated consultant team to handle our enquiries, so our clients can be guided by the same team member from start to finish. It’s also shown that more input is needed on the client’s behalf; as it’s a virtual consultation our team will educate and advise how to measure for their required products and importantly how colours and textures will look and feel. For example clients might have to hold up samples and move through the home to get the full understanding of how the products will look and feel on their windows.” 

Luxaflex marketing snapshot 

In 2020, market-leading brand, Luxaflex Window Fashions, went from strength to strength by securing successful partnerships with Qantas Frequent Flyer and Interior Design Expert, Neale Whitaker.

The Qantas Frequent Flyer program is one of Australia’s largest loyalty programs, with over 13 million members. The partnership with Qantas Frequent Flyer enables customers to earn Qantas points on all purchases from the Luxaflex range, with the offer applied against blinds, awnings and shutters. For every dollar spent on Luxaflex products, members will earn 1 Qantas Point.

Earlier in the year, a consumer campaign was held to celebrate the launch. It consisted of points per dollar doubled with any purchase from the Luxaflex Softshades collection, including Duette Shades, Modern Roman Shades, Luminette Privacy Sheers, Pirouette Shadings and Silhouette Shadings*.

“It is an honour to align ourselves with such an iconic and quintessential Australian brand, and we are proud to be able to bring such a strong initiative to our customers,” says Vera Meharg, Marketing Communications Manager, Luxaflex Window Fashions. “Our partnership with Qantas has been continuously strong and the uptake from dealers and consumers haven’t waivered much from the impact of COVID-19. Consumers are now investing more money into their homes and although there are travel restrictions, they are saving up the points to use for the next time they can travel.”

In February, Interior Design Expert, and TV Personality, Neale Whitaker embarked on a Brand Ambassador partnership to represent Luxaflex Window Fashions. Supplying a wealth of knowledge and style, Neale shares insights into the latest design trends and offers advice on choosing window furnishings to suit the homeowner’s style.

Throughout the partnership, he has featured in the Luxaflex PowerView campaign which supported the brand’s advances in innovation with its forward-thinking stance on motorisation. The campaign included a TVC that gifted customers a PowerView Hub, unlocking Smart Home Automation in their home.

“We are thrilled to have Neale as our Brand Ambassador. He captures the sophistication, class and style that our brand encompasses. It has been wonderful working with him for our Luxaflex PowerView® campaign and we look forward to working together on more projects,” says Meharg.