Covid 19 has forced unprecedented change on small businesses. This is a story describing how Digital Shadow has helped a local business adapt and go from; worrying about surviving to how to deliver on all the next 60 Vivid Pods.
Vivid Interiors Group to Vivid Pods
At the start of last year Vivid Interiors Group focus was on the vibrant, but competitive shop fitting market. Installing shops for; Typo, WHSmith, Asics and O2 to name a few. Then overnight everything changed. Entrepreneur, Nathan Stevens decided to take his teams specialist skills in shop fitting, electronics and automation and apply them to creating high end garden rooms. Digital Shadow supported Nathan on this journey to help create the brand Vivid Pods.
Logos needed to be created, a new social media presence built with a new website designed to bring the products alive. Key decisions had to be made on how to go to market such, as how to attract customers and what information to include?
Once Nathan had designed a range of Vivid Pods to suit different budgets and applications, we considered more granular details, such as colour and whether we should publish the pricing? Our research showed the smart money was on being transparent and that people want to visualise and budget online, before making a commitment, or even talking to anyone.
Initially the biggest hurdle was the only garden room in existence was the prototype created in Nathans garden who needed somewhere to base his operations on. The answer to that problem was to use 3D models and the BARK marketplace is a great place to find specialists. On 11th May 2020 Nathan wrote:
“We are looking for help to showcase a small range of garden office studios in 3D image. The designs will be described/hand drawn. Please find attached a few examples of what we are looking for, more detailed images would be preferable”.
Adrian Dodds of Intoreality was quick to respond to the advert feeling that he could bring experience, technical knowledge, and enthusiasm. Adrian had also recently completed making animation for providing air conditioning in garden offices and had a current knowledge of the industry.
Between them they started to visualise the new POD range. They researched the maximum size allowed for a temporary building in a garden without require planning permission, which translates to a floor size of 15 square metres and a maximum height of 2.5 metres. Then created a range of units based on this size, with options for windows, doors and cladding materials to hit different price points. The result was a range of four units in two colour ways – this started the Vivid POD range.
At the core of the design is a sleek modern structure that can be adjusted in size to meet most customer requirements and turn garden studio dreams into a reality. Thus VividPods.co.uk was conceived.
This is where we felt the audience ‘lived’ to increase brand exposure with daily posts. Just a few months, generated some impressive results:
Organic reach:
- 92% increase in followers
- 41% increase in Reach
- 75% increase in Engagements
Paid Ads:
- Reach – 29 643 people from the target group
- Post engagements – 9 419
- Link clicks – 325
Vivid Pods had 6 inquiries and 4 site visits with prospective clients in the first 3 months.
Digital Shadow emailed a database of Vivid Electrics prospective customers with an invitation to find out more about Vivid Pods of just 1850. The purpose of the email campaign was brand awareness and drive people to the website. By introducing a database of 1576 contacts to Vivid’s new proposition, 200 people looked at the email and 34 were taken to the website. We then followed best practice and resent the email to those who have not opened the first email. This time the message reached another 75 people who opened the email, of which 20 people landed on the website.
Taking the same database, plus the new website subscribers.
- Creating a simple referral program to incentivise people to talk about Vivid Pods
- Generating traditional flyers for a leaflet drop in the surrounding area of Bristol.
- Invest in essential SEO techniques to draw people to Vivid’s keywords to the website organically.
To help with this, Digital Shadow introduced Vivid to Reality Finance who now offer finance options to businesses wanting to invest in Garden offices for their staff, not able to come to the office due to Covid 19 and social distancing rules. A program was quickly agreed and a form created on the website to capture the right details to get the process moving.
How Vivid Pods stands out from the competition:
Our marketing research identified that the majority of the competition evolved from businesses that build traditional summer houses and sheds. The building materials used by Vivid are a league apart allowing the sort of slick finish associated with a retail premises, but with a quick installation and better insulation than a traditional timber build. More than that, Vivid are set up to handle the whole project from conception to final inspection.
Vivid Pods enjoy leveraging all their specialist skills. They are qualified electricians, Prince 2 project managers and carpenters. A component of Vivid Interiors group is Vivid Electrics, where installing Automation Solutions that make life easier and wow customers is their bread and butter.
It is not just about the finish and the speed of build. The experience matters too. Extending your WiFi network, bringing Alexa to your garden room and installing a Hive system, so the temperature is exactly what you want it to be – when you walk into work – is just one advantage of a Vivid Pod.
The Future of Vivid Pods
Having installed 20 Pods so far and 60 more sold to be installed before the winter, Digital Shadow look forward to bringing Vivid Pods to gardens and glamping sites up and down the country.
With summer coming and holidays on the mind, keep an eye out for The Camper Pod – A New Way Of Living.
Solar power panels can be installed to give free electricity during the day and high-powered Lithium Batteries can store that energy and run the pods after dark. Eco roofs can be installed to help your garden room blend in with the environment with a Sedum Eco Roof. Sedum offer a wide a range of moss and wildflower products for use on green roofs. Plus air tightness certification, golf range pods, dog pods and so much more!
