Page 12 - Buzz Magazine

PROJECTS
Stand 47’s reputation building power is legend
So handsomely did this clever marketing concept pay off that other sites are coming on stream to keep the momentum going.
The invaluable contribution that Stand 47 made to Saint-Gobain’s reputation in the habitat market is
incontestable.
Initially, Saint-Gobain took a lease
on the house for just a year, but the strong identity the marketing team built for the house paid such dividends that the lease was renewed. Only now has it nally been relinquished, after two-and- a-half astoundingly successful years.
The last group of visitors got to experience this remarkable house at Monaghan Farm on 15 October. They followed in the footsteps of notables like the French Ambassador and South Africa’s top instagrammer, as well as
a host of professionals, merchants, specialist distributors, executive teams, students and ordinary people looking for innovative homebuilding ideas. Like their predecessors, they left mightily impressed.
Saint-Gobain Gyproc Hotel and Residential Sector Manager Michelle Cerruti said, “Being involved in Stand 47 was a fantastic experience. It did a good job, allowing large numbers of people to really truly experience what a difference our products make to a home!”
Hard-working house
More than 3 000 visitors passed through Stand 47, thanks to the more than R23 million in PR value it generated in its lifetime.
“We generated R14.1 million of
this PR value in 2015 alone as the #wintertest and #resttest campaigns created interest. In addition people stayed in the house almost every weekend this year,” enthused Michelle.
Michelle is proud that the house became so well recognised as an excellent place to truly experience the comfort bene ts modern building methods offer that second-year
University of Pretoria construction management students were required to complete an assignment on lightweight materials based on visits to the house.
Not over yet
She is also delighted with the way the subtle marketing message of the regular winter tests and rest tests hosted at the house were strengthened by the web- based “How-To” guides the team made available this year.
“They have already been downloaded over 19 000 times and we expect them to remain in demand. The big plus is that they list the actual Saint-Gobain products to use in each application. We were far subtler with our message at the actual house.”
Fortunately, the Stand 47 concept lives on. To organise a visit, by
appointment, to another sustainable home overlooking Bullfrog Pan in Benoni that showcases Saint-Gobain Gyproc’s industry- rst high strength drywall, HabitoTM just contact her at michelle.cerruti@saint-gobain.com. w
VAl DE VIE
A wORThy
SUCCESSOR
So intrigued was South African 2004 Olympic gold medallist Ryk Neethling after spotting a Stand 47 advertisement that he contacted Saint-Gobain.
The relationship that developed has resulted in an ambition to build the rst multi-comfort home in
the southern hemisphere at the prestigious Val de Vie polo estate near Paarl, in the Western Cape.
Look out for news of this project, at Val de Vie. In about a year’s time, it will be the place to take people to see, feel and hear for themselves the difference Saint-Gobain’s innovative products make.
12 | BUZZ | SUMMER 2016