Leading KBB brands join our virtual roundtable to discuss the sector’s future

A first for our agency, we recently hosted our inaugural roundtable event, looking at how brands and retailers in the home interest sector can unlock success post-lockdown.

It goes without saying, that the impact of Covid-19 will be felt across all aspects of our lives for a long time to come. But as many businesses start to find a way forward after lockdown, what exactly will the landscape look like for brands in the home interest sector over the coming months and years?

To help give us a picture of how businesses in this vertical have been impacted by the pandemic and how they must react and adapt accordingly, we teamed up with Mustard Research to chair a virtual roundtable event.

Hosted on Zoom by Client Services Director, Will English, and Mustard’s Colin Auton, the discussion featured senior figures from across the KBB (kitchen/bedroom/bathroom) world, representing some of its biggest brands including Blum, Franke, Moduleo and Ideal Standard.

Kicking off with a summary of the latest research and commentary on the outbreak, the panel went on to discuss a number of topics – from assessing the economic impact, changing consumer behaviour and Covid-19’s impact on living and working spaces, to rebooting retail channels and defining a future marketing strategy and brand messaging.

From a conversation that covered the growing importance of digital marketing, the ongoing evolution of ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers and why brands shouldn’t go dark – despite a looming recession – five key insights emerged:

1. The customer journey is evolving – as consumers spend more time researching renovation projects at home, brands should consider dialling up digital activity.
2. The acceleration of digital marketing looks set to continue even as lockdown eases – home interest brands and retailers must work together to create ‘digital showrooms’ to inspire and educate consumers.
3. The crisis could see a further evolution of home interest retail models with the ‘remote studio’ concept set to disrupt the market.
4. Bricks and mortar retailers must provide unique store experiences to lure customers back to the high street.
5. Don’t pause marketing activity – evidence from previous recessions suggests that brands which under-invest take years to recover.

These findings are important as they will help to inform how the agency can support our KBB clients going forward. As Will put it: “By gathering senior figures from the industry on one call, we were able to share insights and ideas that we believe can act as a rudder for other home interest brands and retailers to help navigate them through these uncertain waters.”

Informative, insightful and beneficial to all those who took part, this inaugural roundtable was a success and we look forward to hosting similar events in the future – whether virtually or face-to-face.

To download a report of the key take-aways from the roundtable and the original research presentation, please complete the form below.