Anwyl Turns To Social Media for Socially Distanced Events

COMBINING a digital experience with the personal touch, Anwyl Homes is rolling out virtual events to give buyers ‘Access All Areas’.

Recognising a need to engage with homebuyers while maintaining social distancing, the homebuilder enlisted Soup Creative to devise a digital campaign to relaunch its Bluebell Meadows development in Fulwood, Lancashire, where the show homes are now open by appointment only.

It took just two weeks from concept to going live with the series of films broadcast via Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and the Anwyl website.

In the first 10 days the four episodes combined reached an audience of more than 36,000 people via Facebook and were viewed more than 1,300 times on YouTube.

The formula is now serving as a blueprint for other Anwyl developments across the North West of England and North Wales.

Stewart Macfarlane, from Soup Creative, said: “Anwyl is a very customer focused, forward thinking company. They understand and are committed to the digital experience.

“Having seen the fast acceptance by consumers of brands featuring staff and user-generated content during the lockdown, we realised it was a concept that could be adapted for Anwyl with a combination of scripted interviews delivering a strong narrative and really natural, almost podcast-style content. We felt this was a very effective way of bringing the personality of the company to the forefront of a campaign.”

Location filming with members of the Anwyl team was largely outdoors, making it easier for the crew and cast to social distance. Microsoft Teams calls were then used to capture conversations with property experts and customers, enabling some of the content to be recorded remotely with the added benefit of producing some natural, unscripted content.

“Anwyl’s site team were excellent in supporting us and were clearly on top of this from the start,” Stewart added.

“We had a reduced crew to help with social distancing; and clear communication with the Anwyl team was key for everyone to stay – and importantly feel – safe and comfortable during filming, which I’m glad they were as you can see in the films.”

Although the new fully furnished show homes at Bluebell Meadows in Fulwood, near Preston, opened just prior to lockdown, only a few people were lucky enough to see inside them before the development had to close temporarily when the coronavirus pandemic struck.  The virtual relaunch followed Anwyl reopening its show homes, including those at Bluebell Meadows, by appointment only.

Head of sales for Anwyl Homes Lancashire, Matthew Gould, said: “Access All Areas by Anwyl was born from a need to do things differently in the wake of COVID-19. We wanted to be able to showcase our homes, but also offer buyers a full experience comparable to the one they would have enjoyed if we had held an event on site at Bluebell Meadows.

“Embracing digital technology while keeping it personal by involving the team has enabled us to create an authentic virtual event and, as the name suggests, also gives buyers some insights they wouldn’t gain at a traditional launch event. We’re looking forward to adapting the concept for other developments going forward and are particularly pleased that Anwyl’s Lancashire region has been a trail-blazer for the rest of the business.”

To enjoy the Access All Areas by Anwyl virtual experience see https://www.anwylhomes.co.uk/access-all-areas.

For more information about the homes available at Bluebell Meadows or to make an appointment to view the show homes see www.anwylhomes.co.uk/our-developments/bluebell-meadows-fulwood.