For many construction businesses, PR begins and ends with the product launch.
A new product arrives. A press release is written. Images are sent to the trade media. Journalists are emailed. Then, once the launch coverage has landed, the PR activity moves on to the next thing.
There’s nothing wrong with product launches. They can be a valuable opportunity to generate coverage, introduce a new solution to the market and give sales teams something fresh to talk about.
But relying on product launches alone can make PR sporadic – and, more importantly, it means brands are missing some of the biggest opportunities to get themselves into the conversation.
The most effective construction brands don’t just wait until they have something new to sell. They find ways to create market moments around the issues their customers and the wider industry are already talking about.
So, what is a market moment?
A market moment is a reason for your brand to enter a conversation that extends beyond your own products or services.
It could be a new piece of legislation, a shift in customer behaviour, an industry challenge, new research, a major event or even a developing trend.
The key difference is simple.
A product launch is primarily about what your business has done.
A market moment is about what is happening in the market – and why your business has something useful to say about it.
That distinction can make a huge difference to the type and amount of coverage you can generate.
Start with the conversations your customers care about
The built environment is full of potential stories.
From the Future Homes Standard and the skills shortage to energy efficiency, retrofit, sustainability, AI and changing customer expectations, there is no shortage of issues affecting the sector.
The challenge for brands is finding a relevant and credible way into those conversations.
This is where businesses can start by looking beyond their marketing calendar and asking a different set of questions:
- What are our customers struggling with right now?
- What questions are they asking our technical teams?
- What are we seeing that others in the industry might not be?
- What do we have data or insight on that could tell a bigger story?
- What do we disagree with or think the industry is getting wrong?
The answers can provide the foundations for stories that don’t depend on having a new product to announce.
Turn your data into a story
One of the most effective ways to create a market moment is to use data you already have.
Businesses often sit on valuable information without realising it.
That could be sales data, customer feedback, installation trends, service enquiries, website searches or insights gathered by technical and sales teams.
On its own, data isn’t necessarily newsworthy.
But a clear finding can be.
For example, rather than saying:
“We have seen increased interest in smart heating controls.”
A business might uncover that installers are increasingly concerned about connectivity issues, or that customers are prioritising ease of use over a particular technical feature.
Suddenly, there is a story.
This is also where commissioned research can be particularly powerful. A well-designed survey can give a brand something genuinely new to bring to the media, while creating a bank of content that can be used across PR, social, email, sales and thought leadership.
Put your experts to work
Your business doesn’t need to have a new product to have something interesting to say.
In fact, some of your most valuable PR assets may already be sitting within the business.
Technical directors, engineers, installers, product managers and senior leaders are exposed to industry developments every day. They are speaking to customers, solving problems and seeing changes before they become mainstream.
That expertise can be turned into:
- Expert commentary
- Opinion articles
- Trend pieces
- Industry predictions
- Media interviews
- LinkedIn content
- Podcasts and webinars
- Reactive commentary on breaking news
The important thing is to move beyond simply asking an expert to “write something for LinkedIn”. Instead, identify the subjects where they have a genuinely interesting perspective and build that expertise into the wider PR strategy.
If journalists know that your business has someone who can provide an informed view on a particular topic, that person can become a valuable media contact and the brand can become associated with that area of expertise.
Don’t be afraid to have a point of view
There’s a reason opinion-led stories tend to perform well.
Saying that something is “important” isn’t particularly interesting.
Explaining why the industry is approaching it in the wrong way is much more likely to get attention.
That doesn’t mean deliberately being controversial for the sake of it. It means identifying where your business has a genuinely informed perspective.
Perhaps a new regulation will create an unexpected challenge, a commonly accepted industry practice is no longer fit for purpose, or customers are prioritising something that businesses aren’t responding to quickly enough.
These are the kinds of observations that can turn technical expertise into a story.
Build moments around your events
Events are another opportunity to create news – but they don’t have to be limited to announcing that your company will be exhibiting.
Instead of:
“Come and visit us at stand X.”
Think:
“What can we bring to the industry conversation while we’re there?”
That could mean releasing new research at an event, hosting a roundtable, announcing a partnership, launching a campaign, gathering industry opinions or using the event to capture expert commentary.
And the opportunity doesn’t necessarily end when the event does.
The conversations happening at an exhibition or conference can provide material for weeks afterwards – from “what we heard at…” articles to industry trend reports and commentary.
Create a reason for people to talk about you
Ultimately, good PR isn’t just about having something to announce.
It’s about having something worth talking about.
That might be a new product, but it could just as easily be a new piece of research, an unexpected statistic, a strong opinion, a customer insight, an industry prediction or a creative campaign.
The most effective approach is to build a PR strategy that creates a steady stream of these opportunities rather than relying on the occasional product launch.
Think of your product launches as one part of the story – not the whole story.
Because when brands stop asking “What can we announce?” and start asking “What can we contribute to the conversation?”, they open up a much bigger world of PR opportunities.
Ready to find your next market moment?
At Refresh, we help construction and manufacturing brands turn their expertise, data and ideas into stories that people actually want to read.
Whether you’re launching a new product or simply looking for a better way to stay visible between launches, the right PR strategy can help turn what is happening inside your business into something the wider market wants to talk about. Get in touch with our team today for an informal chat.