Below: Before and After Images in Slide Show, Video, Summary, Credits
Henley has been an established brand in the Australian home building industry for the last 26 years. Recently, however, the market has become more and more homogeneous, with distrust, apprehension, fear and skepticism towards builders identified as major barriers to sales. Henley needed to take a different approach if it wished to continue to be a market leader in the building sector.
There were two key catalysts that lead to Henley’s decision to rebrand. Firstly, the market for home builders is currently extremely homogeneous and generic, with little differentiation between competitors. Secondly, Henley needed to re-establish themselves as a business that actively positions itself around honesty, transparency, reliable delivery and support standards; key cornerstones of the brand which had to be maintained in this challenging market. Buyers were often fearful and full of trepidation about home buying and perceived this as a painful process. Henley needed a new brand that would mitigate this by inspiring trust and supporting customers through the entire buyer journey.
Henley’s rebranding solution was driven by our initial studies, which identified that today’s home buyers equip themselves with research and information before engaging with sales agents. Our strategy was to put product at the forefront, with content that is easily digestible to reduce the complexity of the home buying experience. We created a brand that was a rich source of information for buyers to access at an early stage. All applications of the brand bring the pillars – Honesty, Transparency, Delivery, Support – to life and represent a clear, straight-talking, honest and open approach that is unique in the marketplace and is a strong point of differentiation from competitors. The website was optimized for mobile use and intuitively drives users to products that best suit their needs, engagingly showcasing the homes and an array of other services.
The new brand met Henley’s objectives, differentiating it from competitors, inspiring trust, and supporting customers through the whole buyer’s journey. Jeremy Hanger, GM Sales, Marketing & Design said the brand successfully reflects Henley’s “commitment to creating compelling ways to communicate with our customers and making the home building experience rewarding. Since the launch of the new Henley brand we have seen an increase in key digital metrics along with positive feedback from customers.” Within 1 month of launching the new website there was a 293% increase of visitors who spend more than 10 minutes on the website, a 425% increase in product page views and a 3600% increase in newsletter signups. Visitors are now more likely to make a sales inquiry via the website than by any other method. A mobile optimized design has resulted in a 133% increase in visitors using a mobile device.
Client: Henley – www.henley.com.au
GM Sales, Marketing and Design: Jeremy Hanger
Brand Strategists/Designers: Hoyne – www.hoyne.com.au
Partner & Group Director, Strategy and Creative: Dan Johnson
Creative Director: Joel Priestland
Senior Designer: Carrie Retallack
Designer: Ziggy Huang
Digital Designer: Richy Vong
Account Director: Melita Brown
