Promoting sustainable building products for Saint-Gobain Glass

The Brief

Energy House 2.0Double and triple glazed windows featuring high-performance glass from our client Saint-Gobain Glass is being put to the test in a unique £16m research facility designed to help create the energy efficient homes of the future. 

Two full-size three-bedroom detached houses have been built inside the climate-controlled chamber of Energy House 2.0 at the University of Salford, using the latest sustainable building materials and technologies. Over a period of nine months, the houses built by Saint-Gobain, Barratt Developments and Bellway Homes will undergo rigorous whole-building testing including thermal performance, energy efficiency, running costs and comfort, as well as their ability to cope with extreme climates, such as wind, rain and snow, and temperatures ranging from -20 to +40 degrees Celsius. 

The brief was to promote Saint-Gobain Glass’ involvement in the research project to the building and fenestration industries and position them as innovators in sustainable construction.

The Campaign

Saint-Gobain Glass held an open day inviting key customers and journalists to see inside the two new homes that have been built in the Energy House 2.0 at the University of Salford, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Our strategy was to demonstrate that the products required to meet the forthcoming Future Homes Standard 2025 are available today and show how Saint-Gobain Glass is putting them to even more rigorous testing as part of a world-first research project at the University of Salford’s Energy House 2.0.

Using our media contacts we invited journalists from the glazing trade media and construction media to the open day to experience the weather conditions that the houses are being tested under, see the product innovations, and report on the importance of the fabric of the building – in particular high-performance windows – in ensuring other technologies such as heat pumps are as effective as they can be.   

Energy House 2.0 is a climate-controlled chamber, where weather conditions can be manipulated to create wind, rain, and snow as well as extreme heat.  This will test the performance of the properties in potential future weather conditions arising due to climate change, and identify some of the new technologies and products that mainstream housebuilders can incorporate into new homes in the future.  

Alongside a coordinated media campaign, we supported Saint-Gobain Glass with event management and literature design to help communicate the key messages of the campaign.
 

The Services

Public Relations
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Building products
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Content design
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Property and construction
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The Results

Every journalist that attended the open day wrote about the event, with those who could not attend on the day requesting the press release or commissioning feature articles.

Campaign results

“The Partners team were essential in helping to make the event run smoothly, and their media contacts ensured a good attendance and excellent subsequent coverage.

This is an industry-wide collaboration that involves the entire supply chain and Partners developed clear messaging and provided Saint-Gobain Glass with good share of voice.

Their organisational skills, industry knowledge and writing skills, make them easy to work with and the team always delivers the right results.”
Saint-Gobain Glass