An installer open day at the Armitage plant has given key installer social media influencers an insight into the making of the ceramics they work with every day.
The group, including well-known Tweeter and YouTuber James “@plumberparts” Lawrence, were given a tour of the factory and saw first-hand how WCs and basins are made, from the sliphouse to the kiln.
They were also introduced to our new product ranges on the Little Van of Big Ideas and given the chance to play The Big Turn On tap challenge.
Photos of the day were splashed all over their social media accounts and reached an estimated 43,000 people, including large numbers of installers who make up the majority of the following for our guests.
They then offered their own insight into what matters to plumbers, mandatory licensing and support from manufacturers.
Senior Channel Marketing Manager Olivia Maycock said: “The installers were fascinated by the factory tour and it got a lot of reaction online, which was one of the outcomes we were hoping for.
“The main aims were to start to build advocacy for our brands among installers but also to understand how involved they are in the choice of domestic bathroom products, where they buy their products and how they feel about Ideal Standard and Armitage Shanks.
“They gave us some really useful intelligence that we’ll definitely feed into our promotional and product development processes.”
The social media activity surrounding the day also generated interest from more installers, who said they would like to visit the factory.