Building a more powerful product launch

When it came time to bring its fully integrated solar PV system SolarSeam® to the market, Catnic had formulated a campaign that included an event to launch the product to the industry press. However, the Catnic team felt there was potential to make it something more and turned to CIB for support – the latest collaboration in a relationship that spans 15 years.

Our suggestion was to host the event at the Building Centre in London and stage a dedicated exhibition on the topic of solar energy. The aim was to deliver added value to those attending the event, provide context around the importance of the SolarSeam® launch, and bring the launch to the attention of a wider audience. The displays would remain in the Building Centre’s exhibition space for three weeks following the launch event with the benefit that people attending other industry events at the venue would get the chance to see the Catnic displays.

We were tasked with curating the content of the exhibition, which was a new and exciting challenge for us. The content needed to be engaging and informative while subtly explaining why the launch of SolarSeam® was so pertinent and how it breaks the traditional barriers. It also needed to reflect and enhance the seminar and speaker content that was being developed by the Catnic team. The exhibition covered the history and future of solar PV technology, the need for renewable energy, the levels of adoption so far and factors such as the Future Homes Standard that will drive further uptake.

Our team managed everything from research and shaping the content to designing the graphics and coordinating the build of the stands. The exhibit also included video content from MCS – the UK's certification scheme for small-scale renewable energy. This took the form of an interview with David Cowdrey, its Director of External Affairs, which covered the benefits of solar for homeowners, the legislative background and how developers should approach solar PV. Our team approached MCS, developed the direction of the interview and managed both the filming and editing of what was a valuable addition to the exhibition.

When it came to the design of the stands, our team worked to balance supporting the launch of SolarSeam® with ensuring it didn’t look too commercial. To achieve this, we stayed away from the traditional Catnic orange in favour of its secondary colour palette. This not only made for a more subtle link to Catnic but also ensured a bright, vibrant and eye-catching exhibition.

Careful consideration was put into how the stands would go together and integrate into exhibition space as well as the visitor journey. We worked with exhibition and display systems specialist Bison, who helped turn our design into reality in a way that was cost effective given the temporary nature of the exhibition.

In addition to our work on the exhibition, we provided event management and developed the supporting PR content around the launch.

The launch event and exhibition were a huge success and the feedback from the Catnic team has been excellent with customers not only making enquiries but picking up the phone to speak to the team.