Delta traditionally launches all of their new products for the year at KBIS, the Kitchen & Bath Industry Showcase. But when KBIS shut down due to a global pandemic, Delta Faucet took the opportunity to completely reimagine how they launch their new products to their B2B customer audience.

The main objective of the experience was to attract significant trade media attention in an effort to make up for the lost attention typically gained via KBIS, by creating an exclusive experience for industry customers. Key metrics included earned media placements and impressions.

Introducing the Real Life Showroom: A one-of-a-kind, live stream event redefining a product launch in a trade-show-less world. We partnered with the star of the most bingeable show of quarantine, Schitt’s Creek’s Emily Hampshire, to drive excitement and attendance among industry customers and trade media.

No booths. No lanyards. No branded pens. The Real-Life Showroom was hosted by Emily playing her real, unapologetic self, live streaming product demos, while exploring the ins and outs of Delta’s new products in a real home. It gave pros and retailers an authentic look at Delta’s products launching in 2021.

When it comes to trade shows, B2B customers are most interested in and driven by a desire to make their clients happy. They’re digging into features and benefits of new products not for themselves, but on behalf of their patrons– on the hunt for products that will meet their clients’ ever-evolving needs in everyday life.

And the truth is, Delta’s products aren’t made for showrooms. They’re made for real people in real homes, which has never been more important than post-COVID– when life at home got realer than ever.

That’s why trade pros and retailers wanted to understand the role these products play in their clients’ lives more than ever before; Delta needed to show them the meaningful change our new products would give to their clients in the context of daily life at home.

Instead of Delta’s typical KBIS content and channels, we had to completely adapt our plan to embrace this new way of launching Delta’s latest products.

We created a live-stream video of Emily discovering Delta’s newest products in a real home. With a fusion of live and pre-recorded video segments, Emily and a Delta product expert gave attendees an authentic look at Delta via product reviews, demos and interactive Q & A’s. In addition, we created highly targeted email and social content for customers that teased the brand experience. Both earned (press release, exclusive 1:1 trade media desksides with Emily Hampshire) and influencer tactics rounded out the campaign.

In a year when Delta wasn’t able to do their typical trade show for customers, we turned a change of venue into a fully-digital brand experience that spanned four time zones, three product teams and could be experienced on a global scale.

Delta’s Real Life Showroom garnered 6.8M earned media impressions, a 90% increase from the previous year’s traditional KBIS effort. The digital event’s media coverage included 163 earned media placements in trade and entertainment publications; from HGTV, Interior Design Family Handyman and Contractor to U.S. Magazine, People and NYTimes Wirecutter.

Compared to previous years where Delta’s earned coverage was typically featured amidst a large list of other brands attending KBIS, these earned placements were solely focused on the Delta Faucet brand and their new products launching.

In addition, Delta Faucet influencer partners joined in getting their audiences excited for the Real Life Showroom, securing nearly 150K impressions promoting the event, as well as an additional 14K impressions of added value from previous Delta Faucet influencer partners.