Construction & Property Research Summit

09.00 Registration & Coffee

09.30 Opening comments from the Chair

Simon Rawlinson, Head Of Strategic Research and Insight, Arcadis

09.40 Emerging trends in real estate survey

Every year, PwC conducts the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Survey with the Urban Land Institute. The survey explores real estate trends throughout Europe tracking confidence in the industry and the impact on investment decision-making. This session will examine the latest themes and track the rise in importance of non-financial measures as indicators of success in the industry such as social, environmental and sustainability factors. PWC will highlight the increasing importance of future trends such as urbanization, changing home/work lifestyles and connected issues for real estate strategies.

Gillian Kane, Senior Manager, PwC Research

Paul Irwin, Senior Associate, PwC Research

10.05 Home

A home is more than a physical structure; it’s a feeling. But something interesting is happening. Across the world people are adapting and forging a new vision of home. The Sound explores the new shape of home today and identifies a number of ways in which property developers and homeware retailers can satisfy changing needs.

Stuart Knapman, UK Managing Director, The Sound

10.30 The impact of research and intelligence in the construction sector

Examine the critical role research and intelligence is playing in tracking the evolution of global markets and supporting the Built Environments sector. Hear BSI share how it is using Intelligence and Insights for horizon scanning and foresight especially in relation to IoT and smart cities, understanding sustainability issues and the circular economy and its role in digital transformation and Building Information Modelling (BIM).

Mariyam Hasham, Market Insights Reporter, BSI

Andrew Firman, Senior Market Research and Insights Manager, BSI

10.55 Engaging users In the building design process

The construction sector requires innovative thinking and knowledge sharing to improve efficiency, tackle environmental challenges and to offer a higher value proposition that will increase profitability.  In this session Ryder Architecture will share how it uses a range of research techniques to ensure building users are engaged throughout the design process and beyond. Hear how innovative research techniques including virtual reality, real time building sensors and wearable sensors that gather data from occupants are combined with traditional techniques for outstanding engagement and outcomes.

Soo Darcy, Interim Communications Director, Ryder Architecture

Dr Oliver Jones, Research Director, Ryder Architecture

11.20 Morning refreshments

11.45 Anticipating needs and disrupting the market: from Bricks Capital To True Student Living

This is a story of how qualitative research methods together with fierce analysis and collaborative discussions powered innovation and market disruption.  As Bricks Capital approached the students accommodation market, it needed to explore the UK audience, its needs, and the evolving competitors’ landscape to develop a successful new concept. Examine the insight journey and hear how the emerging insights ignited the NPD phase generating a disruptive student accommodation concept, featuring a dramatically new layout, contemporary, premium design, unprecedented amount of social space, and client service rooted in empathy and respect.

Chiara Vascotto, Insight Consultant, Bricks Capital

Marc Carter, COO, True Student

Ben Morley, Managing Director, True Student

12.10 Ensuring the user voice is heard in major, disruptive infrastructure projects

Billions of pounds are being invested in upgrading and enhancing Britain’s transport infrastructure. Transport Focus works with operators to ensure the users’ perspective is incorporated into the design and construction of Britain’s transport infrastructure and that their travel needs during any work are taken into account.  This session will examine how survey research is vital for assessing users’ awareness and understanding of major projects in terms of both the short-term disruption to journeys and the longer-term benefits for travellers. Hear how findings are invaluable in influencing communications strategies contributing to the success of mitigations during significant potential disruption.

Keith Bailey, Senior Insight Advisor, Transport Focus

12.35 Nullifying nimbyism

As Britain builds some of largest infrastructure projects in its history (Hinkley, HS2, Heathrow) there are two competing narratives and frames; one of change, modernisation, and opportunity, the other of disruption, damage and a democratic deficit. One says ‘build’, the other says ‘block’.

Many delegates will have experience of hostile local audiences and risk-averse stakeholders. They will need to engage these groups, and win hearts and minds, tackling construction’s “image problem”. Ben Marshall will talk to this in this presentation, sharing insights gleaned from hundreds of focus groups and surveys, summarised earlier this year in ‘We need to talk about infrastructure (but how?)’.

Ben Marshall, Research Director, Public Affairs, Ipsos MORI

13.00 Lunch

14.05 Laying solid foundations and building for the future

Walnut Unlimited and VELUX will use examples from a variety of insight projects over their 7-year relationship to highlight the key lessons they’ve learned about researching the complexity of the domestic home improvements market. The session will address the common research challenges as well the armoury of research tools and techniques they have developed to successfully overcome them.

Ian Ralph, Director, Walnut Unlimited

Richard McArthur, Senior Marketing Manager, VELUX

14.30 Developing a needs based segmentation to improve targeting and development of residential homes

Bonava, is a leading European residential developer. In 2017 Bonava recognised the need to move beyond their “lifestage driven” view of their market to create a true point of customer differentiation. Exploring people’s needs in relation to homebuying experience, their living requirements and relationship with their “neighbourhood”, Bonava sought to identify and prioritise different groups of people on these dimensions. This presentation will deliver an overview of the research and demonstrate how this market segmentation has provided focus and direction across different functions within Bonava.

Nick Voulis, Head of Research Solutions, Bonamy Finch

Clara Westman, Head of Customer Insight and Brand Innovation, Bonava

14.55 Back to basics: building the heavyside category

The “heavyside” category encompasses the core, “heavy” building products required by builders - the building blocks of construction.   Travis Perkins was undertaking a category review and wanted to update its information on how these products were perceived and purchased by its customers. Combining a range of methods including ethnography, in-depth interviews and work diaries Travis Perkins grew its understanding of how it could increase share of wallet from its core customers. Examine the impact the insight has had on product specifications, marketing, sales training, in branch merchandising and pricing.

Nicky Holmes, Managing Director, Zebra Square

Jodie Cooke, Customer Insight Manager, Travis Perkins

Rachel Seymour, Corporate Development Manager, Group Strategy, Travis Perkins

15.20 Afternoon refreshments

15.45 The Future Of Renting

The media reports a bleak picture of the property market where people cannot afford to buy, mortgages are harder to get than ever before and people need to rent. But what if this ‘need’ becomes a ‘want’ – a conscious lifestyle choice?

Sigma Capital’s, ‘Simple Life’ brand provides a new way to rent based around this lifestyle choice mindset. Hear how Trinity McQueen has helped Sigma Capital to better understand their target customers and future proof their business and marketing strategy. Examine the range of methods used as part of a longitudinal study, to uncover how people actually feel about renting in 2019 and what renters expect, need and want from a rental experience.

Lauren Elliott, Associate Director, Trinity McQueen

Victoria Hurcomb, Head of Marketing, Sigma Capital Group

16.10 Findings from the UK’s first reputation audit of property sector

The British Property Federation (BPF) is tasked with communicating the sector’s impact on the UK’s social and economic wellbeing, ensuring that stakeholders who influence government policies understand the implications their decisions have on the UK property sector. This year the BPF undertook a reputation audit, to understand what various stakeholders understand about it and to create an optimised communications strategy.

As well as hearing about the research journey, delegates will leave with a better understanding of how different parts of the property sector can best communicate their contribution to the UK and positively influence both their organisation’s reputation and the broader reputation of the sector.

Sonia Abrahams, Director, Populus

Patrick Clift, Director of Strategy and External Affairs, British Property Federation

16.35 Closing remarks from the Chair

16.40 End of conference