Delta Faucet Pivots From Trade Show to a Livestream With Emily Hampshire

When KBIS, the annual trade show for kitchen and bath products, was canceled due to Covid-19, Delta Faucet needed to find a new way of introducing its latest innovations.

Cue an Emily Hampshire livestream from a castle in Scotland.

The Schitt's Creek actress appeared in a live online broadcast called "The Real Life Showroom" on June 16, speaking mostly to a typical trade-show audience—showing off Delta's new products and answering questions in a fun campaign from agency Barkley.

Here's a brief wrap-up video with a few highlights.

Berk Wasserman, executive creative director at Barkley, says the overarching goal was to "create an even more human-focused experience for the industry's most human focused-brand."

Hampshire, who is currently filming a TV show in Scotland, was chosen for her authenticity, he adds. "Star of the most bingeable show in quarantine, Schitt's Creek, Emily Hampshire is known for keeping it real, both on and off the screen," Wasserman says. "And as someone who has never been a part of a trade show or product launch, her reactions and opinions of the new Delta products would be not only entertaining but genuine—a rare occurrence at events like these."

Here are some of Emily's product demo videos:

Much of the content was scripted, but there were also improvised moments.

"It was crucial our content was genuine to who Emily really is, so she was involved early with the scripting process, offering ideas, plotlines, and suggestions to keep her voice authentic," says Wasserman. "While the majority of the content was prewritten, there were definitely unplanned moments of improv, excitement and appreciation that happened live."

The Q&A portion included three predetermined questions designed to have Emily go into further detail on specific products. But Wasserman adds: "The community contributed engaging and intriguing questions such as, 'If you could make up a new finish, what would it be?' and 'If Champagne Bronze is classy and sassy, what would you describe Matte Black as?' "

Hampshire promoted the livestream on her own social channels, garnering over 100,000 views and hundreds of comments. The livestream chat concluded with a 100 percent positive sentiment and an engagement rate of 16.8 percent, says Wasserman.

"This event cemented Delta Faucet as the most human-centric brand in the category, focusing on the real change Delta products can bring to real people," he adds. "Though trade shows might return in 2022, this theme of real-and-meaningful change will echo into all future events, trading lanyards and neatly creased khakis for real talk and genuine reviews."

CREDITS

Client Name - Delta Faucet
VP Brand, Innovation & Growth - Susan Fisher
Director, Brand Management - Missi Tate
Associate Brand Manager - Kelsey Kinniry

Agency Name - Barkley
Chief Creative Officer - Katy Hornaday
EVP, Creative - Berk Wasserman
Creative Director - Bryce Richardson
Creative Director - Tim McCracken
Associate Creative Director - Brett Westnedge
Senior Copywriter - David Jarvis
SVP, Integrated Production - Melany Esfeld
Executive Producer - Shawn Wallace 
Senior Digital Producer - Richard Robbins
Sr. Project Manager - Caty Neis
EVP, Client Experience - Amanda Abar
Brand Director - Julia Unverfehrt
Brand Supervisor - Katelyn Schmidtberger
Sr. Brand Manager - Cydnei Gunderson
EVP, Strategy - Chris Cardetti
VP, Strategy - Josie Ellerbee 
Strategist - Lexie Winter
Social Director - Shannon Scribner
Senior Social Media Manager - Juniper Valeo

Media/Engagement/PR - Crossroads
Account Director - Jane Chandler
Account Supervisor - Kara Koenig
Account Manager - Joe Spencer

Production Company - Wildlife 
Director - Jake Friedman
Director - Scott Friedman
Executive Producer - Brandon Del Nero
Producer - Grayson Stamps
Technical Director - Pavel Zagoskin
Production Company - Bic Media 
Director - Brady Cackler
Executive Producer - Corwin Caroll
Sr. Producer - Johnny Eastlund