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DARK NIGHTS AD CAMPAIGN SHINES
LIGHT ON HOME SECURITY
» » AVOCET HARDWARE HAS RECEIVED
widespread industry praise for its
#StayHomeSecure dark nights campaign,
which was aimed at highlighting the annual
rise in burglaries during the period following
the clocks going back, while also positioning
its ABS locks as the home security product
for homeowners to put their trust in.
The six-week campaign, which saw the
return of Ollie the retired guard-dog, and
the introduction of his former nemesis,
Kat the burglar, saw Avocet reach over two
million social media users in the UK. One of
Avocet’s key aims for the campaign was to
engage with locksmiths, and demonstrate to
them the benefits of using ABS locks.
Derrick Purvis, marketing manager
of Avocet Hardware said: “We’ve been
staggered by the response from the
locksmiths, many of who we haven’t
worked with before,” added Derrick. They
were enthusiastic in getting on-board
with the campaign; sharing content,
requesting ABS samples and taking part
in the various competitions; and those
who were lucky enough to win, whether
it was Ollie & Kat artwork, our terrifying,
Halloween themed, Pop Vinyls or simply
ABS branded merchandise, happily
shared photos and videos of their prizes
and delight at winning them.”
The Brighouse company gained over
1,100 new followers, and saw its Twitter
posts alone retweeted over 4,000 times
and liked 33,000 times. Astonishingly, the
engagement rate of its Twitter activity far
outstripped the global benchmark of less
than 1% – averaging over 6% for the entire
campaign. Meanwhile, it’s paid for social
media activity also left the worldwide
standard in its wake – with close to 1 in 5
of those who saw the weekly Ollie & Kat
competition tweets either liking, sharing
or commenting on them.
The success of the #StayHomeSecure
campaign wasn’t just limited to social media
stats and engagement though. Avocet saw
a huge increase in the number of trade
customers using its online store, bringing
record months for both October and
November. On top of that, a number of new
locksmiths have already been confirmed as
Avocet ABS stockists, and many more are on
the verge of following suit.
For further information about Avocet and
ABS visit www.avocet-hardware.co.uk or
call 01484 711 700.
OVER HALF OF HOUSE BURGLARIES IN THE
UK HAPPEN WHEN SOMEONE IS AT HOME
While an upsetting reality, attending a call-out after a burglary has taken
place is never a ‘nice’ job. Helping homeowners to feel safe and secure
again takes more than some new locks, as new research suggests…
» » VERISURE, EUROPE’S LEADING
provider of monitored security solutions
and the UK’s leader in smart alarms, has
revealed the impact of burglary upon
families across the UK. Conducted by
Opinion Matters, the survey of 1,002
burgled UK respondents found that
over half of house burglaries in the UK
occurred when someone was at home,
and that 86.9% of burglaries significantly
affected members of the household, with
over 17% of victims moving home because
of the burglary.
“About half of the people surveyed
have been burgled within the last year,
and a surprising 49% said that they had
no major security deterrents installed in
their homes when the incident occurred,”
said Horacio Perez, Operations Director
at Verisure UK. “You can’t put a price on
peace of mind when you consider that
parents are 63% more likely to feel unsafe
after a burglary compared to those who
don’t have children and that over 70% of
children have been negatively impacted
emotionally by the burglary.”
According to the survey, 31% of
victims reported their home no longer
feels the same, and 14% said they had
to seek emotional support following the
incident. Perez added: “One in eight
people surveyed admitted to still feeling
vulnerable up to six months after the
crime. That’s why we are working with the
charity Victim Support to ensure burglary
victims get the support they need.”
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | JAN/FEB 2019
“Burglary not only robs victims of their
physical possessions - it can also rob
people of their sense of security at home, a
place where everyone should feel safe. The
impact can last not only for a few days, but
months after the burglary has taken place,”
said Barbara Oakley, Operations Manager,
Victim Support. “Every year burglary affects
over 435,000 households across England
and Wales and, even if nothing is stolen,
most people feel anxious and less secure in
their home afterwards. Burglary affects the
whole family. Victim Support can provide
free, practical and emotional support to
everyone affected, including children.”
www.verisure.co.uk/victimsupport
www.victimsupport.org.uk