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Why we marketed our core values before we marketed our product

Rob Hingston, Origin Workspace, focuses on the company's core values
To engage customers before launch, Rob Hingston ran workshops and networking events around their core values

Name: Origin Workspace
Location: Bristol
Employees: 10
Founded in: 2019

The problem

Origin Workspace wanted to build an office space that focused on wellness, collaboration and connectivity. They had a vision of how the space would look and feel, but for the project to succeed, they had to engage tenants before the build was finished. So how exactly do you market a building when all you have is a building site?

The solution

Origin Workspace founder Heather Frankham was driven by two core values from the very start. 

First of all, having run successful companies in Bristol she wanted to give something back to the local business community. So when it came to hiring a team of surveyors, contractors and security for a new workspace construction project, she opted for local professionals. Many of them even had offices in walking distance from the site.

Second, she wanted her new business to have a culture where people could feel connected, creative and collaborate. This had a big influence on the way the building was designed, with lots of open spaces.

So when the Origin team had to start securing interest from potential tenants before the building was complete, they used these two core values to get interest and generate engagement. Origin started holding monthly workout networking sessions on the site. If covered space wasn’t available on the building site, they held them outside. “It gave us a great story to tell” says Rob Hingston, head of Origin. “A reason for being, a reason for people to come to a building site.” 

Origin followed the meetups with workshops and business orienteering sessions, where small business and entrepreneurial delegates watched startup pitches. It helped to create a buzz and gave them something to talk about in marketing and on social media.

The results

Less than six months after opening, 80 per cent of the new space is filled. The Origin team believe their effort to communicate using their core values has paid off. They’ve attracted the clients they were looking for and now run a number of successful wellness events each week. 

“It’s not just about the look, it’s about the feel and energy. It’s about the people we employ – those are the people who make a difference.”

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