2Europe runs a recurring trade brand tracker for Drayton, a UK heating controls brand. The latest wave, conducted in 2026, built on research in 2018, 2019 and 2024. By repeating core questions with independently recruited installers, the study shows how awareness, use and perceptions change over time. Topical questions add context on current issues such as smart controls, training and purchasing habits, giving Drayton evidence to review its position in the trade market.
Project Overview
Installers influence which heating controls are fitted and can work with several brands in a typical year. Their knowledge, product experience and recommendations matter to Drayton, but a single survey would provide only a snapshot. The tracker was designed to show both the current picture and movement between waves, while retaining room for questions that respond to changes in the market.
The research focuses on the trade rather than household end users or specifiers. It covers Drayton’s standing among installers, its relationship with competing brands, and the practical factors behind product selection. The repeat programme gives the business time to act on one wave before returning to measure the market again.
Project Objectives
The tracker aims to:
- Measure brand awareness, regular use and main-brand preference among installers
- Track associations with different heating control products and perceptions of Drayton
- Understand loyalty, recommendation and future consideration
- Identify the factors that shape product choice, information seeking, purchasing and training
- Compare results with earlier waves while exploring new topics relevant to the trade
Methodology
2Europe kept the core survey design consistent across waves, then added topical modules where needed. Each wave used a fresh sample: the research compares groups of installers at different points in time rather than following the same individuals.
1. Define and screen the installer audience
The 2026 wave included 200 UK-based installers, matching the size of previous waves. Respondents had to influence the control unit or thermostat installed, fit at least three heating control systems a year, and work in a business of no more than 20 employees. Screening kept the study focused on people who make or influence relevant product choices. The team sought a spread of locations and trade backgrounds, without fixed demographic or regional quotas.
2. Recruit independently and interview blind
2Europe sourced the sample independently, with no list supplied by Drayton or another industry organisation. Its experienced UK telephone interviewers conducted computer-assisted interviews averaging about 20 minutes. Drayton was not named at the start, helping protect spontaneous awareness measures from branding bias. This approach gave each wave a consistent basis for examining recall and choice.
3. Combine repeat measures with open responses
The questionnaire was primarily quantitative, with up to five open-ended questions. Core measures covered top-of-mind, unprompted and prompted awareness; regular use and main-brand status; product associations; brand image; loyalty and advocacy; and future consideration. Open answers added the installers’ own language on brand perceptions and purchase drivers, which could then be coded and interpreted alongside the ratings.
4. Add current trade topics
Alongside the repeat measures, the 2026 survey asked about where installers obtain product information and buy heating controls, their interest in emerging technologies, training habits and preferred formats, membership schemes, and smart-control installations. These modules kept the tracker useful for current decisions without losing its longer-term view of brand performance.
5. Compare waves and explain differences
2Europe reported the latest findings against the 2018, 2019 and 2024 waves where questions were comparable. The analysis separated awareness from actual use and main-brand preference, then examined changes in image, loyalty and advocacy. It also looked at patterns by company size, age and region, treating small subgroups cautiously. The report distinguished sustained movement from areas where a change in one measure had not yet translated into another.
Outcomes
The fourth wave gave Drayton an updated view of its position among UK installers and a clearer account of how that position had changed. The tracker could, for example, show whether awareness gains were accompanied by changes in usage, preference or recommendation. It also surfaced shifts in trade information, purchasing and product interests that a brand-only survey would miss.
Benefits to the Client
- A repeatable measure of brand performance in the installer market
- Evidence of change across four waves rather than a single snapshot
- A less biased view of spontaneous awareness through blind interviewing
- Practical context on product choice, training, purchasing and smart controls
- A basis for reviewing priorities and assessing future waves against them
Conclusion
Drayton’s tracker shows how a consistent research programme can support decisions over several years. Independently sourced telephone interviews provide comparable measures of brand awareness and behaviour, while open responses and topical questions explain what matters to installers now. Repeating the study helps Drayton distinguish a short-term reading from a longer-term pattern and decide where further attention is needed.
