Dixons. Honesty the best policy?
These ads have caused a bit of a stir within the industry over the last few days. I saw them for the first time on Friday night on the way home after four pints of the black stuff. It made me smile and compelled me even to lean over the bloke below this photo and take a photo of the ad (at this point, I think most people on the carriage thought I was a bit simple) and eventually write a blog post on it.
The ads have been devised by the clever folk at M&C Saatchi and Creative Review err reviewed the creative here. Ruth Mortimer from Marketing Week then had a wee pop at the strategy and today it got a bit of coverage in the Telegraph.
So I thought I’d wade in too.
I like the tone of these ads because they are based around the thought that the brand is honest enough to acknowledge it’s current perception and place within people’s lives. It’s brutally honest… and clever. Because it’s honest, it’s credible. And because it’s credible I’m just that little bit more likely to listen to them or at least not turn the page quite so quickly the next time they try to speak to me.
Our whole industry is based on exaggeration, hyperbole, claim, dramatisation, one-up-manship and amplifying/creating propositions. So how bloody marvellous is this rather understated campaign born out of an acknowledgement of true consumer behaviour; generally, we shop around. The brand and client’s business does not operate in a vacuum. People are not that loyal. Particularly when in the market for consumer electronics.
Ruth Mortimer worries about the long term brand equity given that the ad compares Dixons to other electronic retailers. She is concerned that Dixons may come across cheap however I think it speaks value and shows a true understanding for who their customer is and how they differ from those of the retailers they mock. It says, we know you’re canny, we know you’re savvy, so we’re not going to try to bullshit you. For sure, they’ll never have the customer service of an offline retailer but that’s not Dixons business and it’s not what makes a sale for Dixons.co.uk at present.
This self deprecation and acknowledgement of the savvy shopper is a nice juxtaposition to what the rest of the market is saying to people. As a result, it’s cutting through. I hope also, there are a bundle of stunt ideas and quirky advertising that will lead from this strategy and this tone of voice. There’s plenty to play with. And, already the campaign has generated a fair bit of coverage because of this starkly honest view on their and their customer’s world.
Working in a PR environment, you occasionally hear of the odd ‘horror story’ anecdote from a colleague who had to try and “PR an ad”. However, the honesty in this campaign means you could potentially pitch this as a legitimate story successfully. To journalists and a bloke on the tube.
It seems now, honesty is pretty much the only policy.
Nice article. I hadn’t seen the campaign before and the attendant fuss in the press had passed me by completely. My first reaction on reading the ad here was to think you cheeky bastards. Now, although my reaction is still you cheeky bastards, there’s a bit of a smile there too. I think ‘stroll through haberdashery’ was a wonderful addition to the copy.
It’ll be interesting to know whether the campaign works or not. I’ll probably still go to John Lewis for big-ticket items like TVs, partly because of the ‘well brought up’ sales staff but mostly because of the extended warranty you get there.
It will also be interesting to note whether Dixons continue to run their traditional ‘HUGE BARGAINS ON EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE’ ads, aimed at their core shoppers.
When I say interesting, I mean in a tangential, beard-stroking way.
Hi Kevin, thanks for your comment.
I think Dixons acknowledges their core customers are really quite different to John Lewis’. And the clever planning is in knowing their customers well enough that they will appreciate the self-deprecation and tongue in cheek jabs at other retailers, that they’ll get away with it.
Right, I’m off to stroke my bum-fluff on my chin whilst pondering the changing landscape of the high street…!
I’m with Ruth Mortimer on this one as my blog demonstrates (http://thetrainingpack.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/is-this-the-last-place-you-want-to-go-to/) Interestingly so are the votes on our, albeit small, poll.
The campaign has certainly brought a smile to my face but would it change my behaviour? No. As a retailer, if I worked for John Lewis, Harrods or Selfridges I’d be making sure my staff were fully aware of the prices on the Dixons site and were well trained for converting all those researching customers that Dixons have kindly sent my way.