Think of Sears.
Now think of opening a book and going on a wonderful journey through the pages.
Does it make you think of shopping at Sears?
The retailer has unveiled their new marketing campaign, featuring a book theme that:
[..] suggests that shopping at Sears is like opening a book which tells a never-ending story about possibilities for life at home. It is designed both to recall the Sears heritage and to speak to customers in a way that is relevant to their needs and lifestyles today.
(More information: from Sears’ own press release, AdWeek, and BrandWeek.)
It appears that the intention of the campaign is to invoke thoughts of the retailers’ catalog beginnings.
I saw one of the commercials tonight, for their Mother’s Day sale. I’ll say this, it did catch my eye. It reminds me of recent television campaigns by Macy’s and Target, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although I don’t know how much ELO’s “Mr Blue Sky” has to do with Sears, I do love that song.
Visually, I do like this commercial. I’ll reserve judgement on the campaign on a whole until I see more of it in action. I think there is something positive with this concept and I’d like to see it work.
Can they execute this marketing package well across print, television, and interactive media while tying this in to the in-store shopping experience?
Last year I wrote about what I saw Sears doing with the Lands End shop concept (see: Sears Lands End Shop). At the time I said that I wasn’t sure how exciting the stores were going to be, outside of this new area. I still feel like that today. If this new marketing campaign is successful in bringing consumers back into Sears, what are they going to see? The Sears I have been in lately haven’t been terribly exciting nor inviting.
Once through those doors, are you going to want to spend your money there?
Looking at this as the first step in a turnaround for the retailer, perhaps this is just the first piece. I think Sears has a rich heritage and it is great to see them tapping in to that. If they continue to reevaluate their core competencies and merchandising assortment, maybe they can stop the bleeding that has begun. Same store sales at Sears were down in the first quarter (source), while many other retailers enjoyed hefty gains. Although their profits were up dramatically in 2006, there is only so much bottom line the retailer can slash before things get ugly.
Is 2007 Sears’ year?
The thing with Sears for me has always been the disconnect between the catalog and the store. I don’t know if this is a regional thing (I grew up near Seattle), but when I was a kid I would look through the catalog and see a huge range of products: everything from video games to appliances to golf clubs. When I would go to the store, all they had was third-rate clothes, which didn’t interest me in the least.
For them to live up to this theme of discovery (like turning the pages of a book), they need to have a selection of products that’s actually interesting. The best campaign is a waste of money if the promise that it makes to the consumer isn’t carried through at the store level.
I completely agree with you. A retail marketing campaign is no good if the store doesn’t deliver on it’s promises when the customer enters. This is why I said I reserve judgement on the campaign as a whole, untill I see what the entire package is like.
Last year, when talking about the Lands End shop in Sears, I noted that as beautiful as the new area was, five feet outside of it, the customer was present with overstuffed racks and clothing in the middle of the aisle. Same old Sears.
For this campaign to be successful, they should also be evaluating merchandise mix, merchandise presentation, and customer service. The marketing brings people in to the store, but if the in-store experience is a lousy one, they won’t return.
[...] song from ELO back in ‘77. The year I started there btw. “Just so you know” The new ad. http://www.noturnonred.org/index.php/2007/05/08/sears-where-it-begins/ You have to spin down a tad to get the youtube link. Sorry? The real lameass song from back in [...]
Nice resource, very interesting reading…o