Argos have launched a cross-channel digital campaign designed to raise awareness of the brand’s digital transformation that has taken place in recent years. The retailer has pioneered a new concept store, and is showing such great innovation that even the biggest players in ecommerce are taking notes.
Among Brits, Argos have always maintained a unique brand identity. Ever present (it’s estimated that 96 percent of the UK population is within 10 miles of an Argos store), and offering a unique in-store experience as a catalog merchant, the brand has always maintained a strong identity based around product availability, value, and delivery efficiency. It means that Argos have always had to do things slightly differently. In 2012 the brand “dragged itself into the 21st century” by initiating a digital overhaul that saw the closure of 75 stores, and the realignment of the business toward digital revenue streams. The business was to be no less present to consumers, but the idea was that they could be there online, in the search engine and other digital channels, saving consumers both a trip to the store and the tedious task of leafing through laminated catalogs for a quarter on an hour.
Get Set, Go Argos
Today the British retailer extended their digital strategy one step further. The new “Get set, go Argos” campaign, led by a feature TV spot featuring breakdancers, stunts, and some snazzy editing, has been hailed by the brand as a sign of their digital transformation. The advert will also be screened in UK cinemas, a first venture into cinema advertising for the brand.
Stephen Vowles, Argos’ marketing director, told Marketing Week:
“We want people to think and feel differently about the Argos brand. The distinctive space we want to own is more heartbeats, rather than heartstrings. Lots of retailers do ads that make you go ‘aaaaa’. We do need an emotional connection but that is probably not Argos’ territory, our territory is about the excitement, the speed of getting the products you want.”
The campaign will also see the brand updating their website and mobile apps to match their new brand identity, as well as staff uniforms, tills, inshore decor, delivery trucks, and carrier bags. A true digital makeover. Vowles explained that the purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness among consumers of how much the brand has changed in recent years, phasing out the traditional catalog-based business model and replacing it with a customer-centric digital experience. Out with the catalogs, order slips, and blue pens. In with the iPads, click and collect, and stocking of high-end premium brands.
Free Tablets, Building Connections
In a parallel move to the “Get Set, Go Argos” campaign, the brand also announced a series of digital workshops that will take place across all 120 of it’s UK stores. Kicking off at the end of October, up to 10,000 people will be given a free tablet and a year of broadband subscription, to help users connect, and develop their digital skills. Connecting the disconnected, the campaign will undoubtedly reach more than those present in the workshops themselves, in appreciation of the brands digital responsibility and community work.
Store Of The Future
Argos’ digital transformation is perhaps best encapsulated by the brand’s stores. The brand recently opened a concept store in Old Street, London, which modernises the in-store experience, integrating it with online shopping orders via FastTrack services and Click and Collect. It all falls into Argos’ wider strategy of communicating the change and response of the brand to developing digital needs. For while some consumers, mainly those who live near a digital store, are aware of the brand’s new makeover, others have not yet been reached. Vowles explained that the current campaign is aimed at getting “35 percent of UK households that don’t currently shop at the retailer to reappraise the brand.”
Argos vs. Amazon?
Argos’ latest moves have got a lot of ears twitching in the industry. The brands digital transformation means its now possible for consumer to do their shopping online or in-store, and pick up their goods on the same day rather than waiting for a delivery. The speed and convenience of what Click and Collect offers makes for a great customer experience. It isn’t often that the great giant in ecommerce, Amazon, is beaten to new innovations, but it seems that the two retailers will soon be competing for the same “Click and Collect” territory, with customers preferring to pick up their goods in-store especially when buying high-order goods. Amazon have been developing plans to open physical stores for some time now, and uncharacteristically, they have been somewhat slow to move. Although the two are traveling toward integrated digital stores from different directions, in this case a small British brand has managed to beat a Silicon Valley giant to the punch.