Has the economic downturn impacted your plans for Christmas yet? It seems we're all tightening our belts and battening down the hatches for a Christmas of Dickensian squallor following years of excess consumption fuelled by endless Nigella cookbooks and allstar M&S ads.
I'm all for the paring down of Christmas to something more meaningful and familial, reminiscent of Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and the rest of the family - poor but happy. But what does it mean for us marketers? In a world that has relied on bigger, better, and more not least in terms of the temptations presented by advertisers, this means a serious change of tactics.
Value has replaced luxury as the key word in this year's campaign briefs, and the agencies are having to seriously rethink the some of the sure-fire routes to success that have been developed over the past ten years. Indeed, we're seeing a return to the type of benefits-led, upfront, price-led advertising we might have last seen decades ago. It seems everything has been pared back - but this doesn't give an excuse not to be creative. The DFS approach to discounting just isn't good enough for those brands attempting to move into value territory for the first time. I've been racking my brains to think of anyone who has done 'value' well this year...I'm yet to come up with a single, memorable campaign. Answers on a postcard please...
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