Currys’ latest campaign utilises the popular ‘dad energy’ trend to help customers apply an “energy-saving mindset” to tech in the home.

The campaign will run across video-on-demand, YouTube and radio. The retailer’s brand and marketing director Dan Rubel highlights that while the broader brand platform ‘Beyond Techspectations’ runs across all of its channels, it selects  the “optimal channel mix” for each of its campaigns within the platform.

The marketing drive is based on a “real human truth,” he shares.

“This campaign is about helping customers understand some of the latest and greatest tech out there; specifically energy saving or energy efficient tech. And there’s a real truth around the reality that dads like to save energy,” says Rubel.

“I’m a dad. I like to save energy. Sometimes for semi-comedic effect. Sometimes not, whether that be turning the lights off or generally encouraging the family to be a bit more prudent with energy usage and therefore saving money.”

He shares that Currys’ took the idea to “absurd lengths”- they had colleagues playing a caricature of dad complete with silly moustache, in order to create an ad that emotionally resonated with the audience as emotionally engaging and entertaining ads tend to perform better.

Rubel adds that the thing that makes Currys special is its stores and its colleagues; people want to see and feel products in real life and that insight is behind all of its campaigns including the current one.

‘Little Things’

According to Rubel, “it’s the little things that stand out to you when you work on campaigns. He shares that his favourite moment is the opening where the actor looks sideways and then back at the camera.

He explains that he likes this moment as it gives the campaign a “documentary feel” but are also slightly comedic. He highlights that this moment sets up the tongue in cheek tone of the campaign.

The dad with a dictaphone is another stand out moment for Rubel.

“I don’t think anybody anybody actually does that, but it harks back to an era when dads might have done that a bit more often, usually for work purposes, not for these purposes. And it’s absurd, but we like absurdity. People have described our campaign as unhinged, and it is slightly unhinged. Why on earth is Currys featuring a dictaphone? It’s nonsense,” he jokes.

“But all this stuff entertains, it emotionally connects, it opens something that when combined with Currys’ rational messages about big brands really resonates, hence why it scores so well, and why we’ve got such good business momentum right now.

“Almost every advert we put out, when it comes to telling stories about tech, is set in the stores, has the colleagues front and centre, and it doesn’t detract from the storytelling about the tech because our strategy is about the see it, feel it, try it experience.”

Often in advertising,  the product you’re mentioning and the retailer that you’re trying to build conflict, and the fight for time. In our ads, they don’t fight for time; they come together.

Testing

The retailer tests all of its campaigns in System One before it airs them. The platform then predicts how the marketing drive will land with consumers- the emotional reaction it will get.

This campaign in particular scored highly with the platform, around 30 per cent more than average for the category, according to Rubel.

Currys also measures its campaigns in ‘verbatim’, looking at what makes them tick “under the bonnet”. Post launch, the retailer looks at its ROI; how many sales does the retailer get as a result of airing the campaign.

He says: “We do a big deep dive once a year, with a third party that is well validated. We validate it with control tests so that we’re able to believe in the methodology, and that’s probably the most important measure.

“The second measure is perceptions, because we don’t want to just create short-term impact. We want to create long-term impact; we want to grow spontaneous awareness, grow overall brand preference, and grow association for the things that we care about.”

“Social Space”

Rubel also believes that campaign exists in a “social space”. But, Currys treats its organic social media a bit differently to most as it doesn’t run ads on its organic channel.

The retailer found that ads are not what resonates with consumers on social media, which means that audiences won’t really see the campaign coming to life on social media.

However, audiences who do visit Currys’ social channels will find “entertaining content” that has its roots in the brand’s most important brand POD’s. He highlights that most of its content features its stores and colleagues. It aims to remind customers Currys is there and that the retailer offers something special that other businesses who just have a website or collection service “can’t get anywhere near”.

Perceptions

Rubel explains that for a big national brand, a single campaign would never shift perception on its own but all of its campaigns together.

He says: “Over time we are becoming more and more known for the things that make us special. The distance between us  and our nearest competitors on those things is widening. And, see it, feel it, try it, colleague expertise is key as well. And this campaign will contribute to that and we’ll be able to measure it through our ongoing  tracking, where we’re asking 2000 people a month what they think and feel about different retailers, so I’m confident that the campaign will continue that journey.”

Rubel adds: “If you look at all the communication on energy efficient products tends to be a bit serious and a bit, you know, practically a bit dull, and it needn’t be.”

“There is oodles of research on how emotional connection and comedy specifically can unlock the brain in way that means this stuff resonates. And, its nice to be doing that on a product set that will not only work and make consumers happy but also save consumers energy and therefore save some households some money.”

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