With technology evolving faster than ever, staying ahead and making the right choices for your brand and business can feel like a full-time job. These challenges were at the heart of this year’s Digital Day discussions.
Our brilliant client Katie Kinchin-Smith from The Very Group and I, joined The Marketing Society’s CEO Sophie Devonshire on stage to discuss how embracing data helped Very win big, all within the first three months of our partnership.
In retail, standing out isn't just a challenge, it's a necessity, especially during the 'Golden Quarter.' October to December is the critical time of year, including massive shopping events like Black Friday, the festive lead up to Christmas and end of season sale. For Very, it’s the highest stakes trading period, accounting for around two fifths of yearly sales.
Very, a multi-category online retailer, with integrated flexible payment offering, is competing with giants like Amazon and Shein, whilst new players like Klarna are stirring things up in the financial landscape.
So, how do you make your mark when everyone else is also vying for attention in the noisiest time in the retail calendar?
In 2023, Very launched a distinctive new brand platform with an award-winning ad campaign fronted by flamboyant flamingos, Let’s make it sparkle, developed by The Gate. With it showing no signs of wear out, they made the smart decision to double down on consistency for effectiveness, and re-run the Christmas ad in 2024.
Now they needed a bold media approach that would help them get in front of the right people. It was clear to us that Very wasn’t trying to compete for everyone.
Very had a bullseye audience; female, family-oriented household heroes who hadn’t met them yet. The problem? There simply weren’t enough of them.
Introducing Publicis ID
Built from Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of Epsilon, Publicis ID unifies multiple identifiers for 40 million UK individuals. We rebuilt Very’s customer segmentation using this and validated it with Very using CACI data. We then mined the data and built growth audiences, identifying 42% more headroom, introducing two exciting new audience segments that were the same in every way to Very’s best customers.
Publicis ID is integrated into media ecosystems, meaning we could activate against these growth audiences directly (vs re-building audiences using different data, from a different vendor or industry platform). 60% of our plan was powered by Identity; from precise targeting in addressable and digital channels, to optimising broadcast linear buys against identity informed programming.
This didn’t just help Very get in front of the right people, reaching 93% of their growth audience, it also delivered the equivalent of a £1.4 million value saving compared to old-school buying strategies.
While the campaign was working hard, we still wanted to add sparkle and newness to our plan to create cut-through at the most cluttered time of year. What better way to do this, than a standout partnership with ITV Daytime and hun culture icon, Alison Hammond, introducing her as the Very Godmother, helping customers boss it at Christmas through solving their festive dilemmas, with the help of Very’s flamingos of course.
The result? The most fl-amazing Golden Quarter.
MMM showed a 15% increase in media contribution to overall demand, proving that identity is not just more efficient, it’s also more effective. Very saw an increase in new customer volumes and value come December and a solid 2.3% year-on-year growth during the all-important 7 weeks to Christmas, outperforming the non-food retail market by four times.
The 'Golden Quarter' wasn’t just about making sales; it was about building new longstanding customer relationships for Very and setting the stage for the future. With sharp insights, smart media moves, and creative partnerships, we helped Very sparkle brightly through the hustle and bustle of retail’s busiest season.
Zenith UK are part of Publicis Groupe UK, partners of The Marketing Society.
