Stay Home, Eat Out, Work from the Office, Go to Barnard Castle… Save Lives
The ‘Should Have Gone to Specsavers’ tagline is one of the most recognisable marketing campaigns in recent decades. The universally popular slogan was inadvertently given a boost when the PM’s adviser Dominic Cummings decided – in the strictest moment of the UK lockdown – to use English Heritage sites to test his vision. As the British media took to social media to mock him, online mentions of the Specsavers tagline swelled by 6,000%.
Now, Specsavers has upped the ante by offering free eye test vouchers on the back of parking tickets outside Barnard Castle in Durham. The lesson here being: if you have a medical query, consult an expert.
Subtle indeed, but in the age of social media, subtle campaigns can catch like wildfire. There is more to marketing than bells and whistles.
The Tortoise and the Hare
Ikea, the Scandi purveyors of Billy bookcases and incredibly large mattresses, has launched a new campaign to encourage Brits to take sleeping seriously. Its ingenious ‘Tomorrow Starts Tonight’ slogan is accompanied by a well-rested tortoise setting out for morning run, while its neighbour – a night-owl hare – is left oversleeping on the sofa.
The lesson is simple – less time watching telly in your Poäng chair and more time resting in your Malm bed.
It has been a stressful year and stress and anxiety are huge contributors to poor quality sleep and insomnia. So, look after yourselves, folks – take a trip to Ikea.
The Starling Express
Ambitious fintech upstart Starling has spent much of 2020 trying to woo small businesses to its online-only offer.
The ‘Helping Businesses Fly’ campaign highlighted the heroism of small business owners and has yielded some impressive results with an increase in business accounts. According to B2B Marketing Magazine the pre-campaign prompt awareness was 65% and peaked at 73% just four weeks in; this went up to 80% amongst business owners.
The pre-campaign comms awareness was 28% and it peaked at 35% five weeks in; this went up to 54% amongst business owners.
Impressive results. You can read more about the campaign here.