From the latest John Lewis 150th anniversary campaign (Source: ebiquity)
John Lewis has been celebrating its 150th anniversary, and has done so in its inimitable style, with a big showcase ad designed to boost those all-important positive emotional associations. Predictably, and inevitably, this sparks off a torrent of commentary from those in the industry. If you took a representative sample of marketers and related professions, I suspect you’d find very few with a bad word to say about John Lewis. And if they did, it might well be something facetious about how that bear would have eaten the hare.
Is the latest offering up to the standard of the brand’s previous efforts, though? And what do “real people”, as opposed to marketing professionals, feel about it? (Note the strategic use of the word “feel” rather than the word “think”, there). More importantly still – what difference is it likely to make to the brand?
To assess this, Ipsos ASI interviewed a control group of c.1000 people on Friday 2nd May, the eve of the ad’s launch, and a carefully matched test group, (also c.1000), on Tuesday 6th, once the ad was available. With results available 24 hours later, we could make a quick assessment of the ad’s potential effects.
It scored well for being entertaining, stirring the emotions, and for being an ad people would talk about. Tick tick tick. Many felt the brand wasn’t clear – perhaps to be expected, given how the branding is, to say the least, subtle. But would this apparent weakness translate into reduced impact on the brand? After all, it’s those positive brand associations that matter…
Well, the proportion agreeing that the ad made them feel good about John Lewis wasn’t high. But there are obvious pitfalls of relying on people’s ability to tell you how an ad makes them feel. So to get a better read on the true emotional effect, we observe it – in this case, comparing positive brand associations in the control group to the test. And here’s where we see the impact – associations of the brand with nation’s favourite store and inspiring place to shop both go up significantly, as does I’m proud to be seen carrying their bag. (More on those bags later).
So – respect to the brand – but what about personal relevance? There was no shift on brings happy memories to me, or on has personal meaning to me, and nor did we see people feeling closer to the brand. At least one online comment about the ad referred to “corporate navel gazing” – maybe with justification? Well, no matter, the anniversary activity was already being praised for generating “wonderful” sales – weekly sales up 14.5%, and that’s the week at the end of which the ad launched. And of course – it’s not just about the ad – it’s the masterfully designed packaging – (those bags) –the enhancements to the already distinctive in-store experience, the range of unique products created for the occasion…
As an esteemed colleague was heard to say – “great products and store experiences make a decentish ad work reasonably well”.
So, what did the survey say? Not an absolute showstopper – maybe lacking a little in personal connection – but enough there to give confidence that those positive emotional associations are being reinforced. It’s notable that, unlike previous John Lewis tours de force, the ad doesn’t focus on central characters. There are lots of transitions – which are very clever – perhaps too clever? Simpler is usually better… but no matter, it will no doubt be seen as a success. It’s certainly further whetted our appetites for this year’s Christmas offering – about five months away, and counting…
This week’s blog is courtesy of Keith Glasspoole, Deputy Managing Director at Ipsos ASI UK. Tara is on holiday. At Ipsos ASI, we help our clients make things simply,better. Follow Ipsos ASI on Twitter @IpsosASIUK.
