Key Takeaways

• Matalan needed to raise awareness and consideration of their brand as a good value option for the whole family.
• A summer campaign based on Closer magazines ‘Style Alert’ section was created and amplified across different platforms.
• Matalan overtook Next to become the third most popular retailer during the campaign.

One page summary

Client Quote

“Our Holiday Shop campaign with Bauer Media felt perfect for Matalan due to their strong female reach across multiple touch points. We were able to support a key customer moment for Matalan shoppers driving strong reach across radio, print and digital channels and tie everything together with a consistent competition mechanic to drive engagement. This was a media first and provided the opportunity to create something truly innovative to make us stand out in a crowded market. Most importantly, we were able to showcase lots of product across all categories and really position Matalan as the ‘One Stop Holiday Shop for the Family’”.

Michaela Dehal, National Advertising Strategy Manager, Matalan

The Challenge

Matalan needed to increase consideration and ultimately purchase of their family holiday clothing range, making them the primary destination for summer clothing for the whole family. A key challenge for Matalan was converting consideration into actual visits to store. The hypothesis was that, once people had visited, the conversion to purchase would be high and they would be more likely to become repeat purchasers. With Matalan stores often being in out-of-town destinations, Matalan needed to raise awareness as a fashion destination, playing on the core values of good quality at a good price for the whole family. Matalan had seen an improved brand perception over the last 2 years, however this had also led to a dilution of the outstanding price and value messaging which was at the heart of their ethos.

The Plan/Execution

Matalan’s vision was to become the most trusted retailer of family value, putting the spotlight on special customer moments such as family holidays. Budgets can be tight for families in the summer which led to an initial creative concept of being able to fill your suitcase for £50.

Matalan teamed up with Bauer Media’s Closer magazine, which matched their target audience of 30-45 year old females with children perfectly.  A media first four-part fashion franchise was created based on Closer’s “Style Alert” section and called “Style Alert Holidays”. The “Style Alert” logo was used throughout the content as well as in store and on email communications to give a real sense of editorial endorsement and partnership.

Closer’s fashion editor became an influencer for the campaign, both in-mag and in the form of video and audio content across targeted social channels and sites as well as relevant radio stations. The audience was also given 50 chances to win a Matalan suitcase plus £50 to spend in store.

Results

• Econometric modelling showed a £6 ROI for the campaign overall.
• Pre and post campaign research showed an uplift in unprompted recall of Matalan being the “one stop holiday shop” of 40%.
• There was an uplift in awareness from people who had seen / heard Matalan campaigns – this rose by 83% vs pre campaign.
• In terms of consideration of where to shop for holiday clothes, Matalan went from the 4th most popular retailer to the 3rd during the campaign, overtaking Next. It also went from 4th to 3rd most visited retailer in terms of footfall into stores by people seeking holiday clothing.
•  Among people who were positive about the Style Alert campaign, there was a 22% increase in those who saw Matalan as a good place to shop for quality clothing.
•  Among people who thought the Style Alert campaign was a good fit for Matalan, there was a 21% increase in people agreeing that Matalan was a destination for stylish clothing.
• There were 23,239 entries to the competition against a benchmark of 20,000. The opt-in rate of 28% was also higher than the benchmark of 18%.