After years of price-focused campaigns, sofa retailer DFS has changed tack. Its latest television advert is designed to appeal to shoppers’ emotions, and marks a new direction for the retailer.
The campaign, which launched two weeks ago, aims to broaden the appeal of DFS by tugging on viewers’ heart strings. It depicts various family units using different DFS products in an everyday setting, and moves away from the more staged production of its old advertising campaigns.
The new ideas are symptomatic of retailers’ shift in attitude to marketing. More are following Ikea’s brand-led approach, moving away from a straight price message to being more creative in the way they approach it. And while price is still a huge factor in driving sales, it is not the only one – retailers need to do more to stand out and connect with shoppers in other ways, and DFS’s attempt is a good one.
The ad is faintly reminiscent of John Lewis’s heart-warming Christmas ad and B&Q’s recent campaign, which focused on memories associated with shoppers’ homes.
The trend throughout the recession has been to emphasise emotional connections with homes as a way of getting consumers to part with cash – in the struggling big-ticket market this is more important than ever and perhaps DFS will succeed in convincing buyers that if they can’t move home because of a difficult housing market, they might as well buy a new sofa.
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