Many marketers make the mistake of using the terms digital and interactive interchangeably, but in order to make the most powerful impression on a brand’s target audience, it’s important to recognize the difference between the two. At MARC USA, the former is a tactic, while the latter is a guiding philosophy. We believe the key to leveraging your brand across all touch-points, both traditional and non-traditional, is to consider interactive strategy as the foundation. An interactive approach surrounds and engages your customers; it educates, involves, listens, responds and drives them to action.
Interactive as a philosophy is at the heart of our approach for our client, True Value Hardware. Facing big competition from the Big Boxes, we leveraged the superior knowledge and service of True Value associates against the home improvement chains’ merchandise breadth and dominant marketing spending. Knowing that the average Do-It-Yourselfer makes 3 to 5 store visits before finally getting everything they need, we positioned our sales associates as the silver bullet that would make True Value the one and only place to start and finish a project. The “Masters of all Things Hardwarian” can solve any problem, provide the right tools and be there with helpful advice.
The “Start Right Start Here” campaign introduces the True Value Hardwarian in relevant ways at each point of consumer interaction – from TV, print and circulars to the website and ultimately to the shelf. At each touchpoint, we ensure consistent messaging and tone to reinforce the helpful and friendly advice for which True Value Hardware is known. It’s reflected even in the legal copy on the True Value eCommerce site – a place few consumers would expect to find a brand voice. But it’s not just about consistency. We also customize the experience to suit the emotional and practical considerations of the media vehicle.
Case in point: Mobile. When we turned our sights to mobile, we went further than just ensuring that the site was optimized for the small screen – we customized the experience to give consumers the right tools and advice they would seek in a mobile situation, from access to latest project ideas to product shopping lists to how-to videos. We made it easy to shop by giving them a store locator and a link to shop TrueValue.com. And we gave them the ability to share their projects and questions with both their local Hardwarian and their own DIY networks.
By surrounding and engaging the target with our interactive philosophy, True Value has been able to not only weather the impact of the economy on the home improvement industry, but grow in relevance to its best customers.
[Gallery not found]
Leave a Comment
Let us know your thoughts: