Currys merges retail brands and launches major campaign and loyalty scheme

Electrical retailer Currys has launched a major omnichannel campaign after merging brands Currys PC World, Carphone Warehouse, Dixons Carphone and Team Knowhow into one ’superbrand’. The new campaign has been created by AMV BBDO.

Why launch a campaign now?

• The ad seeks to emphasize Currys’s expertise with tech products. A survey conducted by Currys claims that 58% of people shopping for pricey gadgets wanted to speak to a human expert before they purchased.

• The campaign will run across TV, out-of-home (OOH), video-on-demand (VOD) and social. OOH work will run over 1,200 sites across Britain, including Westfield Stratford Bridge, Clapham Colossus and Waterloo Motion; media was handled by Spark Foundry.

• Currys is also launching its first loyalty scheme. The program includes member discounts, monthly prize giveaways and partner benefits such as a three-month trial Apple TV subscription. Customers can sign up without an initial purchase at one of Currys’s 314 stores across the UK.

• Dan Rubel, brand and marketing director at Currys, said: “Technology is such an intrinsic part of our lives now that how you buy it matters more than ever before. Our research shows that prior to handing over their hard-earned cash, people want advice about the tech they buy from a real-life human expert, particularly when it comes to those expensive and more complex pieces of kit.

• “This new campaign launches our new brand, Currys, and at the same time reminds customers of one of the most important reasons we are special – our expert colleagues. Our real-life human experts are able to help tech buyers work out the right tech for them, whether that’s instore or online via our pioneering 24/7 ShopLive video shopping platform. This is unique to Currys and our omnichannel model, and something that the algorithms used by faceless robot retailers simply can’t replicate, because life really is better when you listen to experts.”

Who’s behind the ad?

• The TV spot was created by created by Prabs Wignarajah and Jamie Starbuck, and directed by Jack Clough of Hunky Dory. Nadja Lossgott and Nicholas Hulley were the executive creative directors.

• Alex Grieve, chief executive officer at AMV BBDO, said: “As the film proves, it’s time to bring back the experts, because we have NOT got this! If you want something done right, talk to someone who actually knows their stuff. Someone who’s spent thousands of hours understanding how and why technology works, not 10 minutes. Talk to an expert. Talk to Currys.”

• Currys’s last campaign, also produced by AMV BBDO, saw comedian Bill Bailey don angel wings to flog laptops.