Project Objective

To help Argos enter the competitive price comparison market by creating Argos Compare – a place where customers can search and compare money, insurance, energy products and more. To make it a success, we had to focus on value and make sure it reflected the Argos core brand values.

What we did

Argos is synonymous with choice, value and convenience. So when we were creating a proposition and market positioning for their new price comparison website – we didn’t need to rely on opera singers, meerkats and other gimmicks. Low prices were paramount to the success of ArgosCompare and we made this our core focus for the new website in an effort to convert more browsers into avid shoppers. 

After the initial website template design, we have to make sure that we presented the vast array of products and services in a digestible and accessible format. So we devised a number of website customer journey scenarios and researched the target customer in order to produce an easy-to-use website that converts.

The finished website is both informative and aesthetically pleasing, with clear navigational features to aid website usability. Since the launch, Argoscompare.co.uk has become a serious contender in the online comparison sector, giving customers greater choice and quick, competitive money-saving quotes.

Project Objective

The challenge was to launch Northern Ireland’s hottest ever insurance deal with a real bang – so we created a fully integrated TV campaign and offered customers a cracking deal, plus up to £100 cashback.

What we did

We needed to get into the heads of the Northern Irish people and understand that DRTV ads in Northern Ireland are completely different to those of the mainland. They’re all about the craic, they’re disruptive and we needed to create something that people would be talking about down the pub.

So who better to help us launch Northern Ireland’s biggest insurance deal – than May McFettridge, their biggest panto star. He/she became the perfect figurehead for our DRTV campaign – a remake of the classic 80s disco classic ‘It’s Raining Men’.

It featured two Weather Girl look-alikes in a live action production shot against green screen involving heavy CGI post-production. To create pre-launch noise, we worked in collaboration with SKV Manchester, developed a pre-launch campaign involving May McFettridge and 40 dancers in a flash mob stunt outside Belfast Town Hall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_IcoE8Sngk – and a tour of Northern Ireland’s Open & Direct shops plus email and DM activity.

It was also important to co-ordinate all media activity prior to launch. So The Black Hole also worked closely with TCS Media, so that on launch day 16th April, everyone in Northern Ireland woke up to 48 sheets and press ads featuring May and Northern Ireland’s hottest insurance deal yet. All Open & Direct shop windows were wrapped in teaser vinyls and impactful POS.

The 30 second TV slot aired that evening in between Coronation Street. Inbound calls are already up by 50% in the first week. Customers are able to engage with the campaign online by viewing the ‘The Making Of… Raining Cash’, all three 30 second TV slots, download the Raining Cash ring tone for their mobile – and follow May McFettridge at openanddirect.com

Project objective

During the Cheltenham Festival over £500m exchanges hands over a 4 day racing spectacle. William Hill, the UK’s home of betting, wanted us to create a customer communication programme to get more customers to place more bets within the Festival period whilst increasing the stake value.

What we did

By examining recency, frequency and value segments in the customer database, we identified five core customer groups, whose betting behaviour and motivations were very different. They ranged from ‘top spenders’ who bet large amounts on a weekly basis through to dormant or lapsed customers who placed infrequent bets each month. 

Customers placing bigger bets, more often were highly knowledgeable about horse racing and they did a significant amount of research before placing high value bets – these customers were motivated by knowledge that would give them the inside track and improve their odds of winning. Dormant and lapsed customers were more likely to be motivated by offers and free bets.

We then devised a communication programme that tapped into this insight and targeted each customer with the right message and offer. All customer groups then went on to place more bets with William Hill on the Cheltenham Festival, the highlight of the jump racing season.