It’s Christmas 2022, and people are feeling the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis across the nation. They’re tightening their spending, but it’s Christmas, after all. With the previous years marred by pandemic restrictions, they want to celebrate and have a joyful Christmas this year.
This campaign set out to make Tesco the number one destination for affordable Christmas joy – the retailer everyone could count on. Targeting current and new-to-brand shoppers alike, we wanted to bring festive love and excitement to every single store visitor.
With the four leading retailers fighting for the top spot in this uncertain financial climate, plus the tantalising appeal of the discount stores, our experience needed to get brands into customers’ hands to drive up basket spend and cement brand sentiment for Tesco.
This campaign was set during the cost-of-living crisis, with Christmas feeling precarious for many families. In fact, nearly half of consumers planned to spend less to save money (43%) and spend less on socialising (46%) (Source: EY UK, How the cost-of-living crisis will impact Christmas 2022 spending). Sadly, nearly a third of people were concerned about being able to afford Christmas dinner (Source: The Salvation Army, Millions could miss out on Christmas dinner this year).
So our challenge was to find a way to show that they could spend less and still have a joyful Christmas with Tesco. We found that 31% of people were planning a more intimate Christmas, with 46% planning to cook at home more over the festive period (Source: EY UK, How the cost-of-living crisis will impact Christmas 2022 spending).
Because of the financial uncertainties, consumers were actively seeking moments that sparked joy. So, our strategy was to tap into “dopamine dressing” by devising an unexpected, spontaneous experience.
Tesco Christmas Markets, our free travelling roadshow of 16 festive branded chalets, hit the car parks of 80 Tesco stores across 80 days.
The customer journey began on the consumer-facing microsite, which we designed to help them to discover their nearest Christmas Avenue to drive them into stores. Next, we used targeted Facebook adverts to capture consumers and drive them to their nearest Market.
On arrival, this Christmas wonderland let shoppers see, taste, smell and touch products before committing to buying them. From complimentary gift wrapping to sampling, the experience was full of money-saving hacks and gifting inspiration so people could elevate their festive occasions while spending less during the cost-of-living crisis — cementing Tesco as their number-one destination for affordable Christmas joy.
In store, the festivities continued, with sampling in the foyer and aisle – multiple touchpoints where visitors could pop the featured products into their baskets.
Plus, at the end of the Market experience, customers could go home and revisit the recipes and gifting inspiration featured on a booklet downloadable from the microsite.
Inspiration came from the concept of a traditional Christmas market, which we elevated with a Tesco twist. Cosy winter chalets created an immersive avenue leading up to the store, twinkling with fairy lights, the melody of Christmas classics creating the atmosphere to help shoppers get in the festive spirit, aligning their opinion that Tesco was the place to shop this festive season.
Most importantly, after a dire couple of years for many, we wanted to spark joy with our experience, improving brand sentiment for Tesco and empowering people to have a merry Christmas. Visually inspiring chalet designs created the atmosphere, immersing them in a free festive wonderland full of tasty samples and deals to help make their Christmases joyful.
We wanted to give the brands more personality, so we designed their individual chalets to exude their individuality while keeping with the overall aesthetic and theme. We showed off recognisable brands to draw a larger audience to the Christmas Market experience.
