B&Q ads celebrate feelings of DIY pride
B&Q is moving away from advertising that focuses on the functional benefits of its products to highlighting the pride that comes with completing a DIY project.
A TV campaign, created by McCann Erickson, launches on 19 March and features a grandfather building a chicken shed, a couple decorating a nursery and a young girl growing her own tomatoes. The ads aim to show the pride consumers take in DIY and forge an emotional connection with a broader range of customers.
B&Q marketing director Katherine Paterson says the role the DIY chain plays in helping people improve their homes has changed and it needed to modernise to appeal to a broader range of customers.
She says: “We’re developing a way to communicate that is more inspirational for what people need. Not everyone wants to build something from scratch.
“But what is the same for all our customers is the pride in what they’re doing, whether it’s building a shed or wall or choosing new curtains and décor. We can have a consistent message in our marketing because that ‘I did it’ moment will span whatever type of DIY project is being done.”
The ad voiceover is: “Everything we do is to help you say ‘I did that’. You can do it too” – an evolution of B&Q’s ‘Let’s do it’ and ‘You can do it’ brand slogans used in previous campaigns.
The new TV ad is set to a version of the Crosby Stills and Nash track My House, performed by upcoming band The Amber States, which will be available on iTunes.
The campaign also includes press, social media and PR activity. B&Q is also relaunching its sponsorship idents around Channel 4’s home and property programmes to tie in with the new creative.
The retailer also hopes to encourage customers to share their own ‘I did that’ moments when they complete home improvement projects with the brand by sharing photos and content on Facebook. Paterson says that these may go on to inspire forthcoming marketing and advertising.
The move away from functionally driven advertising is in line with B&Q’s efforts to overhaul its own-label ranges.
It recently outlined a £12m investment in new products, ranges and stores to develop a more fashion-led seasonal approach and reverse the 2.5% slide in like-for-like sales that the Kingfisher-owned business reported for the 13 weeks to 28 January.
