Thought Leadership
5 Great In-Store Marketing Campaigns of 2023
With a constant stream of campaigns from retailers, it can be hard to keep up with what’s happening on the high street. We’ve taken a look at the year so far and found 5 great in-store marketing campaigns of 2023 to spark your imagination.
From seasonal discounts and celebrations to charity collaborations, stores offer a personal, tactile environment to showcase your products and share more about your brand. So, while we’ve seen a plethora of examples of brilliant campaigns already this year, we’ve focused on ones that use stores as part of their campaigns.
If you’re looking to be inspired, we hope these examples get your creative juices flowing for your next campaign:
We’re live from Tesco with the #CrackingEaster egg hunt. Help us find eggs hidden in Tesco logos through the store for the chance to win spot prizes and a £1K+ gift card. UK 18+ only. Opens 19:00, closes 21:00 2.4.2023 https://t.co/RFVH0CQArT https://t.co/fsxYd2cIss
— Tesco (@Tesco) March 29, 2023
In March, Tesco gave its iconic logo an Easter makeover, switching the ‘O’ with a temporary cracked egg design in hundreds of places across its stores, from in-store signage and social media channels to delivery vans, billboards, digital advertising and TV adverts. It was all part of its #CrackingEaster Egg Hunt campaign and was the first time the retailer has made changes to its logo.
Offering shoppers a real life Easter egg hunt with the chance to win £1000 if they spotted the cracked egg logo, took a photo and shared it on social media with the hashtag #CrackingEaster, this campaign was both fun and engaging.
While the easter egg hunt itself took place mainly in stores (including one broadcast live on social media), it was a truly omnichannel campaign. With the competition promoted across social media, getting shoppers to take part in physical stores and then go back to Twitter, Instagram or Facebook to share their findings to enter, it worked as a great loop of creating online awareness while also driving foot traffic to stores. It also had a brand-building element. By sharing clues and riddles of where to find the eggs on social media, it encouraged more social followers as well as in-person visits.
Overall, the campaign motivated shoppers to spend more time in stores and to look more closely at Tesco’s advertising, engage with the supermarket on its social channels… and, as an interactive game with cash prizes, it had the feel-good factor too. Win, win, win!
Together with our national charity partner @Shelter, today we have launched Real Life Roomsets, a new campaign revealing the realities of the housing emergency in the UK. To find out more and get involved, visit https://t.co/GWeXRWKd7E pic.twitter.com/xqWONZvepa
— IKEA UK (@IKEAUK) March 7, 2023
In March, IKEA launched its “Real Life Roomsets” campaign to highlight the reality of those living in temporary accommodation. Its national charity partner, Shelter, installed ‘Real Life Roomsets’ in a number of IKEA stores across the UK. It comes as part of IKEA and Shelter’s campaign demanding for 90,000 social homes to be built a year by 2030.
A stark contrast to IKEA’s bright and aesthetically pleasing showrooms, the Real Life Roomsets are based on real stories of people local to the stores.
This campaign completely changes the in-store experience and raises awareness for homelessness and the realities of temporary accommodation. It is particularly timely with soaring rent and living costs in the UK. The hyper-local element of the campaign shows IKEA’s connection to, and understanding of, the community around its store locations.
In a world saturated with aspirational content, this campaign also offers an eye-opening reminder to shoppers to be grateful for what they do have. It is a great example of using the in-store environment in a powerful and immersive way for a charity collaboration.
In June, Boots launched its Perfectly Imperfect summer campaign to welcome the start of the British Summer. Their biggest summer campaign yet, it focuses on the ability to find “joy in every summer scenario” and being “prepared for any weather, obstacle, or delay”. As part of the campaign, the pharmacy retailer created a 30-second TV advert telling the story of a British summer’s day from the perspective of a wasp.
Tapping into the desire for a perfect summer – at home or away – this campaign highlights Boots as a one-stop-shop for summer essentials. It captures the charm of the British summer and navigating everything from insects to the unpredictable weather!
This campaign offers a brilliant blend of online and in-store and is a good example of emotive marketing. The in-store marketing materials are bright, uplifting and cohesive throughout the store. They are used for campaign messaging, in-store navigation as well as promoting the retailers summer items and offers.
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Join us for Thursday Night Lates at #Selfridges🤩🤠 Bring your pre-loved pieces along to #swap & enjoy complimentary cocktails from Whitebox Cocktails, ice cream from Little Moons and live music.
🎟️Tickets cost £10 and all proceeds will be go to Oxfamhttps://t.co/8WNZpHqPyn pic.twitter.com/Y4IdobkPrO
— LOANHOOD (@LoanhoodLondon) June 29, 2023
Selfridges Worn Again campaign is all about secondhand shopping, swapping, repairing, upcycling and trading. The luxury retailer is hosting a number of circular shopping experiences in stores until August 2023. Worn Again is part of Selfridges’ permanent RESELFRIDGES offering, where shoppers can resell, rent, refill and repair items all year round.
The campaign features A Swap Shop by LOANHOOD in all stores in June and July. Shoppers can ‘shop with what they’ve already got’ and swap once-loved items with something else. There is also “The Edit by RESELFRIDGES” in all stores between April and August, This is an expert curation of pre-loved luxury items. These new in-store shopping events sit alongside RESELFRIDGES Accessories, a permanent collection of luxury secondhand bags for sale in all stores.
Showcasing Selfridges’ dedication to sustainability, this campaign ticks all the right boxes for shoppers looking to adjust their luxury purchasing habits to be more environmentally friendly. With carefully designed in-store experiences, the Worn Again campaign shows how sustainable shopping can be integrated into the standard retail design.
With extended opening hours, drinks and live music alongside shopping, the LOANHOOD pop-up swap shops offer a refreshed and exciting reason to visit stores. Attendees had a triple incentive of finding ‘a new obsession’, shopping in a way that helps stop fast fashion waste, and knowing the proceeds from the tickets was also being donated to Oxfam.
This campaign demonstrates a great example of a retailer continuing to communicate, build brand loyalty and maintain sales during a time of heightened price sensitivity. By focusing on enforcing their values, they remind consumers of who they are and why they should shop there. It also gives shoppers a way to give back to the community without donating directly.
These in-store events also align with the department store’s ambition that 45% of transactions will come from circular products and services by 2030.
We have something important we’d like to share. Our profits.
We’re a building society, not a bank, which means we can do things a little differently. That’s why today we’re launching The Nationwide Fairer Share.
To find out more, visit: https://t.co/ByEHOdoeEu pic.twitter.com/LYRooHF4wR
— Nationwide Building Society (@AskNationwide) May 19, 2023
In May, Nationwide launched its ‘Fairer Share’ campaign across stores, premium OOH and digital and social channels. It communicated that the building society was rewarding its eligible members with a £100 share of its profits.
With bold, direct statements in Nationwide’s instantly recognisable blue and red branding, this campaign was clear and consistent across all mediums. It was particularly timely with the increasing cost of living in the UK. With in-store posters stating, “When we profit, so do our members”, it was a great way to help boost the loyalty of existing members.
Window posters with the single statement “We have something important we’d like to share. Our profits” also provided an incentive for non-members to consider switching for future potential payouts. The clear campaign messaging makes the building society stand out from its competitors, with online content stating, “We’re a building society, not a bank, so we can do things a little differently”. The whole campaign also served as a brand-building exercise by promoting sentiments of security and stability.
Which of these in-store marketing campaigns was your favourite? Did we miss your favourite of the year?
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