Primark made its first TV appearance in the UK on 1 September, promoting its new denim collection for women. The campaign, ‘In Denim We Can’, is the retailer’s first ever fully integrated brand campaign in the UK and will run for six weeks across TV, OOH, in store and digital.
VCCP, the creative agency behind the campaign, told MediaCat that the brief was ‘to make Primark the go-to for denim’ for shoppers ‘whether they come and browse in-store or order via Primark’s newly nationwide click and collect online service’.
The brand launched its click and collect service in May. Previously, customers could only purchase products in stores. So, it makes sense for the brand to target customers with a fully integrated campaign that can reach them wherever they are, since they can now shop on the go.
‘While we’ve always been great at speaking to our customers and fans, we famously don’t traditionally invest in shiny TV campaigns,’ a spokesperson for the retailer said. ‘We’ve recently started to play with OOH and TV in newer markets like the US where we’re not as well known, but in truth, here in the UK, we’ve never had to. We’ve historically relied on our stores and our product to do the talking for us — we’re on every major high street across the country, and our windows play an unrivalled role in telling our story to the world.’
The decision to speak to a wider audience with a fully integrated campaign, Primark explained, was tied to its recent efforts to improve the sizing and quality of its products, particularly its denim and womenswear: ‘We see a real opportunity with this [denim] collection to reach a new customer who isn’t shopping with Primark today and for whom we know Primark isn’t front of mind — so it felt like the right moment to go bigger, both creatively and in media.’
‘The TV spot is just one part of what is an overall integrated campaign designed to reach more people and make them sit up and think “I can’t believe that’s Primark!”, and reconsidering how much they really need to pay to get a perfect pair of jeans,’ the retailer added.
Danny Weitzkorn, managing partner at Starcom, the media agency behind the campaign, also told MediaCat that, as well as being the brand’s first use of TV and VOD in the UK, it’s also its first use of transport wraps and premium partnerships.
‘This campaign was built on three guiding principles: to be brave in our media choices, surprising in how Primark shows up and real in how the product is showcased,’ Weitzkorn said.
