Mediaedge:cia
Morrisons
TV enables Morrisions' sales to shine

Supermarket advertising is fiercely competitive, as stores throw huge budgets at their campaigns, and a celebrity presence and memorable catchphrases are a must.

At a time when celebrity-fronted ad campaigns were not only being used by most supermarket chains but were making headlines as a result - think the Marks & Spencer sexy descriptions, Tesco's famous voiceovers and Jamie Oliver for Sainsbury's - Morrisons succeeded in bringing its ads up to the same level as those of its rivals, despite working with a smaller budget.

The supermarket's plan had to fulfil a range of criteria - effective weights and phasing, bridging the gap between brand value strategies, evolving the use of TV and evolving the messaging mix with a continuous creative strategy.

The campaign launched when the store broadcast a "top and tail" mechanic in autumn, so that by Christmas - a vital sales period - the double copy ad breaks did not look incongruous.

Regular copy changes meant ads could be seasonal and reflect public priorities, such as price cuts, while keeping the brand messaging fresh.

Since posting its first loss in 2006, Morrisons' profits had nearly doubled by 2008/9 to £655m, together with a rise in customer numbers of more than 30 million and an increase in market share.

But it is the threefold return on investment increase in the second half of 2008 that Morrisons attributes solely to TV advertising.

Throughout the ad campaign period, Morrisons worked closely with Mediaedge:cia Retail to define weights, the phasing and investment levels, producing an immediate effect on sales once the ads broke.

After a significant improvement in performance in 2007, the store managed to repeat the success in 2008 and once again improved sales year on year.

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