zappistore christmas advert report 2014

CHRISTMAS ADVERTSURVEY

CHRISTMAS ADVERT SURVEY 2014

Success in advertising hinges on how well brands understand how shifting cultural landscapes shape what you and I think and feel.

CHRISTOPHE OVAERE

Global Sales & Marketing Director

CHRISTMAS ADVERTS

The critics have weighed in on Britain’s 2014 Christmas Adverts, but now it’s time to hear directly from the

people. Post-recession consumers still keep their budgets tight, and with holiday advertising in full swing we’ve

seen what brands think is the key our hearts and pounds. Our study shows who consumers think got it right,

indicating which ads may actually influence how they shop.


WINNING ADVERTS

Winners (clockwise):

John Lewis

Boots

Coca-Cola

Lidl

Runners Up (not pictured):

Sainsbury’s

Marks & Spencer


SUMMARY

The key to success this year centered on leaving the past behind and focusing on human

connections in Christmas present. Overall, adverts tested were exceptionally well loved, but only

four showed strong potential to persuade a change in behavior; those by John Lewis, Boots,

Coca-Cola, and Lidl (with runners up Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer).

Each of these adverts scored significantly above nationwide averages for encouraging

consumers to consider the brands—a key indicator of purchase intent, and no small feat in a

season defined by feel-good advertising.

Further, in the context of projected flat spending this holiday season, it’s especially noteworthy

that adverts defined by creativity, uniqueness, and meaningful connection demonstrated not

only an ability to entertain, but also to sell. Among the six winning ads only Lidl (similar to its

competitor Aldi) leaned towards a “hard sell.”


SCORECARD

Brand Advert Likeability Consideration

Aldi Everyone’s coming to us this Christmas

Boots Because She’s Special

Coca-Cola Happy Holidays

Harrods The Land of Make Believe

John Lewis Monty The Penguin

Lidl The Little Present

Marks and Spencer Follow The Fairies

Morrisons A Lot Like Christmas

Sainsbury’s Christmas Truce

Tesco Lights On

Waitrose The Gingerbread Stall

Great

Average

Poor

For Consideration green indicates significantly above benchmark at 90% confidence level


Likeability Will consumers watch the ad?

Response What do consumers take away from the ad?

Consideration Are they motivated to take action?

UNDERSTANDING COPY TESTING

Evaluating adverts is no easy task. In fact, it’s

often a point of some contention between

advertising and market research agencies.

Broadly speaking, however, we might all agree

that success or failure boils down to three main

qualities: breaking through and engage our

attention; clearly communicating key messages

and emotions; and, beyond retention (i.e., I

remembered it), demonstrate an ability to

persuade (i.e., I will consider it).


LIKEABILITY

All the ads tested were well liked by consumers, all scoring well above our benchmark scores for

sentiment. However, John Lewis stood out from the crowd with more than two-thirds rating it 8-10/10.

Tell us how much you liked the advert overall (Slider scale).

LOVE

ADVERT

49.5

50.8

58.5

58.8

59.1

67.8

Benchmark (21.2)

- Sainsbury’s

- Coca-Cola

- John Lewis

- Boots

- Lidl

- M&S

Women were more likely to enjoy

the spots by Boots and M&S

Females +7.1

Females +10.5

66.2

61.3


Boots Coca-Cola John Lewis Lidl M&S Sainsbury's

A B C D E F

Inspirational 39 DE 26 30 E 22 16 46 BCDE

Unique 26 D 18 34 BD 13 26 D 36 BD

Puts me in the Christmas spirit 53 F 64 CDEF 50 44 49 36

Authentic 18 14 19 17 10 31 ABDE

Easy to understand 37 41 43 36 39 35

Festive 45 F 52 F 42 F 46 F 50 F 25

For people like me 29 F 30 EF 23 29 F 18 16

Sweet 39 D 41 D 51 DEF 21 33 28

ATTRIBUTES

ABCDEF Significantly different than column indicated at the 95% confidence level | Select which of the messages/attributes you associate most closely with the advert

RESPONSE:

MESSAGES

Coca-Cola continues to own Christmas spirit, significantly outpacing 4 of the 6 top ads in our test for providing

holiday cheer. Sainsbury’s success vs. other top as is driven (in part) by singular strength on attributes:

‘Inspirational’ and ‘Authentic,’ conversely Lidl’s lack of ‘Sweetness’ and ‘Uniqueness’ likely held it back.


Boots Coca-Cola John Lewis Lidl M&S Sainsbury's

A B C D E F

EMOTIONS

Select four key emotions from a comprehensive list of emotion icons | Select the intensity felt for each emotion

Happiness and Love are table stakes when it comes to Holiday advertising, with all 11 ads tested scoring

highly on these measures. Top scoring adverts were those that brought something more.

RESPONSE:

EMOTIONS

Thoughtful

Peaceful

Happiness

Excitement

Love

Sympathy

Cute


CONSIDERATION

Make you more or less likely to consider the brand?

The most important measure for retailers is consideration, the most direct metric for determining whether

their adverts will impact sales. Among the top scoring adverts, 5 of 6 focused almost exclusively on using

creativity, emotion and narrative to drive ROI—a great finding for creative teams and ad agencies.

Sainsbury’s (67)

M&S (67) John Lewis (72)

Boots (70)

Coca-Cola (70)

Lidl (70)

Benchmark (61)

CONSIDER

BRAND

Not at all Somewhat Quite Very much so


VIRALITY

How likely do you think that this advert would go viral?

The words “Can you make us something that will go viral?” is easily a creative team’s worst nightmare.

Our test predicted that 3/6 winning ads would benefit from social buzz, and the proof is in the pudding.

39%

19%

Sainsbury’s

30%

Coca-Cola

41%

John Lewis

23% 21%

Boots Lidl Benchmark

CLAIMED

VIRALITY

20%

M&S


VIRALITY DRIVEN BY UNIQUE

*Data via YouTube views

Uniqueness is the greatest driver of virality. While holiday cheer and being festive are important, only

adverts that were different from the rest of the pack earned social buzz and demonstrated potential to

inspire sharing among consumers.

Virality Views*Puts me in the

Christmas spiritFor people like me Festive Unique

John Lewis 41 19.7 50 23 42 34

Sainsbury’s 39 14.4 36 16 25 36

Coca Cola 30 .145 64 30 52 18

Boots 23 .532 53 29 45 26

Lidl 21 .678 44 29 46 13

M&S 20 3.1 49 18 50 26

Correlation - .881 -0.202 -0.362 -0.632 .711


ALL ADVERTS


JOHN LEWIS Advert: “Monty The Penguin”

LOVE

ADVERT

Tell us how much you liked the avert overall. | Make you more or less likely to consider the brand? | How do you feel about the advert? What is the key word that comes to mind?

RESPONSE

HappyLove

Cute Good

SadWarm

Thoughtful Amazing

Bored Cool

Heartwarming

Sweet

Festive

Lovely

Adorable

Awwww

Funny

Neutral

Random

Pointless

Loving

Playful

Excited

Peaceful

ExcellentEmotional

Fc

Calm

Ok

Content

CONSIDER

BRAND

67.8%

BENCHMARK 61% (+11)


BENCH-

MARK

21% (+47)

72


BOOTS Advert: “Because She’s Special”

LOVE

ADVERT

CONSIDER

BRAND

59.1%

BENCHMARK 61% (+9)


BENCH-

MARK

21% (+38)

70

RESPONSE

HappyGood

OkEmotional

Bored

Warm

ThoughtfulLovely

LoveBoring

Sad

Cool

Loving

Christmas

SweetFamily

Content

ThankfulUplifting

Snowy

NicePleasant

Dftyrdtty

Sickly

Itslovely

Special

Warmth

Xmasy

Chilled

Emotion



SAINSBURY'S Advert: “Christmas Truce”

LOVE

ADVERT

Confused SadHappy

EmotionalThoughtful

MovedBored

Nostalgic

Uncomfortable

Love

Proud

Cool

Interested

Caring

None

Wonderful

Christmasy

Indifferent

Nice

SuperbWeird Empathy

Sorrowful

UnityTateless

Loving

Past

It'saboutwarStrange

Powerful

CONSIDER

BRAND BENCHMARK 61% (+6)


67

RESPONSE

BENCH-

MARK

21% (+47)

58.8%



CONSIDER



BENCH-

MARK

21% (+31)

COCA-COLA Advert: “Happy Holidays”

LOVE

ADVERT

70

58.5%

HappyChristmas

CoolGreat

Festive

Warm

Good

Emotional

Christmasy

Lovely

Love

BoredItsamazing

MellowSesonal

Cheerful

Smart

SoftlyComfort

KindnessMagical

Beautiful

Uplifiting

Cute

Sick

Sweet

Inspirational

Dull

Like

RESPONSE



MARKS & SPENCERAdvert: “Follow The Fairies”

LOVE

ADVERT

CONSIDER



BENCH-

MARK

21% (+30)

50.8%

67

HappyFestive

Good Fun

Bored

Christmassy

Boring

Dull

Joy

Magical

Indifferent

Ok

Excited

Cool

Love

ChristmasNice

None

WarmOriginal

AmusedExciting

Interesting

Amusing

Fond

Wonderful

Enjoyable

Delightful

Why

RESPONSE



LIDL Advert: “The Little Present”

LOVE

ADVERT

HappyBored

Good

Festive

SurprisedExcited

Hungry

Boring

No

WarmNice

Great

CoolGoof

Cheerful

Calming

ChristmassyDullFriendly Impresse

Annoying

Thoughtprovoking

Exciting

Cosy

Neutral.

MediocoreInteresting

Jlhdfgdfg

Suprise

CONSIDER



BENCH-

MARK

21%

49.5%

70

RESPONSE



HARRODS Advert: “A Little Christmas Tail”

LOVE

ADVERT

CONSIDER



BENCH-

MARK

21% (+26)

47.3%

63

HappyCute

BoredGood

Boring

WarmExcited

Relaxed

Sad

Great

LongCoolInspired

NostalgicSilly

Love

MagicalNice

Cheery

Heartwarming

Merry

Seasonal

Meh

Young

Peaceful

Alright

Decent

CompassionRESPONSE



MORRISONSAdvert: “A Lot Like Christmas”

LOVE

ADVERT

CONSIDER



BENCH-

MARK

21% (+23)

HappyFestive

Excited Nice

Christmassy

Excitement

Warm NeutralPeaceful

Good

Bored

Jolly

CalmBoring

GreatJoyful Toolong

None

Relaxed

Fine

Xmassy

Fun

Cliché

CharmingExisted

Cute

Feel Good

67

43.8%

RESPONSE



CONSIDER

BRAND

37.1%

BENCHMARK 61% (+5)


BENCH-

MARK

21% (+16)

ALDI Advert: “Everyone’s coming to us this Christmas”

LOVE

ADVERT

HappyGood

FestiveWarm

Indifferent

Relaxed Bored

Interested

Like

Interesting

BoringExcited Joy

Cool

Christmas

FamilyNostalgic

Great

Neutral

Christmassy Cheerful

Christmasy

Excitedforxmas

HateNice

Anticipating.

Happiness

ExcitingWarmth

66

RESPONSE



WAITROSEAdvert: “The Gingerbread Stall”

LOVE

ADVERT

CONSIDER



BENCH-

MARK

21% (+15)

62

36.0%

HappyBored

Festive None

Dull

Warm

Cute SlowGood

IndifferentEmpathy

Nice

Peaceful

Inspired

Great

Uneasy

Relatable

Smart

Caring

Cookies

Calming

Relaxed

Long

ApatheticHumanity

Bliss

Endearing

RESPONSE



TESCO Advert: “Lights On”

LOVE

ADVERT

CONSIDER



66

BENCH-

MARK

21% (+13)

33.6%

HappyExcited

FestiveGoodChristmassy

Boring BoredNeutral

Peaceful

Sad

Christmasy

Indifferent

Christmas

Nice

SeasonalAwesome

Uninterested

Warm

Notsure

Touching Delighted

Poor

Content

Happiness

Caring

Cheerful

Very niceCute

Graphics

RESPONSE



CHEERS

Advertising often gets a bad rap, and very often deservedly so. However, with more than a few

Christmas ads this year trading in the decadent “buy, buy, buy” approach of Christmas past for a

more humble, contemporary message, it’s worth asking “why?”

We’d like to think that great advertising is a reflection of culture today. After all, a brand’s

success depends on its ability to connect with how people think and feel right now. Their

advertising is an expression of what they’ve learned from market research.

As an indicator of the cultural zeitgeist (or at least one version of it) this Christmas we learned

that more than ever people are craving meaningful connections grounded in reality. Feelings

about family and good will towards men can connect with us, and the data indicates that we’re

eager to respond.

It’s only a theory, but it’s certainly a nice one.


WHO General Population; N=100+ (per advert)

WHERE United Kingdom, Representative Sample

WHEN November 2014

WHAT11 adverts tested via online survey;

Sample provided with compliments from SSI

SAMPLE SPECS

Report Drafted by Jason Potteiger & Team ZapptStore London

Cover Image from theidearoom.net creative commons

CHRISTOPHE OVAERE

Global Sales & Marketing Director

[email protected]@Zappistore.com

STEPHEN PHILLIPS

CEO

JASON POTTEIGER

Manager, Client Excellence

[email protected]

THE AUTHORS


FUNNY NAME, WHAT DO YOU DO?

We’re an online marketplace helping researcher agencies & brands streamline the research process,

using cutting-edge automation technology to deliver best-in-class insights quickly.

ZappiStore cuts costs and shrinks timelines by

automating research projects that are repeated

frequently and use the same basic design.

ZappiStore’s agile research philosophy advocates

a test-and-learn approach, creating more touch

points for consumer feedback to inform decisions.

HOW: Automation WHY: Agility

YOUR BRAND


CONCEPT

TESTINGCOMMUNICATION

TESTING

PRODUCT

DEVELOPMENTPACKAGE

TESTINGBRAND

TRACKING

Leverage best-in-class research products

across Kantar’s portfolio of companies.

Build custom solutions to address specific,

recurring business questions.

2 Ways To Use ZappiStore

1 2

OUR RESEARCH MARKETPLACE.

With a suite of name-brand research products, and the ability to build you custom solutions, ZappiStore

provides a (growing) set of tools designed for agile research.


THE BENEFIT FOR YOU

24/7 access to analytics via interactive

dashboard-style reports Making

understanding the data easy—and

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Launch research studies in a few clicks,

get results delivered in as little as 6 hours

Providing answers fast enough to

keep up with business (and at low cost

that doesn’t hurt).

On-demand answers link learning with

moving faster Informing decision

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EFFICIENT ITERATIVE ACCESSIBLE

Advanced tech speeds-up turn around and drives down cost, allowing brands to adopt an agile approach

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