Argos Top Toys for Christmas

In A Nutshell…

“Christmas gets earlier every year…” While that’s a much-heard phrase in certain demographics, could it also be the secret to helping Argos own the ‘Christmas Top Toys’ concept, and maintaining their position as the UK’s number one toy retailer?

Approach

Teaming up with broadcast specialists markettiers, our research showed that parents usually intend to buy Christmas presents ahead of time, and prefer to have one “gasp-out-loud” gift. Other insights helped generate the idea of theming the toys as ‘heroes’ to serve as a media hook. This would enable us to use a toy expert for interviews supporting the top ten, offering views on shopping trends and products that made the list. Meanwhile, regional breakdowns – shared with all media – could kick-start further engagement.

Execution

To make the toys ‘heroes’, and link the theme to our research, we put the focus on celebrating the products with clean, simple visuals. The underpinning consumer research sparked conversation beyond the list itself, ensuring a significant ‘moment’ across all media.

Results

Despite the campaign launch date necessarily moving due to a serious news agenda, the Argos Top Toys for Christmas launch scooped all other toy retailers for the third year running, achieving 440 items of coverage. All campaign KPIs were exceeded across print, online and broadcast, and the campaign’s reach was in excess of 326 million.