How the Co-op used Traditional Media in a Non-Traditional Way at Christmas

Client: The Co-operative Group

For many businesses, Christmas is the time they do the most business and achieve the largest share of their annual sales. As a convenience retailer, Co-op’s market share actually dips below its annual average over the festive period (Summer is the Co-op’s Christmas, revenue-wise), while the big supermarkets dominate.

With media budgets under increased pressure, driven by rising operational costs and availability challenges, it was clear that we could not simply spend our way to growth over the Christmas season. And we certainly couldn’t compete with the broader grocery market in a traditional media context. Similarly, the national mood meant that a glossy, traditional ad campaign was unlikely to drive positive consumer sentiment, as communities faced increased hardship over the period. Co-op felt a responsibility to serve their customers and the broader community and to demonstrate the tangible difference they could make to local communities through an authentic, non-traditional campaign built on action rather than words. By doing so, we generated 70% of our reach via earned media and sharply grew our media ROI vs pre-pandemic levels.