Whirlpool Appliances: "DIGITAL TO RETAIL" Direct marketing by Leo Burnett Usa

Category: Direct Response Digital: E-commerce, Online Advertising, Brand Awareness & Social Media
Advertiser: WHIRLPOOL
Product/Service: HOME APPLIANCES
Agency: LEO BURNETT USA
Agency: ARC WORLDWIDE
Date of First Appearance: Apr 13 2009 12:00AM
Entrant Company: LEO BURNETT USA, Chicago, USA
Entry URL: http://whirlpoolatlowes.com/
Chief Creative Officer: William Rosen (Arc Worldwide)
Executive Vice President / Executive Creative Director: Kevin Flatt (Leo Burnett)
Creative Director: Dan Fisher (Arc Worldwide)
Creative Director: Scott Brown (Arc Worldwide)
Creative Director: Karla Jackson (Arc Worldwide)
Vice President / Account Director: Rich Pieczynski (Arc Worldwide)
Account Director: Michael Hicks (Arc Worldwide)
Account Supervisor: Jennifer Roover (Arc Worldwide)
Project Director: Ingrid Weiterschan (Arc Worldwide)
Senior Account Executive: Jamee Pearlstein (Arc Worldwide)
Executive Vice President / Digital Practice: Mark Renshaw (Arc Worldwide)
Experience Planning Director: Fran Dimond (Arc Worldwide)
Senior Content Strategist: Celeste Crocker-Payne (Arc Worldwide)
Creative Technology Manager: Damien van Horn (Arc Worldwide)
Senior Art Director: Daniel Holmes (Arc Worldwide)
Software Engineering Manager: Dan Edwards
Media placement: Lowe's Display Advertising - Specific Media, About.com/CNET/Viewpoints/Platform A Network Buys - 13/4/2009
Media placement: Lowe's Paid Search - Google Search/Google Content/Yahoo Search/Yahoo Content/Bing Search - 13/4/2009
Media placement: Lowe's Site Launch - Online - 13/4/2009
Media placement: Home Depot Site Launch - Online - 12/1/2009
Media placement: Home Depot Display Advertising Campaign During Tide Promotion - Specific Media, Yahoo! Network Buys - 12/1/2009
Media placement: Home Depot Display Advertising Campaign During May Is Maytag Month Promotion - Specific Media, Brand.net Network Buys - 24/4/2009
Media placement: Home Depot Paid Search - Google Search, Google Content, Yahoo Search, Yahoo Content - 16/3/2009

Describe the brief/objective of the direct campaign.

As the recession hit, people stopped buying new appliances. It became a matter of survival to find and connect with “duress” shoppers, and help them find the right product, price and store. Since 82% of duress shoppers begin searching for a new appliance online, we developed a unique digital strategy for our top retail partners. Main Objectives: 1) Identify appliance shoppers in duress through behavioural targeting and search. 2) Provide the right product solutions while driving strong Maytag/Whirlpool preference. 3) Send those shoppers to Home Depot or Lowe’s. 4) Build a stronger relationship with our top retail partners.

Explain why the creative execution was relevant to the product or service.
The average appliance shopper is only in the market for 72 hours. We needed to find them at the right place and time to help them purchase the right appliance at the right store. Whirlpool/Maytag accomplished this by developing an integrated digital strategy with their top retail partners. Through targeted paid and natural search campaigns, we were able to deliver online ads to consumers for exactly what they needed. We provided a co-branded experience that offered compelling brand and product information while also delivering current special offers and availability, making it easy for consumers to quickly get what they needed.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective with reference to the projected response rates and desired outcome.
People shopping online for appliances through paid and natural search were met with online advertising that featured specific appliances from our brands and retailers. Our ads were delivered to people: *Who indicated they were shopping for a new appliance. *Who had visited Whirlpool.com, Maytag.com, TheHomeDepot.com and Lowe’s.com We sent shoppers to a co-branded site that: Provided compelling brand and product information, delivered rich promotional offers and made it easy to buy. We gave people information on the appliances they were shopping for. The site “knew” which appliance visitors were shopping for and prioritized the search information.

Describe the results in as much detail as possible with particular reference to the RESPONSE of the target audience including deliverability statistics, response rates, click throughs, sales cost per response, relationships built and overall return on investment.
40,000 product demos were viewed on Lowe’s and Home Depot co-branded sites; Maytag reversed a declining trend of sales and profit. Share increased by 2% since the second quarter 2009; Co-branded search/display campaigns for both brands increased retail purchase conversion by 200%; 830,000 co-branded site visits – 496,000 (60%) took the purchase path. Lowe's sold more Whirlpool products than any month in history, June 2009. Home Depot grew their online appliance sales from 4% in 2008 to 11% in 2009. Maytag/Home Depot co-branded banner ads saw a 70% user interaction rate clicking through to banner specific content.