Furniture is more than something we sit on. Our furniture says something about who we are. DFS, a UK-based furniture retailer specializing in high-quality sofas, knows the right furniture can turn a house into a home. But a one-size-fits all advertising strategy doesn’t reflect the highly personal process of outfitting a living room.
The challenge: a deeper connection with price-sensitive customers in a competitive market
DFS faced a number of challenges as it prepared to launch a winter sale in late 2021. With the rising cost of living, DFS felt compelled to adopt a more cost-conscious approach. Nonetheless, as a brand renowned for its consistent sales amidst a market with aggressive competition, DFS aimed to distinguish itself by building deeper connections with its customers, expanding on what could have been a predictable season of routine winter sales.
The home is an intimate space, and when it comes to selecting furniture, different people naturally want different things: A potential customer embarking on a large-scale home renovation will likely be considering different pieces than first-time parents or new homeowners. The question was how to best reach the right audience with the right message at the right time whilst showcasing the wide range of styles of sofas DFS had.
Our approach: personalized content cuts through the noise
By leveraging the Choreograph Create advanced technology, DFS was able to elevate their video strategy and achieve personalisation en-mass in an automated way. This approach enabled them to connect with their key audiences at the moments that matter with tailored messages, thus cutting through the noise in a crowded market.
To do this, DFS identified audiences in different phases of life looking to purchase new living room furniture — people who were moving, for instance, or those who were making home improvements — and tailored messages specifically to them. Previous insights had shown that taste transcended lifestyle, making it crucial for advertisements to speak to audiences in the correct way while also showcasing a range of design options.
Advertisements were tailored to the predetermined groups through an addressable campaign, each target audience receiving its own custom messaging in a specific tone. The team leveraged the relevant audience and product data to turn a single hero asset into 36 video variants, which could be exported and uploaded directly to YouTube, effectively increasing advertisements’ relevance through personalization.
Data-driven results: customers meet furniture they'll love
Create enabled DFS to tailor messages to addressable audiences, automating creative production and YouTube deployment. Once video templates had been finalized, Create generated 36 customized videos in fewer than 48 hours.
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When presented with advertisements tied to major life events, which showed them the kinds of furniture that spoke specifically to their needs, consumers were much more likely to engage and spend time on DFS’s web store.
The clickthrough rate for targeted ads jumped 50 percent, while the increased volume of clicks equated to £20.2k added media value (26 percent of the total media budget). In a busy market, under challenging economic headwinds, the value of connecting directly with consumers using cost-effective personalized video was clear.
