| Title | CHRISTMAS IN A DAY |
| Brand | SAINSBURY'S |
| Product/Service | SAINSBURY'S SUPERMARKET |
| Category |
A04. USE OR INTEGRATION OF USER-GENERATED CONTENT |
|
Entrant Company
|
AMV BBDO London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Contributing Company
|
AMV BBDO London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Media Agency
|
PHD London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
Credits
| Paul Brazier |
AMVBBDO |
Chief Creative Officer |
| Paul Brazier |
AMVBBDO |
Executive Creative Director |
| Tony Strong |
AMVBBDO |
Creative Director |
| Michael Durban |
AMVBBDO |
Creatie Director |
| Phil Martin |
AMVBBDO |
Creative Team |
| Colin Jones |
AMVBBDO |
Creative Team |
| Mike Hannett |
AMVBBDO |
Creative Team |
| Suzy Macgregor |
AMVBBDO |
Agency Producer |
| Tony Strong |
AMVBBDO |
Creative Team |
| Michael Durban |
AMVBBDO |
Creative Team |
| Kevin Macdonald |
RSA Films |
Director |
| Debbie Garvey |
RSA Films |
Producer |
| Jack Arbuthnott |
RSA Films |
Producer |
| Molinare |
Molinare |
Post Production |
| Jon Harris |
Jon Harris |
Editing Company |
| Sound 24 |
Sound 24 |
Sound Studio |
| Kai Hisling |
RSA Films |
Executive Producer |
| Lisa Marshall |
RSA Films |
Executive Producer |
The Campaign
In the UK, regulatory bodies insist that there is a clear distinction between advertising and content such as television programmes or movies. This makes effective, integrated branded content extremely difficult – but also ensures that successful branded content is innovative and has massive cut-through. The problem becomes the opportunity.
Results
For British supermarkets, Christmas is the most competitive time of the year. Sainsbury’s is outspent by rivals such as Tesco and M&S, and out-discounted by others such as Aldi and Asda (Walmart). Sainsbury’s needed to take an innovative approach and create a deeper emotional bond with its customers, showing that it was an integral part of their Christmas. The brief to the agency was to think like a publisher, not an advertiser.
We approached Kevin Macdonald, Oscar-winning director of crowd-sourced films ‘Life in a Day’ and ‘Britain in a Day’, to make a user-generated film about Christmas. It was agreed that although the film would be branded Sainsbury’s, Kevin would have complete creative control over the edit. His initial public appeal generated over 300 hours of footage, requiring over three months of editing, telling the story of Christmas from the point of view of ordinary families across the country. From this footage he created a fifty-minute online film. This was supported by trailers, online advertising, PR and print.
The public participated in the Sainsbury’s ‘Christmas in a Day’ project in three ways. First came an appeal from director Kevin Macdonald in November 2012 for the public to film their Christmas and submit the footage for a crowd-sourced documentary. This led to almost 20,000 clips being sent in. A year later the film campaign launched with a 3.5 minute film trailer seen by over 5 million people. Lastly came the launch of the full-length 50-minute film on Youtube, where over 1.19 million people chose to watch it in the run-up to Christmas.
The campaign launched with a 3.5 minute trailer on November 13, 2013. It was trending on Twitter within minutes and generated over 250 headlines, with a PR reach of over 131 million. Over 1.19 million people viewed the fifty-minute film on YouTube, meaning that it was seen by more people over Christmas than the Hollywood movie Gravity. It was reviewed in the cinema sections of newspapers alongside conventional releases. Social reach exceeded 11 million.
Sales rose by 5.2% year-on-year, and the run-up to Christmas was the most successful trading period in Sainsbury’s history, leading to their highest-ever market share.