Shopping online should be a ball, say catchy new ads

With aggressive business growth ambitions ahead, top marketer at Wesfarmers-owned Catch is betting big on a new ad campaign and brand positioning shake-up to help it get there.

“Distinctively Aussie” - the new Catch.com.au advertising campaign has scenes shot in an iconic Aussie national park surrounded by gum trees and at a classic Aussie surf beach.

Catch has launched a “distinctively Aussie” ad campaign and brand platform aimed at giving consumers permission to shop unapologetically.

The work is the first from Catch’s ad agency Sunday Gravy and sees the Wesfarmers-owned online retailer reveal its new “because” positioning which hones in on the emotional side of the shopping experience.

Despite having a performance media driven and direct response marketing strategy and admitting the brand had not been as refined in its above-the-line tactics in the past, top marketer Peita Golden, is positive the new vision and long-term strategy will help Catch fulfil its big ambitions.

“We feel really confident in this creative so we've put quite a significant investment in screens; TV, BVOD, digital — and it’s all very much adapted for channels with quite specific versions to audiences and platforms,” the Melbourne-based marketer said.

“TV is not a usual part of Catch — we dip in and out here and there — and to be honest, we’ve not been that sophisticated with above the line. Probably because we haven’t really had the right creative to take to market and put behind that.”

With low unprompted recall — given not everyone knows catch.com.au or people think it’s still Catch of the Day — the brand needed to create a campaign Aussies loved, remembered, but more importantly, attributed to Catch.

Whether it’s because it was on sale; because it’s Australian; because it’s better to buy in bulk — or just because, the three new TV ads stress that shopping online should be enjoyable and unpredictable.

Directed by The Glue Society’s Jonathan Kneebone and produced by Revolver, the new campaign hits TV, out of home, social, online video and display this week — with Ms Golden adding she hoped it not only paid off but experienced longevity as well.

“Ecommerce is a really emotionally charged category. There's a lot of emotions that go into people’s decision making and it’s not just rational so that’s incredibly rich territory to play with when you’re putting together creative,” the former Jetstar, Hertz, ahm and Powershop marketer explained.

“This allowed us to leverage those emotions in the ad campaign, but also balance that distinctiveness out with the relevance of some rational messages as well.”

Past marketing tactics had been category led, often capitalising on the usual big and obvious Christmas and Black Friday-style shopping moments, whereas the new strategy zones in on actual customer moments. “As a customer, think how many times you go online and shop — daily, if not multiple times a day — you need to be there in those moments and you can't just wait for those several moments that happen a year to try and capture share,” Ms Golden said.

“It’s about being always present.”

Describing the campaign collateral and new brand positioning as an entirely “strategically led creative”, Ms Golden said it wasn’t just about bouncing around great ideas or trying to retrofit the best one, it went much deeper. Instead, the campaign is steeped in research and insights around emotions, identity, distinctiveness, relevance; all areas where it needs to measure that impact in its quest to grow in a competitive online market.

Peita Golden, marketing director at Catch, among 1000 soccer balls on the set for the new Catch.com.au advertising campaign

“We are nowhere near the top of the market share or share or voice so we really have to lean on creative to help us get that attention, stand out and be a bit more memorable and recognisable,” she said.

“We probably wouldn't even do a campaign or go to market if it wasn’t creatively led and creatively distinctive as it just wouldn’t be worth our while and we wouldn’t get the marketing return on investment.”

Sunday Gravy’s client services director, Khia Croy, describes the new campaign as “distinctively Aussie”, shot in an iconic Australian national park, surrounded by gum trees, or on a classic surf beach — all with casting that is representative of the community. It even used a real choir, River City Voices from NSW.

Peita Golden and the River City Voices choir on the set for the new Catch.com.au advertising campaign

From the excitement of choosing, to the anticipation of arrival, to the thrills of the possibilities a new purchase can allow, Ms Croy said the campaign set out to bring those emotions into every film in a way that feels universally inviting yet completely unique.

“The last few years have taught us the irreplaceable convenience of online shopping, but left us with a lingering feeling of guilt — now we need to remind people that it can be fun to buy the things we want,” Ms Croy said.

“We needed to give people permission to shop unapologetically”.

Supported by a large out-of-home buy, Ms Croy said this allowed the humour in the concept to shine by owning Aussie moments through clever copywriting and insightful quips — from selling a tape measure placed above Melbourne’s Montague St Bridge (renowned for trucks crumpling under the low clearance) to selling Kathmandu puffer jackets in the bayside suburb of Brighton.

Out of home ads from the new Catch.com.au advertising campaign

In June 2019 Wesfarmers Limited acquired Australian online retailer Catch Group for $230 million. Ms Golden said the new corporate backing assisted marketing support and sophistication and in many ways, despite being founded in 2006, there’s now a real start-up vibe and culture at the business.

The Australian founded business houses brands such KitchenAid, Apple, Bonds, Lego, and Target, sells groceries and liquor and features smaller ‘mom and pop’ style businesses.

It also sponsors The Block on Channel Nine.

Ms Golden said Catch’s range and the fact that it’s homegrown gem, was not widely known.

“It's still really early days for Catch in terms of growth, but we have really big growth aspirations — with ambitions to grow revenue by at least seven times where we are now in the next few years.”

“Off the back of the massive ecommerce boom we’ve had during Covid the timing is now. There's a lot of opportunity to gain share in the market and Catch really has an opportunity to gain that through our offering.”

Out of home ads from the new advertising campaign