Cannes Lion-Winning Data-Driven Campaign Ties Discounts To Butt-Ugly Winter Temperatures

June 26, 2016 by Dave Haynes

There’s no end of talk out there about digital OOH being part of integrated marketing campaigns that span mediums and use data, but not nearly as many real-world examples of it being done … but here’s one.

Canadian workplace apparel retailer Mark’s won a Bronze Lion under the Creative Data category at the Cannes Lions awards in France last week for a campaign built around taking advantage of how butt-ugly cold it can get up here in the middle of winter.

The Colder it Gets campaign was selected as third best on the planet from a pool of more than 700 submissions.

The fully integrated campaign partnered directly with The Weather Network (the Canadian version of the Weather Channel in the US) to provide real-time data showcasing the temperature in major cities. The daily low was converted into the discount for the day, which provided customers a store-wide sale based on the weather temperature outside. For example, a minus 18 degree day, meant customers would receive 18 per cent off everything in-store.

This would work out particularly well in places like Winnipeg, where -30 is not uncommon (and why I don’t live there).

https://youtu.be/WL5mcaAy2t0

The campaign was promoted through digital out of home signage like transit shelters and digital billboards, in-store digital signage, and social and digital channels.

The campaign drove a big boost in digital traffic, but most compellingly, boosted sales by 49%.

“Innovative and forward thinking is what we strive for every day at Mark’s. The retail and marketing world is always evolving and we know we need to constantly change the way we think, so we can continue to move forward and make an impact,” says David Lui, Vice-President of Marketing, Mark’s. “As a key partner, Touché, our media agency of record, understands our brand and they delivered a level of creative thinking that brought The Colder it Gets campaign to life.”

It was the first time a Canadian agency and its client have won a Lion in the Creative Data category.