Entry Number:

96

Agency:

AJF Partnership

Long Term Effects Entry Form 2018 Advertiser:

Entry Form Instructions & Reminders
Officeworks

Eligibility
Entries into this category must demonstrate sustained results over time. There is no
restriction on the start date of the campaign other than, at a minimum; results Entry Title:
must date back to March 2015. The entry must also include results in the most
recent period, between April 2017 and March 2018.
How Officeworks made bigger
The creative expression is not restricted to one idea but the campaign must things happen
have a primary objective and a consistent or evolving strategy. There may be
supplementary objectives over the course of the campaign. All Long term Effects
entries will be judged in Round 2. Category:

long term effects

Formatting Requirements
Page Limits: You have up to twelve A4 pages to tell your story. You may use as
little space as you wish for each question, so long as your total written case does
not exceed twelve A4 pages. This does not include the instructions front page,
media addendum or the authorisation back page. Author:

Charts, Graphs and Images: to display data and creative are strongly
Pieter-Paul von Weiler
encouraged throughout or at the end of the form. Graphs and charts are
additional to the twelve A4 pages. Creative images must not exceed three A4
pages, which can also be additional to the written case.

Directions Appearing with each Question: must NOT to be deleted from the Phone:
completed case; they serve as a guide for both entrants and judges. Complete 042 321 63 63
entry form in - Type face: black font; 10pt minimum. All data must include a
specific, verifiable source. Data without a source may result in entry
disqualification. Answer every question or indicate “not applicable”. Any
unanswered question will result in entry disqualification.
Email:

pvonweiler@ajfpartnership.com.
au

       
       
 
 
 
Executive Summary
An Executive Summary of no more than 100 words is required.

This is the story of a remarkable marketing-driven business transformation. In 2012, Officeworks was a functional brand whose
one-dimensional, rational price-based communications struggled to connect with customers, leading to plateauing sales and
brand health measures. A new customer-centric strategy completely reframed Officeworks both to the market and within the
organisation.

In the ensuing five and a half years, through constant refinement and improvement, the strategy has delivered increasingly strong
results by making people feel better about Officeworks. The result: $1.68b in incremental sales and $410m in gross profit, but
most importantly a strong foundation for future growth.

Questions 2 to 4: Challenge, Objectives & Strategy (24 Points)  

Entries need to build a compelling business case with their answers to these three questions. Objectives
should be quantified. Entries will be marked down for not providing measurable goals unless reasons
are well argued. Judges will consider the degree of difficulty and budget when allocating marks.
Higher marks are deserved by cases with a greater degree of difficulty.

 
1. Total Campaign Expenditure:

What was your total expenditure including development, media, production, agency fees and any other costs including production and value
of donated media and non-traditional paid media? Tick below the range of total expenditure for the assessed period and average p.a.

$80 – million and over X

2. What was the strategic communications challenge?

What was going on in your category? Provide information on the category, marketplace, company, competitive environment, target audience
and/or the product /service that created your challenge and your response to it.

The pen isn’t mightier than the market.

Officeworks is a big box retailer selling pens, paper and more. Since opening its doors in 1994 the business has grown to a
network of 165 stores, employing over 7,500 team members and generating $1.9 billion in sales in 2017.1 It is a well-known
Australian brand with over 70% top-of-mind awareness2 serving a broad range of personal and business customers. Officeworks
as a business is driven by three pillars:
-­‐ having low prices  
-­‐ stocking the widest range of products  
-­‐ ensuring great service  

From the outset, Officeworks positioned itself as the onestop shop for all things for the office. Early campaigns featured office
workers in quirky scenarios, used humour to drive connection, and ended with the well-known tagline 'taking care of business'.
This approach saw the business through a period of steady growth, yet by 2008 market dynamics had begun to shift alarmingly.
Traditional office products were in decline as the way Australians worked was evolving, and as a result growth in the office
products market slowed and started declining from 2008. Yet at the same time, competition was intensifying.

Market leader or just one of the pack?

Officeworks is the market leader, but in 2012 only had 16% market share, illustrating just how competitive this market is.3
There are four key segments in the
office supplies market: stationery,
furniture, print & copy and
technology. Officeworks faces a
different set of competitors in each
segment.

       
       
 
 
 
As trading conditions became more challenging, Officeworks adopted a new price-led positioning in 2008. It became an Every
Day Low Price (EDLP) retailer. This pricing strategy promised shoppers fixed low prices and took away the need to wait for
sales promotions. The change was driven by new corporate parents Wesfarmers, whose research indicated that ‘lowest prices’
was people’s most important driver when it comes to shopping for office products.4

Price perception became the main focus in marketing. As a result, the iconic 'taking care of business' line was dropped, as were
the ‘office workers in quirky scenarios’ ads. All advertising became product and price led. Officeworks adopted a short-term
view on sales and marketing effectiveness, like many brands in Australia. Below is an example of the rational, price focused
creative approach that was applied across the board.

Little wins lead to bigger losses.

The change in marketing strategy created some short-term wins. However, from 2010 brand health metrics started to decline.5
Even the association of Officeworks having the lowest prices – the key message – started going down from 2011.6 It was clear
that change was needed. Officeworks put the advertising communications business out to pitch. It knew that it had to establish a
more meaningful connection between people and the brand. The following quote from the pitch brief best describes the
problem:

“Officeworks lacks loyalty and emotional connectivity with its customers. At best, it is seen as a ‘functional’ brand: there when someone
needs it, but with little or no emotional engagement. It is this emotional connection, however, that builds customer loyalty and the lack of it
makes Officeworks vulnerable.”

The pitch brief also provided clear direction illustrated by the following quote: “help customers better connect with
Officeworks by shifting the brand essence from functional to helpful”.7

The communication challenge became: redefine Officeworks as a more helpful and meaningful brand.

3. What were your objectives? State specific goals.

Your entry is expected to include compelling data including behavioural objectives and results. Only in rare instances are the judges likely to
award an entry that only demonstrates attitudinal changes. Provide a % or # for all goals. You must provide benchmark and context for your
goals versus year prior and explain why they were significant and challenging in the context of your category. If the campaign did not have
specific objectives, state this in the entry form and explain why.

GROW
SALES
The fundamental role of marketing at Officeworks is to bring people
through its doors (both ecommerce and bricks and mortar) every day
to keep the tills ringing. IMPROVE ATTRACT
KEY MORE
Below are the long term KPIs that were defined back in 2012. ASSOCIATIONS SHOPPERS

INCREASE
INTENTION
TO SHOP

metric / target July’13 July’14 and beyond

GROW SALES sales growth YoY XXX XXX
ATTRACT MORE SHOPPERS transactions growth YoY XXX XXX
main store preference XXX XXX
INCREASE INTENTION TO SHOP
fully trust XXX XXX
lowest prices XXX XXX
widest range XXX XXX
IMPROVE KEY ASSOCIATIONS best service XXX XXX
best value XXX XXX
best liked advertising XXX XXX

       
       
 
 
 
4. What was your strategy – and how did you get there?

What was your strategy? Was it driven by a consumer insight or channel insight or marketplace / brand opportunity? Explain how it originated
and how the strategy addressed the challenge.

Identifying a human need.

Focus groups uncovered the fact that Australians increasingly look for purpose and fulfilment in the work they do. Previous
generations worked for material prosperity, but today people choose work that provides a greater sense of purpose and reflects
their personal values and passions. Every single respondent spoke about the dreams they had and wanting to achieve more in
life.8 But they also spoke about how they often lacked support to make these dreams happen.9 This presented a great
opportunity: Officeworks could become people’s helpful partner by supporting their ambitions.

Reframing the offering.

Office products might lack excitement, but they do play a crucial role in people’s lives. Think about it. Without a pen, a small
business can’t sign a contract and become a bigger business. Without a cartridge, a student can’t print their essay and graduate.
Without a journal, a person can’t write down their thoughts and dreams. Every product that Officeworks sells helps people
achieve something bigger in some way. This thinking made office supplies a lot more exciting and led to the key insight and
strategy:

insight: every product that Officeworks sells helps people achieve something bigger

strategy: reposition Officeworks as the brand that helps people realise their ambitions.

New target & need states.

Driven by this strategy, a new overarching target audience was defined: Success Seekers. These are people who seek greater
success by achieving their ideas, goals and projects, no matter how big or small they are. They struggle for support to make
them happen. As Officeworks is a large brand and needs to appeal to a mass audience, Success Seekers were deliberately chosen
as a broad, long-term target group. To attract more shoppers and to engage Success Seekers better, campaigns had to be driven
more by their needs. The following three need states of our Success Seekers target were identified:
-­‐ education: from preschool to uni students/higher education/adult study/wanting to do better in school and learn more.  
-­‐ home workspace: people buying office products for everyday use at home or for their interests and hobbies.  
-­‐ micro, small & medium businesses (1–100 employees): owners and gatekeepers who want their business to be more successful.  

Living the strategy.

By solely talking about low prices, Officeworks had joined a large pack of Australian retailers that bombards people with sales,
deals and promotions that lack any true meaning to people’s lives. It was all very inwardly focused and ignored people’s needs
and interests. Officeworks’ campaigns were lost in a sea of sameness.

The new strategy completely reframed the Officeworks business. Without fundamentally changing the way the business
operated or the products it sold, the strategy challenged the entire organisation to rethink what business it was in and gave the
brand a more meaningful role in customers' lives. By living the strategy, we transformed Officeworks from being a reliable,
functional brand to one that inspired and encouraged achievement and ambition.

It is difficult to overstate the transformative power this strategy has had on the Officeworks business. Since its launch in 2012,
the strategy has been the north star for everyone from senior executives to store teams. But it would be a mistake to think that
this was a set-and-forget strategy. Over the years, it has been tweaked and refined, and as the following pages show, tactics have
constantly evolved as the Officeworks brand has strengthened and deepened its relationship with Success Seekers.

Questions 5 & 6: Implementation (16 Points)  

Entries should succinctly explain the big idea that drove the campaign.  
Entries need to explain the communications strategy that took the idea to market. We need to
understand the target audience and channels used, and why.  
Entries need to provide sufficient creative examples to enable the judges to understand the campaign.  

5. What was your big idea? What was the idea that drove your effort?

The idea should not be your execution or tagline. State in 25 WORDS OR LESS.

Officeworks supports customers by helping them realise their ideas and ambitions.
       
       
 
 
 
6. How did you bring the idea to life?

Describe and provide rationale for your communications strategy that brings the idea to life. Explain how your idea addresses your challenge.
Describe the target audience and channels selected, and why? Describe how the creative and media strategies work together?

In not more than three A4 pages show sufficient creative examples to enable the judges to understand the campaign. These pages can be
additional to the ten A4 page written entry. (Graphs and charts are also additional to these pages).

Since 2012 the strategy, insight and idea have not changed. However the way we brought them to life has evolved greatly over
time. It has been a great evolutionary journey of gradual improvement. Below is a snapshot of how communications progressed
in the last five and a half years.

The launch: what's your big idea?

To connect and become a more helpful brand Officeworks needed to focus on what their products enabled people to achieve.
Every one of our Success Seekers had a big idea. Maybe it was a best-selling novel, or a successful small business. Perhaps it
was just to do a little better in school, or to successfully balance working at home with being a full-time parent. Our
communications needed to bring to life these deeply personal ambitions, and show how Officeworks could be a partner that
supported them to help realise them, while at the same time bringing the three pillars to life: price, range and service. By
featuring (actors playing) team members, we injected a warmth and humanity that had been missing from previous comms.
NB: all blue titles below contain hyperlinks – click on them to watch the videos.

Ambitions: series of videos featuring Success Seekers coming into Officeworks and asking for help to realise their big ideas

Team Members: series of videos featuring Team Members bringing to life the price, range and service pillars to life.

 
Grow up: video featuring young Success Seekers sharing their ideas what they want to do when they grow up (with some kids struggling
pronouncing the profession)

       
       
 
 
 
Themes and the Trading Plan.

In 2013 we created a new campaign development process called the ‘Trading Plan’. This was a more customer-centric way for a
retailer to plan marketing activities. It brought together all key stakeholders involved with marketing activities: marketing, sales
and merchandise teams, and agency partners. In twice yearly workshops the most important business priorities and natural sales
spikes are identified and matched with customer insights and needs.

The outcome is an 18-month rolling trading plan that is customer needs-based and gives merchandise teams more direction on
what products to focus on to support communications plan. Since 2012 more than 67 themes (= primary campaigns) have been
developed, all centred around the core idea of supporting customers’ ambitions. The trading themes opened up many new ways
to appeal to our customer base, who previously may not have thought of Officeworks as a destination for things like Christmas
gifts, or to indulge their creative passions. Through rigorous post-campaign analysis led by consumer research, we identified
themes and activities that worked well, and those that could be reshaped or replaced in future years. It became a constant
process of refinement and improvement. The below overview shows an evolution of the themes we have developed over time.

’12-’13

‘14

‘15

’16

’17

Below are examples of two of our most important sales periods: back to school and end of financial year. We’ve added
Christmas as it as an example of a campaign where we've grown our own commercial opportunity by tapping into customers’
needs at Christmas time and defining a unique benefit based on the core strategy.

EOFY: tax campaign reframing office products as EOFY deductions Back To School: campaign reframing school
supplies as tools that help children realise their potential

From brand positioning to company purpose.

The Officeworks brand doesn't just live in communications. One of the most important
ways it comes to life is through our people. Because ultimately, they personify the brand.
So it was crucial to help all 7,500 team members better understand and deliver on what
was promised through communications. Working with senior management, the positioning
was translated into a new companywide purpose: to help make bigger things happen.
The purpose reframes Officeworks into a company of idea enablers, motivating team
members to play a role in inspiring and encouraging customers. The positioning turned
purpose now sits firmly at the heart of the Officeworks company culture and has impacted
many facets of the business, including HR and recruitment practices.

       
       
 
 
 
Refreshing the brand.
By 2017, the Trading Plan had been an outstanding success, creating myriad new reasons for customers to visit Officeworks. It
had broadened what the brand was known for and helped organise the entire business. However, we came to the realisation
that by becoming very campaign led, we ran the risk of a lack of consistency, negatively impacting brand impact and saliency by
not being distinctive and unmistakably recognisable as Officeworks in all communications.

We needed to refocus on being the strongest, most memorable brand possible, so we implemented a creative refresh of the
brand, which started rolling out in April 2017. We needed to be true to ourselves, starting with defining our list of distinctive
assets. We have not only reinforced our brand position with our tagline, but also featured the blue more prominently as it was
identified as a strong distinctive asset synonymous with Officeworks – the logo is blue, the stores are blue and the team
members wear blue. Sonic cues were also deemed key to being unmistakably Officeworks, using an identifiable voice and music
consistently. In short, we have created a flexible but robust framework that ties everything together so that we are unmistakably
recognisable which in turn has resulted in improved recall scores immediately and allowed for more effecitve media expenditure.

       
       
 
 
 
Emotional priming.
Studies by marketing effectiveness experts Les Binet and Peter Field on the IPA Effectiveness Databank – the world’s most
rigorous database on marketing effectiveness case studies – have proven that brand-building activity delivers stronger business
results, especially in the longer term. Inspired by their studies, we started to split our marketing budget into rational-led
communications and emotional-led communications. While continuing our approach to themes we started to develop dedicated
campaigns to prime our audience and grow the emotional connection they have with Officeworks. Based on long-term business
priorities we defined three platforms to drive all brand-led communications: education, creativity and business support. In each of
these platforms, we have now developed campaigns that associate Officeworks' role in supporting customers' education,
creative and small business journeys.

Small business ’17. Activity based on insight that every small business has a uniquely challenging journey, made up of many
small moments, and Officeworks products are actually a part of many of these moments.

Creativity ’18 Brand campaign focused on supporting people’s creative ambitions and pursuits and how offering help every
success seeker find and explore meaningful pursuits that can drive personal fulfilment.

       
       
 
 
 
The brand platforms are
brought to life in many
ways beyond screens.
For example, by
organising classes on
creative writing, drawing,
painting and calligraphy in
our stores. Or through the Small Business Coach: a series of events where top Australian entrepreneurs shared their journeys
to success with small business owners. Or through the WorkWise content hub, which is now a rich and inspirational source of
utility encouraging small businesses to achieve more in their professional lives. Or through our philanthropic partnerships with
groups like the Smith family who help disadvantaged students on their education journey.

A new tagline is born.

By 2017, Officeworks had been running the 'Big ideas. Lowest prices.' tagline for over four years. This had served the brand well,
yet we felt there may be a more potent way to connect our purpose to Success Seekers, further evolve the brand perception as
helpful, and build even greater engagement with customers. An aspirational line with universal appeal had been staring us in the
face all along, expressed internally as our brand purpose. Thus, the new tagline 'make bigger things happen' was officially
launched in 2018.

An integrated media approach.

Instead of just talking about product and price communications started to take people on a journey by implementing a more
integrated approach to media. The new positioning and combined approach to brand building and sales activation is brought to
life via three different types of campaigns:
- Primary campaigns: larger, integrated campaigns within mainstream media, PR and social channels to keep Officeworks top-of-
mind and drive store traffic (eg Back to School)
- Overlay campaigns: smaller campaigns focusing on a specific category or product
- Local area marketing: store-specific campaigns driven by local requirements.

Every piece of communications has to ladder up to support the overall strategy, and the combined impact means that
Officeworks has an “always on” presence in market. The vast majority of Officeworks’ media spend, about 80%, is on the
primary and brand building campaigns.

Our channel planning takes into account six inputs which deep-dive into the brand, market sector and audience: insights in
Success Seekers + media trends + communications tasks (ROI based on econometrics/market mix modelling, and brand
associations based on brand metrics) + competitive + creative strategy + marketing plan.

Media channel
Pre-2012 channel planning was based purely on channel ability to deliver reach and frequency breakdown
during the deemed key retail periods (Thursday PM, Friday, Saturday AM). Through the long- FY12-FY17 1 0 %
term insights from econometric modelling and brand metric studies we have identified Television xxx
channels that drive the highest ROI and efficiency, and channels that markedly change brand Radio xxx
perceptions and associations (specifically around key metrics). The channel selection is made Magazines xxx
up of the weighted combination of these inputs. Please find the breakdown in the table. xxx
Press
Outdoor xxx
We have a well thought out broad use of channels. Each channel plays a different role to drive Cinema xxx
results. To continuously improve media selection we use econometric modelling. The learnings Digital xxx
from the model help us to identify the channels that drive the highest ROI, and more SEM xxx
importantly the channels which drive the large volume of sales that a mass retailer like xxx
Catalogues
Officeworks requires.
TOTAL 100.0%
We have also been able to clearly prove the point of diminishing returns for broadcast channels like television. Furthermore,
much like the works of Les Binet and Peter Field we have found a strong correlation on achieving higher 1+ reach and sales
effect.11

Pre-2012 the focus was delivering 3+ reach weekly reach of 35%. This has now changed to 70% at 1+ amongst the core target of
Success Seekers. Starting with television as the base, we then look to add supplementary channels which drive incremental
reach, such as digital video and out of home.

       
       
 
 
 
 Question 7 & 8: Outcome (40 Points)
Answers to questions 7 & 8 are the most important. This is what the Effies are all about - the results.

• Entries should show how the campaign achieved or exceeded objectives and demonstrate how the campaign
made a difference. The results should relate back to the objectives; the data should support the assertions; the
timescale should be clear. Hard data (sales, share) is more important than intermediate (awareness, equity) or soft
(likes, qual), although they can help support your case. Make sure the results follow activity.

• Demonstrate the causal effect between campaign and results.

• Judges need to be convinced that the marketing investment provided a positive financial return - if that was a
requirement. Indexing of data is acceptable.

7. How do you know your campaign was successful?

Detail why you consider your effort a success. Refer to your objectives (results must relate directly to your objectives in (3) – restate them and
provide results) and demonstrate how you met or exceeded those objectives using quantitative and behavioural metrics. Demonstrate the
correlation between activity and outcomes. Did your effort drive in-market results? Did it drive awareness and consumer behaviour change?
Use charts and data whenever possible. Explain what x% means in your category. For confidential information proof of performance may be
indexed if desired.

Make sure you address every objective, whether fully achieved or not. Indicate why the results you have are significant in the context of your
category, competition and product / service.

IMPROVE KEY ASSOCIATIONS

objectives: XXX

It was key to quickly reverse the decline of the three business pillars: price, range and service. Heroing customers’ ideas and
putting team members in our comms helped reverse the long-term decline. But with the transition leading campaigns with
functional benefits and more recently investing in dedicated brand building, it has been very pleasing to see all three brand pillars
grow to an all-time high.12 This is an elegant example of what Daniel Kahneman refers to as 'priming': when people feel better
about your brand, they become more receptive to your functional messaging.13  
70% 75% 85% 85%
72%
63% widest range
lowest prices best service
60% 65% 80%

repositioning repositioning repositioning

50% 55% 75% 75%
54%

40% 45% 70%

39%
34% 39% 67%
30% 35% 65%
'09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17

Bringing the three pillars to life in 65%

65%
communications instead of just price and best liked advertising 60%
best value 56% 60%
building more customer-centric 55%
55%
56%
repositioning repositioning
communications helped strengthen 55%
Officeworks’ value-perception. We see a 45% 50%
similar pattern happening for the likability 41% 47%
of our advertising.14 35% 45%
'09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 ' 17 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17

Additional evidence

From dedicated campaign tracking which started in the end of 2013, we get more detailed evidence that the campaigns that
were put in market resonated especially with our core target group of Success Seekers. Thirty-eight major campaigns were
captured by this research between October ’13 and January ’17. The results below demonstrate that the campaigns positively
impacted the attitudes of Success Seekers.
average Oct13-Jan17
Appeal15 ‘the ads make Officeworks more appealing’. agree disagree
– amongst Success Seekers (core target) 66% 8%

       
       
 
 
 
Officeworks campaigns had a higher cut-through rate (59%) compared to the average Australian campaign (norm 42%).16 And
people exposed to campaign activity thought of Officeworks more positively than those not exposed, proving the advertising
effect.17
exposed not exposed
Officeworks is a shop for someone like me 67% 59%
Officeworks helps people achieve their ideas 62% 51%
Officeworks is always my first choice 59% 49%
Officeworks is trusted more than others 62% 51%

However, with the above results one should always be wary of the impact of ‘selective perception’: the notion that existing buyers
of a brand are more likely to notice its advertising than non-buyers. Simply showing that people who recall your campaign think
well of your brand does not prove it works. It is key to also analyse how the advertising impacts non-buyers.

The new positioning and campaigns resonated among non-buyers. It successfully changed their perception of Officeworks and
grew their purchase intent. Almost half of non-buyers agreed that “the ads made Officeworks
Emotional perappealing”
closeness:more theme and a third agreed %
18
that “the ads make me more likely to shop at Officeworks”. (amongst Success Seekers)
In January ’17 more sophisticated campaign tracking was put Emotional50
closeness: per theme 50 %
56
44 45 47 44
in place to better measure people’s subconscious emotional (amongst
42
37 Success Seekers) 42

responses and better measure the impact of the brand- 50 50

56
44 45 47 44
priming activity. Partly driven by the brand platforms, we’re 42
37
42
seeing steady improvement in how close our core target Emotional closeness – top 3 box score (10 pt scale)

group feels to our brand as illustrated by the trend line on

Jan ‘17
1. Interests 2. FPYW 3. Biz 4. EOFY 5. MYW 6. PLP 7. YWTW 8. GTC 9. BTS
Jan10.‘18
Feb‘18 ED
the right.19 support
Emotional closeness – top 3 box score (10 pt scale)

Jan ‘17
1. Interests 2. FPYW 3. Biz 4. EOFY 5. MYW 6. PLP 7. YWTW 8. GTC
18
9. BTS
Jan10.‘18
ED
4 support
17 18
15 15 16
We’re also seeing that more and more people are %

spontaneously associating Officeworks with the concept of 4

‘make bigger things happen.20 When you read the statement 'help make bigger Base : Nat Rep
things happen', which brands come to mind? 3-monthly rolling average

W3-5 W4-6 W5-7 W6-8 W7-9 W8-10

Jan ‘17 Feb‘18

Most importantly, we’re seeing a positive impact

Under 0 0 to 25 25 to 50 Over 50
from communications on our brand through a
Officeworks measure called the brand momentum score. It
Negative Static average Strong movement
Jan’17-Feb18 measures the degree to which a campaign moves
+49 brand perceptions—rational and emotional—
forwards or backwards.21

INCREASE INTENTION TO SHOP

objectives: XXXX

Main store preference is our most important

metric as it indicates health and long-term loyalty.
Its performance is at an all-time high, a score that
prompted international retail academic Lawrence
Ring to state: "Officeworks has a remarkably high
main store preference compared to many other
retail brands I've worked with. It is only one of
two brands I've seen globally with such a high score on main store preference." And in a world where people increasingly
distrust brands and institutions, it has been encouraging to see the number of people who fully trust Officeworks increase.22

       
       
 
 
 
Additional evidence
Campaigns have been successful in creating purchase intent amongst the core target.
average Oct13-Jan17
Purchase intent23 ‘the ads make me more likely to shop at Officeworks’. agree 60% disagree10%
– amongst Success Seekers (core target)

3-monthly rolling average

46
The new campaign tracking demonstrates that we’re 42
46
45 45 45 45
35 35 36
growing our potential customer base while at the same Fans %
28 Disengaged
time decreasing the amount of people who are disengaged 28 26 24 21
19 18 18 20 19
with our brand.24
Base: Nat Rep

Jan
W0-2
‘17 W1-3 W2-4 W3-5 W4-6 W5-7 W6-8 W7-9 W8-10
Feb‘18
W9-11

ATTRACT MORE SHOPPERS

objectives: XXX

The repositioning stopped and reversed the slowing growth in transactions.25 We’ve also seen healthy growth in people claiming
that the last time they bought their office products was at Officeworks.26 Both metrics indicate that Officeworks is successfully
attracting more shoppers since the repositioning.

15% 60%
transactions last purchase 56%
(bi-annual YoY growth %) 55%
10% repositioning 50%
47%
45%
5% repositioning
H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 H1 H2 40%
'11 '11 '12 '12 '13 '13 '14 '14 '15 '15 '16 '16 '17 '17 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17

Additional evidence
Retail is increasingly doing it tough. But looking at people’s purchase behaviour, Officeworks is one of the few brands that has
been successful in attracting more customers instead of less.27

IMPROVE SALES PERFORMACE

objectives: XXX
12%
Firstly the downward spiral was stopped and Officeworks sales growth yearly (QoQ %)
10%
reversed. As confidence grew in the new positioning
and as campaigns became more human-centric, 8%
growth accelerated. Records were broken. In 6%
January 2018 we had our two biggest sales days in 4%
repositioning
history, surpassing the magic $10m number, a goal
we’ve been trying to crack for years. In January ’18 2%
we also had our biggest week and biggest month 0%
Q1'11
Q2'11
Q3'11
Q4'11
Q2'10
Q3'10
Q4'10

Q2'13
Q3'13
Q4'13

Q2'15
Q3'15
Q4'15

Q2'16
Q3'16
Q4'16

Q2'17
Q3'17
Q4'17
Q1'10

Q1'13

Q1'15

Q1'16

Q1'17
Q2'12
Q3'12
Q4'12

Q2'14
Q3'14
Q4'14
Q1'12

Q114

yet.28 -2%

       
       
 
 
 
Officeworks has opened 19 new stores since the
repositioning, so it is important to correct for this.29 The
Officeworks comparable sales growth yearly (QoQ %)
metric ‘comparable store growth’ measures growth 10%
through existing stores in the business, not new stores. It
is showing a similar growth pattern as sales growth, 5%
implying that the results were driven by the repositioning

repositioning.30 NB: unfortunately we can’t go further

back than Q3’10. 0%

Q3'10
Q4'10
Q1'11
Q2'11
Q3'11
Q4'11
Q1'12
Q2'12
Q3'12
Q4'12
Q1'13
Q2'13
Q3'13
Q4'13

Q1'15
Q2'15
Q3'15
Q4'15
Q1'16
Q2'16
Q3'16
Q4'16
Q1'17
Q2'17
Q3'17
Q4'17
Q2'14
Q3'14
Q4'14
Q1'14
-5%

Officeworks core
Market share growth is one of the biggest market share (%)
office supplies market
'10 1.4%
13.6%

predictors of the long-term success of a brand. Yes, (YoY growth %)

-3.2% '11 14.1%

before the repositioning our market share was growing. -5.1% '12 15.9%
However, the average rate of growth since the '13 17.2%
repositioning
-4.5%
repositioning is faster. Even though there are many 17.8%
-2.0% '14
contributing factors, we like to think that through our 19.6%
'15 -0.5%
marketing efforts we made people value office products
'16 -0.2% 21.1%
more and helped to the slow category decline.31
'17 22.3%
1.2%

-10% -5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Additional evidence

Extra Share of Voice. Research by marketing effectiveness expert Peter Field suggests that within the office products
market, the repositioning achieved 0.03 points of share growth per point of ESOV (extra share of voice), suggesting the
repositioning was highly efficient. The norm for retail sector case studies in the IPA databank* is 0.02 points of market share
growth per annum per point of ESOV.32 *the world’s most rigorous database on marketing effectiveness
8. Did it achieve a positive ROI?

You need to convince the judges that the marketing investment provided a positive financial return – if that was a requirement. Except in ROI
category, the entry will still be eligible if data is not provided, but entries that provide convincing evidence will gain additional marks. (Note that
this data can be indexed and/or excluded from the published case on request.) We recognise that, in some instances, a measurable financial
return will not be an objective, but you will need to persuade the judges why not.

ROI measures by what percentage the incremental gross profit (not gross sales) generated exceeded the campaign costs/investment.

‘Incremental’ means comparing what happened, with what would be expected to happen had the campaign not taken place and/or that
status quo maintained.

So, if the incremental gross profit is $1,000 and campaign costs are $1,000, they cancel each other out and the ROI is 0%. If additional gross profit
was $1,500 the ROI is 50%. (refer to the supplementary notes on ROI calculation)

Sales are affected by many variables, not only marketing. So in order to correctly assess the impact of the repositioning we use
an econometric model. It isolates the contribution of marketing and corrects for the following factors: changes in media
investment, changes in macroeconomic factors (e.g. increases in consumer demand and growing population) and changes to
Officeworks’ distribution network. The model calculated that the repositioning has delivered XXX in additional sales!33

       
       
 
 
 
When it comes to ROI the repositioning generated 175% return for every $1 spent.
actual sales projected sales
Gross Sales Increase (Actual sales – Projected sales Aug '12 – Jan ‘18) XXX XXX XXX
Average Gross Profit Margin XXX
Gross Profit Increase XXX
Total Spend (production + media + fees for agencies) XXX
Gross Profit Increase minus Campaign Costs XXX
ROI (Gross Profit Increase divided by Campaign Costs XXX

Global effectiveness experts Les Binet and Peter Field have demonstrated that profit should be used as the ultimate measure of
marketing effectiveness.34 Their findings make us very proud of the XXX increase in gross profit generated by the new
positioning.

Question 9: Consideration of Other Factors (10 Points)  

 
Advertising rarely works alone and the entrant must have assessed the contribution other factors could
have made to the results.  
Judges will also consider the power of a product or service offer. It is the marketing that should be
rewarded, not the product.  
 
9. Convince us that the result was not due to other factors.

You must explain in your entry the effect of any other potentially relevant factors such as product changes, pricing, distribution, competitive
activity, press coverage, economic conditions, weather etc. You should acknowledge and estimate the role played by other factors and
advise if the communications program led to other benefits accruing (such as retailers improving space allocated or even improved support
from a sales force that has ‘increased belief’ in the brand).

sales
sales growth
growth yearly
yearly (QoQ
(QoQ %)%)
14%
14% Officeworks
Officeworks
12%
12% ABS total retail
ABS total retail
Growth in retail. Officeworks’ sales growth was not 10%
10% ABS
ABS industry
industry subgroup
subgroup (other)
(other)
driven by growth of the retail category. Since the
8%8%
repositioning Officeworks grew faster than the total repositioning
repositioning
6%6%
retail category and its own industry subgroup after having
4%4%
underperformed for two years.35
2%2%
0%0%
Q1'10

Q1'11
Q2'11
Q3'11
Q4'11
Q1'12

Q1'13

Q1'15

Q1'16

Q1'17
Q2'10
Q3'10
Q4'10

Q2'12
Q3'12
Q4'12

Q2'13
Q3'13
Q4'13

Q2'15
Q3'15
Q4'15

Q2'16
Q3'16
Q4'16

Q2'17
Q3'17
Q4'17
Q1'14
Q2'14
Q3'14
Q4'14
Q1'10

Q1'11
Q2'11
Q3'11
Q4'11
Q1'12

Q1'13

Q1'15

Q1'16

Q1'17
Q2'10
Q3'10
Q4'10

Q2'12
Q3'12
Q4'12

Q2'13
Q3'13
Q4'13

Q2'15
Q3'15
Q4'15

Q2'16
Q3'16
Q4'16

Q2'17
Q3'17
Q4'17
Q1'14
Q2'14
Q3'14
Q4'14

-2%
-2%

Pricing. The results were not achieved by changing

prices. Officeworks’ average pricing was compared with the Australian Consumer Price Index to ensure there is no evidence of
an aggressive pricing strategy. Officeworks' average pricing grew by XXX since the repositioning, based on compounded
monthly growth rate. This is below the 8% increase of the Australian Consumer Price Index over the same period,36 indicating
that Officeworks' success was not driven by strong inflation or deflation of its prices. Also, the EDLP strategy has not changed
since the repositioning, indicating that pricing has remained as competitive as before.

Marketing budget. The budget for marketing has decreased since the repositioning. This indicates that the efficiency of
marketing has improved.37 And growth wasn’t driven by increased media investment. The table below shows Officeworks spend in
paid media as tracked by Nielsen and is compared to a custom build set of key retail competitors and only measures relevant
competitor activity, not the total spend. Spend declined in the first two years after the repositioning, suggesting that the growth
was driven by the creative and channel planning strategy, not by spending more on media.38

FY’08 FY’09 FY’10 FY’11 FY’12 FY’13 FY’14 FY’15 FY’16 FY’17
Paid media xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
spend (Nielsen)
SOV vs retail xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx
competitive set

       
       
 
 
 
New store openings.
While store openings have a positive impact on Officeworks sales, the number of new store openings remained consistent
across the period 2010–2018. We’ve also corrected for new store openings by using the ‘comparable store sales’ metric and
econometric modelling to inform uplift in sales for the ROI calculation. And when you look at average sales per store we see
that these trended upwards until around June 2010, then downwards in the period July 2010 – June 2012. This turned into a
positive trend again after the repositioning39. Therefore, the increase in the number of stores cannot account solely for the
upward trend in sales after the repositioning.

Question 10: Overall Story (10 Points)  

 
What lessons can be learned from this case about advertising effectiveness or measurement? Judges
are asked to reward great ideas, great results, originality, innovative measurement techniques: and to
penalise poorly written cases. High scores here will be the cases we want to showcase to the world. will
be the cases we want to showcase to the world.  

10. Do you think there are any lessons to be learned from this case about advertising effectiveness or measurement?

Judges will give additional marks to exceptional ideas, exceptional results and to cases that teach us something about how advertising works. A
big idea is worth more than a lesser idea. A case that adds to our knowledge about advertising effectiveness or measurement deserves
additional marks. These marks are open to the discretion of the judges. This is the “I wish I’d been responsible for that” factor. We ask judges to
reward great ideas, great results, originality, innovative measurement techniques, and penalise poorly written cases. High scores here will be the
cases we want marketing students to be inspired by; the cases we can learn something from; the cases we want to showcase to the world.

Steady wins the race. Take a long-term perspective on brand building. Learn, evolve and optimise your strategy over time:
don’t chop and change all the time as many marketeers do. Steady wins the race. A commitment to a long-term approach allows
all involved to plan for the long term and do their best work.

Improve effectiveness by thinking about it more. Effectiveness is about creating a constant cycle of betterment. It
should never be an afterthought, as it too often is. Constantly think about effectiveness: before, during and after campaigns. Aim
to make each campaign work harder than the previous one.

Build a brand and drive sales at the same time. This case is a practical example that taking a combined approach to
brand building and sales activation can deliver strong business results. It suggests that it is not always necessary to separate
brand campaigns from retail activity like many marketeers do. Both can be done at the same time within one campaign, based on
the one strategy and idea. You just need to carefully balance brand building and sales activity and closely define the role each
channel plays.

Shouting about prices does not grow sales in the long term. People want value, not just low prices. Create value
by defining and focusing on the true higher order customer benefit of your product offering. As Les Binet said: “It all comes
down to what a brand decides to prioritise – if it’s short-term sales and responses, it’s unlikely it will achieve long-term growth.”

Emotion drives effectiveness best. Australia has been named the ‘retail promotional capital of the world’ by Nielsen.
Their research found we have more promotional advertising here than any other country on the planet.40 Therefore it is not
surprising that most Australians believe that most advertising is forgettable, and nothing stands out.41 So instead of participating
in a race to the bottom, which erodes value and profit, we must all focus on building more meaning into our brands and
campaigns. We must invest more time and effort in understanding people’s needs. Because when marketing is driven by human
needs and emotion, the potential for growth that can be unlocked is astounding.

       
       
 
 
 
 Media Addendum  
 
The Media Addendum has been designed to provide move context to questions 5 & 6
Implementation  

Less

Compared to other competitors in this X About the same

category, this budget is: More
Not Applicable (Elaboration required)

Less
Compared to prior year spend on the X About the same
brand Overall, the brand’s overall
budget this year is: More
Not Applicable (Elaboration required)

Budget Elaboration

Provide judges the context to understand your media budget. What was the balance between paid, owned, earned and shared media? If
you paid media expenditure was low but production/activation and other costs were high, or there is a unique situation
surrounding your budget, you should elaborate if you feel it would help.

Like any major retailer the marketing communication ecosystem is complex. In terms of those media costs which can be easily
measured and tracked to individual campaigns for the purposes of econometric modelling approximately 70% of the spend is
within ‘paid’ media. A further 30% is in owned assets, largely within Catalogues and CRM activities.

Beyond this are the much harder to measure range of assets such as the extensive owned store network, social communities,
Public relations activity and alike.

The ratio of all of the OESP communications would be in line with those expected from any large Big Box retailer.

Owned Media

Elaborate on owned media (digital or physical company owned real estate), that acted as communications channels for case content
Owned media examples may include a corporate website, social media platforms, packaging, a branded store, fleet of buses, etc

Significant changes over the years, but as at January 2018 - 162 Stores, social communities across Facebook (159,386 followers),
Instagram (45.5K followers) , Twitter (5,889 followers), Youtube (2,086 subscribers), A corporate website with strong online
store, a significant Catalogue and CRM program.

Sponsorships

Note whether or not your effort included any sponsorships. If so, provide details regarding your sponsorships.

Not major sponsorships outside of short term broadcast sponsorships including

Nine News 6pm and Nine News update sponsorships delivered as part of a Nine partnership
Family Feud on Network Ten
Shark Tank on Network Ten
Seven’s telecast of the Australian Open Tennis.

Local Stores support community based causes/organisations at their discretion.

Communications Touchpoints

Please list all touchpoints included in the campaign

       
       
 
 
 
Television
Digital Video
Cinema
Newspapers
News Websites
Magazines
Radio
Streaming Audio
Out of Home
Digital Display
Social Digital
Search Engine Marketing
Native Digital
CRM
Plus all Owned, Earned and Shared mentioned above

                                                                                                           
SOURCES USED

1
Wesfarmers annual report FY17. Store number given for January 2018.
1
Wesfarmers annual report FY17. Store number given for January 2018.
2
The Right Group Brand Tracking, 2017.
3
Office Products in Australia, 2014–2016 by Penfolds Research, 2014. Market share given for 2012.
4
The Right Group, 2008.
5
The Right Group Brand Tracking 2009–2016.
6
The Right Group Brand Tracking 2009–2016.
7
Officeworks Pitch Brief 2012.
8
AJF focus groups and interviews, 2012.
9
AJF focus groups and interviews, 2012.
10
Nielsen AIM/ADEX and Initiative Media, April 2018
11
Marketing Effectiveness in the Digital Era - Page 15 ‘The importance of Reach’ Les Binet & Peter Field.
12
The Right Group Brand Tracking 2009–2018.
13
Thinking fast and slow by Daniel Kahnemann.
14
The Right Group Brand Tracking 2009–2018.
15
Anomaly dashboard, 2017, wave 1-38 (October 2013 – January 2017).
16
Anomaly dashboard, 2017, wave 1-38 (October 2013 – January 2017).
17
Anomaly dashboard, 2017, wave 1-38 (October 2013 – January 2017).
18
Anomaly dashboard, 2017, wave 1-38 (October 2013 – January 2017).
19
Voodoo campaign tracking, March 2018
20
Voodoo campaign tracking, March 2018
21
Voodoo campaign tracking, March 2018
22
Havas Meaningful brands 2018 and Edelman Trust barometer 2018.
23
Anomaly dashboard, 2017, wave 1-38 (October 2013 – January 2017).
24
Voodoo campaign tracking, march 2018.
25
Officeworks Finance, March 2018.
26
The Right Group Brand Tracking 2009–2018.
27
Roy Morgan, 2018
28
Officeworks Finance, March 2018.
29
Officeworks, March 2018
30
Officeworks Finance, March 2018.
31
Office Products in Australia, 2014–2016 by Penfolds Research, 2016.
32
Peter Field consultancy, 2016.
33
Anomaly dedicated Econometrics study for Officeworks, 2017.
34
Peter Field and Les Binet at London EFF Week, Ham Yard Hotel, 2016.
35
Australian Bureau of Statistics + Officeworks Finance, April 2018.
36
Australian Bureau of Statistics CPI Index, January 2010 to 2017.
37
Officeworks Finance, March 2018.
38
Initiative Media, 2018.
39
Officeworks Finance, March 2018
40
Nielsen research, 2014. http://www.nielsen.com/au/en/insights/news/2014/promotions-not-so-special-anymore.html
41
Eye on Australia, 2016 by Grey.