How to Grill a Salesman
Barbeques Galore
Issue 8 | September 2008
Agency
Wunderman Irvine
Creative Team
Anthony DiBiase - Executive Creative Director; Michael Davis - Creative Director; Nick Rooth - Associate Creative Director; Sam Chantha - Art Director; Heather Conkling - Art Director
Production Team
Kara LaRosa; Jessica Mirolla
Date
Summer 2008
Background
Barbeques Galore, a regional retailer of a wide range of barbeque grills and accessories, was losing business to an influx of competitors selling lower-priced, lower-quality products with nearly non-existent after sales service. They needed a campaign to engage and present their value story in a way that would benefit consumers, give their sales staff expert status and lead to higher sales.
Idea
People love a good salesperson but remember a bad one. With that truism in mind, Wunderman went about identifying a core idea with a powerful key visual element: the image of the meat tie takes a recognised sartorial symbol of salesmanship and decorates it with the handiwork of those who are likely to be shopping for a barbeque or grill. The image was put to use on posters, information booklets and even staff aprons.
The campaign not only provides consumers with information on what to look for when buying a new grill, but also challenges them to put the Barbeques Galore sales staff to the test - via a proverbial grilling.
Results
While full results are not yet available, this in-store campaign helped create an environment that has sharpened the product knowledge of Barbeques Galore sales people and differentiated them from the sales staffs of their competitors, whilst at the same time giving consumers a convenient guide they could take away with them should they decide to continue shopping.
Target audience
Men aged 25 to 54
Volume/size of campaign
79 retail stores
Our Thoughts
Some agencies, when submitting work to Directory, send us the actual material rather than just JPEGs and I have rarely coveted anything I have seen in a submission as much as I fancied a barbecued-meat tie. I think they only made them in paper but, c’mon guys, wouldn’t it have been brilliant to have given the salesmen real ties?