In September last year, online gifting platform Not On The High Street unveiled an extensive top-down re-brand in a bid to radically lower the average age of its key customer demographic.
Entrusting the process to London agency New Commercial Arts, the new creative direction was certainly a sharp left turn for the brand, whose primary consumer base had been traditionally centred around the 35+ category.
Vibrant, diverse, and at times controversial, the two latest spots unashamedly target younger Millennials and Gen Z – a shift that brought rather more complex challenges than at first might have been anticipated.
The precarious financial situation that most 18-35 year-olds find themselves in as a result of global economic pressures played a significant part in the new creative, but was balanced out by the need to retain the existing loyal core of 35+ customers.
Speaking to Marketing Beat at Ometria’s LifeCycle23 conference, Not On The High Street’s vice-president of marketing, Emilie Mouquot said: “We’ve been recruiting a younger audience, but we also had to adapt with the current economic climate given the differences in disposable incomes in that age bracket. But we’ve definitely been growing that audience and we have made sure to try not to alienate our core customer base.”
Retaining that existing core is of course paramount to maintaining long-term success, and whilst rejuvenating the average age of its customers is undoubtedly key to securing future growth – the sway that the 35+ bracket still has within the platform may explain the minor controversy surrounding its recent Christmas ad.
Also produced by New Commercial Arts – the initial version contained the line “Sorry you have to share your special day with Jesus”, sparking a small, but noticeable online backlash from customers who pointed out that the line could be considered offensive to Christians, and that the retailer would probably not have sanctioned such a line if it referred to any other religion.
In response, a new version was swiftly released with a minor adaption – the narrator this time saying “Santa” as opposed to “Jesus”. An indication of the brand’s (understandable) desire to appeal to all age groups, and not just the largely irreligious under-35s.
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As with any re-brand or new campaign, small errors, or “learnings” as Mouquot calls them will of course be made, but backed by strong, considered research, the brand is confident that it is on the right path: “Everything that we’ve done was backed with a lot of customer research and interviews that were carried out by our UX team,” Mouquot adds.
“If you ask me, in every campaign that I’ve done, there’s always something I think I’d do differently, but for now we’re looking at our brand tracker to get the learnings on what to change.”
Priding itself as a champion of small UK businesses – Not On The High Street also faced other challenges with this new direction, namely how to protect its unique value proposition, based on quality and excusivity, when marketing to a demographic gorged on a fast and furious e-commerce landscape?
The retailer has its creative agency to thank for succeeding in that regard, with the new films clearly showcasing the uniquely personalised nature of each gift. New Commercial Arts has really managed to hit the nail on the head and get the best of both worlds, putting quantity over quality at the heart of its narrative.
Highlighting the bespoke, considered nature of the products featured across Not On The High Street’s platform, Mouquot continues: “We vet every single partner that comes onto our platform, we actually only accept a very small amount of applicant – around four to six percent.
“That’s something that’s really important to us, because we want to make sure that people are coming and finding things that are interesting, unique and really relevant to them.”
Ultimately, this unique, qualitative focus is what the platform is focusing on more than ever in the volatile post-pandemic retail landscape. Only by truly differentiating itself from other rival platforms, such as Etsy, can it genuinely compete and grow.
Positioning itself as a bastion for creative small British businesses, the platform has undeniably found a healthy niche in the market and the transitional phase it currently finds itself in as it adapts to younger audiences will certainly make for interesting viewing over the next few years.
