Helping holiday shoppers get the right gift is the theme of RadioShack’s new Red Chair promotional tour, which kicked off during Thankgiving weekend in major shopping malls across the United States.
The five-week, 48-mall tour gives shoppers the opportunity to “star” in their own video to describe which products from RadioShack they’d like to receive as gifts this year. Friend and family can then be e-mailed a notification to download the video from RadioShack.com.
Holiday shoppers will be able to videotape their personal holiday wish lists in select malls in 22 U.S. cities through Dec. 18. Shoppers can select one of several products to show in their taped message, including Apple iPods, Sirius satellite radios, wireless phones from Sprint/Nextel and Verizon, digital cameras and imaging bundles, and radio-controlled toys.
Each participant is given a special code to access their videotaped wishes on RadioShack.com, which they can then share with recipients. Participants also receive discount coupons and are eligible to receive free RadioShack gift cards.
Those receiving the holiday wish message can download it from RadioShack.com. Recipients also receive promotional coupons, and can create their own wish lists which they in turn can send to other people.
The Red Chair Mall Tour is an extension of the Red Chair advertising campaign that RadioShack debuted last month. The effort, which carries the theme “Don’t Just Get a Gift, Get the Right Gift,” is the first major creative developed by Arnold Worldwide, a Boston-based integrated marketing communications firm. Arnold was hired by RadioShack earlier this year to mount a major re-branding effort that’s scheduled to debut in 2006.
The unifying creative theme in the Red Chair campaign is a contemporary red chair that people sit in to make holiday wishes. The campaign includes national TV advertising, plus print, Internet, collateral, direct, in-store and outdoor ads. The TV spots were directed by Kevin Thomas, known for his work with the acclaimed Citibank identity theft ads.
“The Red Chair mall tour brings our national ad campaign to life in a fun and real way,” said Don Carroll, RadioShack’s brand and marketing senior VP. “Now, instead of just watching actors sit in the chair and express their holiday wishes, real people have the opportunity to tell their family and friends exactly what they want from RadioShack this year.”
To encourage continued participation in the mall tour RadioShack is donating $1 for every video participant to its national charity, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“The holiday season can be overwhelming for consumers,” said Jay Williams, managing partner and executive creative director at Arnold Worldwide. “In addition to the anxiety associated with gift-giving and the pressure to get just the right gift, consumers are bombarded with massive amounts of information, offers and high-decibel appeals from retailers in every category. Our approach is to offer a little quieter, more personal appeal that really highlights the great products available at RadioShack. It’s all the same information — but delivered in a more unique, memorable way.”
