Gift & Homewares Australia (GHA) is set to shake up the gift and homewares industry with the release of a bold and controversial advertising campaign designed to achieve cut-through and visibility in an over saturated retail market.
The new advertisement features a bare bodied mannequin who has been clad in the words “Expose Yourself” – creatively inviting its audience to expose themselves to the wealth of products, ideas, people and displays on show at the Home & Giving Fair. The bold statement signals a fresh approach and is part of GHA’s long term commitment to injecting new enthusiasm into the market.
The new GHA ad will appear in print campaigns leading up to the event in February.
According to Alby Taylor, GHA Chief Executive, the dynamic of the gift and homewares industry has evolved and is increasingly infiltrating the wider retail market.
“With the idea of a gift now encapsulating such an array of opportunities, GHA is extending its reach into a broader market in a bid to inject new life, attract new blood and inspire innovation,” Taylor said.
“Now is the time that the gift and homewares industry needs to market harder and smarter, else we run the risk of appearing stale and lacking in modernism. Our new advertisement is bold and eye-catching, it is designed to attract a new generation of participants, to reinvigorate, re-educate and refresh what has largely remained a traditional sector of the retail industry.”
Despite its intention to lead the industry forward with fresh thinking and innovation, GHA appreciates that some members of the industry may view the advertising campaign as inappropriate. However, GHA maintains that in today’s communication space; often a ‘sparkler’ such as the new advertisement, is necessary to attain cut through.
“We acknowledge that not everyone will agree with our new campaign but we believe that continuing with the same old mild themes, which are largely variations on previous campaigns, will not enable cut through to new audiences and result in a weary response – people will simply lose interest,” Taylor said.
Traditionally, GHA has predominantly placed advertising within trade sources – targeting a narrow group of readers – or potential buyers. With the new campaign geared towards a more contemporary group, the advertisements will also be placed within consumer titles, signalling a new approach and a departure from the norm.
“It is an obvious choice for us to advertise in our industry titles but the idea of the new campaign is to reach a far broader audience. The lines of who is and who isn’t a target have become increasingly blurred – a gift retailer could be anyone from a convenience store to a nursery, a newsagent to a chemist, and everything in between.”
The first instalment of the advertisement was included in the January-February edition of Vogue Living and will be rolled out across a variety of titles in the lead up to the February Home & Giving Fair, 27 February – 2 March, Sydney Olympic Park.
