To help shift its brand position from DIY supplier to multi-channel home enhancement retailer, the Homebase strategy is focused on offering a softer, more stylish online experience that emphasises decorating inspiration. The brand partnered with YouTube content creator Tanya Burr to launch a 12-minute haul video, and then promoted the content to its target demographic of women ages 18 and older through a TrueView ad campaign.
Approach
Partnered with leading UK vlogger
Created 12-minute YouTube haul video
Launched TrueView ad campaign to drive traffic to the video
Goals
Reposition brand as a source for home inspiration
Generate incremental reach during crucial trading period
Control budget
Results
46% increase in sales of showcased products
350,000 UK video views and over 1.6M minutes watched by target audience
3.2% click-through rate
48% view-through rate
Homebase is a leading UK retailer specialising in products for the home and garden. While it has traditionally been perceived first and foremost as a DIY supplier, the strategic focus has shifted recently to position the brand as a multi-channel home enhancement retailer, which includes a store and online experience offering a softer, more stylish approach and an emphasis on decorating inspiration.
The engagement levels on this campaign surpassed all imagined KPIs. This was the first time we had run a campaign of its sort and we weren't sure how the paid-for element was going to work, but the results were amazing, much better than we could have ever expected.
Setting the scene
Homebase approached YouTube with the goals of amplifying its brand campaign through personalisation and generating incremental reach. The activity was set to take place during a crucial trading period, Easter and the May Bank Holidays.
Because positioning itself as a source for home inspiration requires a shift in consumer perception, Homebase wanted to encourage this in a really credible, authentic way. The YouTube team recommended collaborating with a UK YouTube creator to introduce its new direction through an engaging, sincere environment. Tanya Burr, a leading UK vlogger with over 2.2 million subscribers to her YouTube channel, was identified as the perfect partner for this collaboration.
Hey good lookin'
One of Tanya's most popular content formats are "haul" videos, where she goes shopping for makeup and clothes, then shares her purchases with viewers. For Homebase, a "homehaul" format was developed, which married a natural environment for Tanya with the theme of interior d_cor. Tanya visited her local Homebase store with a£500 voucher to spend and then created a 12-minute YouTube homehaul video showcasing what she had bought.
All items featured in the video were listed in the video's description box along with links so viewers could click straight through to Homebase's ecommerce site to purchase the items. Homebase was also running a Facebook competition where entrants had the chance to win a£500 voucher. Tanya featured this within her video as well, enabling viewers to easily click to enter the competition.
The video was launched on her YouTube channel and the Homebase YouTube channel, along with promotion across Tanya's Facebook and Twitter feeds. To maximise reach beyond Tanya's audience, the content was distributed to females aged 18 and older across YouTube via a TrueView campaign.
A home run
The campaign produced exceptional results. The video was watched more than 350,000 times by the target demographic of UK women aged 18 and older, and it achieved a total of 1.6 million minutes in watch-time. Via TrueView, the content achieved a non-skip rate of 48% against the UK average of 20%. The activity also demonstrated that women over 25 years of age _ who are Homebase's core audience _ showed higher levels of engagement with the content than their younger counterparts.
Homebase also saw a 10% increase in the brand's Facebook fanbase during the activity and Twitter was set alight with Tanya's fans posting pictures of their store purchases after being inspired by the video. In fact, sales of the products showcased in the content increased by 46%.
All of this added up to the success Homebase hoped for and more. "This was a truly integrated campaign across multiple channels and customer touch points, which far succeed the objectives outlined for the delivery," says Homebase Digital Marketing Manager, Jonathan Hudson.
