A Case of Brand Schizophrenia
Customer research is somewhat of a gamble. You never know what the numbers will turn up and it's always a little scary to look. So when specialty apparel retailer Harold's
Stores, Inc. hired The Richards Group from Dallas to conduct a brand audit in July 2000, it was with some trepidation. The retailer was experiencing financial difficulties and was
fearful about what else might be discovered. FY 2000 saw consistent losses in sales and revenues.
For six months, the agency conducted management interviews, focus groups with customers in 15 cities, 20-minute phone interviews with 1,400 people and collected 300 mail-in
store exit surveys. The team even orchestrated 20 at-home interviews with customers in their closets to find out what kind of "closet share" Harold's was getting.
"We were really struggling to redefine ourselves," says Ken Row, Executive VP at Harold's. "I got tired of hearing our executives say 'I think our customers like this
and I think they care about this. We couldn't say with conviction that we really knew -- and we needed to find out."
Come Again?
By the end of the research cycle in August 2000, Harold's knew that its customers were primarily females in their 30s, married, with kids; 60% of whom worked full-time, the
majority extremely socially active. Then research uncovered a weird fact: an overwhelming number of Harold's customers liked to play Bunco - a dice game that involves a minimum of
12 players, especially popular in the South (where a considerable number of Harold's 52 stores are located). "To be honest, I didn't even know what Bunco was, but I found out
really fast," Row says.
Armed with this finding, Richards/Gravelle (the PR division of The Richards Group) proposed that Harold's host its own Bunco League, inviting customers to play in its stores
after hours (stores close at 7 p.m.). This shrewd move would relieve busy women of entertainment costs and duties associated with hosting such events personally. Instead,
Harold's would play host to its customers and reap the rewards of a bonding relationship.
Games Women Play
To generate buy-in at the store level, Richards/Gravelle presented the league idea to 200 store managers at Harold's annual meeting and taught them the rules of the game
(seeing as how they'd be recruiting players and facilitating leagues). A weekly internal e-newsletter kept Harold's sales associates up to date on program timetables. Meanwhile,
the agency team issued a game primer to the media, along with releases to announce the formation of the league. Press coverage would spark additional player interest.
Regional leagues kicked off in September 2000, with customers playing Bunco one night a month in 20 stores and winning Harold's gift certificates that could be used in real
time, affording Bunco winners a private shopping experience at Harold's. Information about merchandise customers selected was used to drive a new buying strategy for the
company.
Richards/Gravelle worked with Harold's in-house Web team to build a site (http://www.harolds.com/bunco.taf) where players could track their scores. Eventually members of the media - notably entertainment,
lifestyle, fashion and business journalists - were invited to participate in the games and experience the buzz firsthand. At the conclusion of the fall league, 12 regional
winners advanced to compete in national Bunco playoffs, a three-day event held at Harold's Stores' Dallas offices. Women competing in the final round were treated to catered
dinners, a preview show of early spring fashions and a shopping trip at a local Harold's store.
Tallying Up
Well, the press thought it was a pretty cool idea. The program scored roughly 2.1 million media impressions, including a two-minute news segment on the Dallas FOX affiliate
that ran the night of the championship and the following day. Stories are now pending in lifestyle magazines such as Southern Living's Texas edition. Richards/Gravelle
estimates the value of its press coverage at roughly $245,000, using an ad equivalency measure (claiming a 19-to-1 ROI).
Fashion driven by customer feedback is only now hitting the sales floor so no improved sales figures are yet available. But Row says he's confident the Bunco league strategy is
a winner. "Any involvement in our customers' lives in a non-sales way is going to equate to loyalty in the long run," he says.
There's plenty of anecdotal evidence indicating a swell in customer loyalty. According to Carrie Pillsbury, an agency account supervisor, Harold's stores have been flooded
with calls from customers requesting information about 2001 Spring leagues. "We have notebooks full of names of people who want to play," she says.
Who knew? The research was worth it.
(Carrie Pillsbury, Richards/Gravelle, 214/891-2970; Ken Row, Harold's Stores, 214/366-0600)
Budget Blessing In Disguise
The Richards Group's original budget estimates for the Bunco league and championship event (not including research) came in at $22,000, a figure that had to be chopped in half
due to the client's financial instability. This meant the agency had to cut plans for in-store promotion, signage and collateral - which proved to be a good thing. "We ended up
having waiting lists of players as it was," says Pillsbury. "We would have been flooded had there been any more hype." Roughly 300 women ended up playing in the fall league.
Game Stats
Client: Harold's Stores, Inc.
HQ: Norman, Okla. with 52 stores in 22 states.
Marcom Exec: Ken Row, EVP
PR Budget (not including research): $11,000
Store Flavor: Stores have a "residential feel," with ample tables and chairs, as well as kitchens (which allow sales associates to serve refreshments to patrons).
Stores made perfect spots for Bunco league play.
URL: http://www.harolds.com
Agency: The Richards Group and Richards/Gravelle
HQ: Dallas
Patented Research Process: Spherical Branding
Key Campaign Players: Carrie Pillsbury, account supervisor; Caryn Smith, account executive; Stacie Cross Barnett, account director.
Other Clients: Chick-fil-A, Motel 6, Nokia
URL: http://www.therichardsgroup.com