Woolies’ Agile Marketing During the Olympics

Overview

During the recent Olympics, Woolies launched a rapid and dynamic marketing campaign to celebrate Aussie medal winners. This activation included digital signage across over 2,400 Out-Of-Home (OOH) sites and 1,000 Front of Store Screens, featuring updates on medal wins and celebratory messages.

How They Did It

Andrew Hicks, Woolies’ Chief Marketing Officer, attributed the campaign’s success to a collaborative partnership between media, creative, publishers, platform partners, and Cartology, Woolies’ retail media business.

Key Takeaways

1. Pre-Planning and Content Creation: Woolies’ team anticipated key moments and medal-winning chances, creating content ahead of time.The pre-planning phases normally involve significant operational costs, including creative development & media spend.

2. Agile Meetings: The marketing and agency teams met each morning to identify notable moments from the previous day, enabling them to quickly adapt and deploy responsive content.

3. Partnerships: Collaborating with M&C Saatchi for creative and Dentsu for media ensured that Woolies maintained a high level of execution across various formats and platforms.

Results

• Engagement: Customers reacted positively to the campaign, both in-store and through digital platforms. The celebratory tone of the ads resonated well, creating a buzz around Woolies’ association with the Olympics.

Source: facebook.com/ads/library

• Visibility: Woolies maintained high visibility with over 2,400 OOH sites and a dominant presence on TV during peak Olympic coverage times.

Source: bandt.com.au

• Customer Interaction: In-store activations, like the mini running track, engaged customers directly, allowing them to create their own “mini Olympics” moments.

• Positive Customer Feedback: Andrew Hicks mentioned that the customer and in-house team reactions have been overwhelmingly positive.

Closing Thoughts

Woolies’ agile marketing approach during the Olympics is a good example of how pre-planning, collaborative partnerships, and agile meetings can lead to highly responsive and engaging marketing campaigns. This strategy not only increased Woolies’ visibility but also strengthened its connection with customers, both in and out of the store.