Two years ago newsXpress moved away from noisy seasonal posters urging people to buy for a season. The decision was made to table a more artistically stylised yet subtle approach that connects with the emotion of each season, with no specific call to action.
A good example of this approach can be seen in the Father’s Day 2015 poster with the words Love Your Dad. You can see that the newsXpress branding is subtle, at the bottom of the poster.
Choosing this artwork takes several months from start to finish. It starts with the brainstorming of themes. This guides the creative team to consider colours, images and words. This feeds into the creation of several drafts of options, which are considered by as many as ten people as well as a couple of supplier representatives. The draft options are slowly revised until one stands out. This is then shared with all newsXpress members and their feedback considered before final revisions made and a proof prepared. It is a highly consultative process, one that has lead to this approach of focusing on the emotion of the season rather than the usual shrill call to action we see in many retail businesses leading up to major seasons.
What I like about the Love Your Dad collateral is the simplicity of the message. Saturday at the newsagency, I saw a couple of kids drag their dad to in front of the posters and hug him. His smile could have lit up a room. It was heartwarming to see.
Sometimes, the best way to encourage engagement is to not chase it.