Sears unveils 'brand' new marketing tact

Touts breadth of retailer's mix for time-challenged

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 8/27/2001 12:00:00 AM

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL —

Sears will focus on branding rather than pricing in its new integrated marketing campaign, launching Sept. 6.

With its new tagline — "Sears. Where else?" — the campaign highlights Sears' assortment of brands, guarantees, credit and services, featuring real-life vignettes with humorous twists and emphasizing the chain's merchandise depth and breadth. It also draws attention to the brands Sears carries in its stores, its own line of products, and national brands.

"Sears has a surprisingly broad and unique range of goods, services and guarantees to help families live their lives," said David Selby, senior vp, marketing. "Our new campaign celebrates this breadth and reveals Sears in an honest, humorous, surprising — and yet affirming — way. It seeks to tell our story and position and differentiate our brand more completely and clearly."

The campaign targets what Sears calls its core customer: a "mission shopper" who is extremely focused and time-challenged. The campaign demonstrates that this shopper can complete many of her "shopping missions" at Sears. Thus, checklists and checkmarks are used throughout the campaign as reminders of the array of Sears' products and services that can complete these "missions."

The campaign was developed by Young & Rubicam, Chicago, and is being implemented by all Sears' agencies, including Young & Rubicam; Ogilvy & Mather, Chicago; Burrell Communications Group, Chicago; Mendoza Dillon & Asociados, Newport Beach, CA; Kang & Lee, Los Angeles and New York; A. Eichoff & Company, Chicago; and ABD, Chicago. It will feature television ads running during primetime and early morning across all national networks, magazine ads appearing in national consumer books targeting women with families, and newspaper ads. Targeted national television and consumer magazine ads will carry the advertising to Hispanic and African American customers.