- Background
- Objectives
- Campaign
- Results
Regional TV advertising
Mr Clutch is nationally recognised as one of the premier autocentre groups in England, with more than 40 sites across the country. It provides a wide range of garage services such as MOTs, repairs and servicing.
The company had previously advertised using press, direct mail and the internet, but in early 2007, Mr Clutch needed to reach out to a wider audience to promote some of its weaker stores in the Meridian Kent region. The close, specific regionality offered by ITV enabled Mr Clutch to target the Kent region alone, and therefore measure the efficacy of the campaign based on the subsequent performance of five particular stores.
- To promote certain sites in the South East region in order for them to reach the same high standard of turnover as other sites across the country
- To use TV advertising as a cost exercise, in the hope of eventually moving away from local newspaper and radio advertising
- To increase awareness of the brand
- To drive sales in a specific area
A 30-second commercial ran in the ITV1 Meridian Kent region throughout March 2007. The advertisement, featuring a Mr Clutch autocentre and involving members of staff, promoted not only the speedy, efficient and friendly service, but also the wide variety of services on offer. It also promoted the company’s website and featured a telephone number to ring for more information.
The TV advertisement was shown 74 times during the month and achieved 243.87 TVRs, an average of 3.29. More than 2.7m adults saw the commercial at least once and 986,000 saw it four times or more (source: BARB/Infosys).
"The regionality and reach of ITV was exactly what Mr Clutch South East needed at the time. In the past, we had used local radio and press, but this time we needed quicker results. After looking into advertising on ITV, we soon realised that it wasn’t as expensive as we thought and booked our first four-week campaign. The instant response rate spoke for itself and far surpassed that of other local media. Due to the campaign’s success we were able to book a second campaign with ITV, this time for four months."
Steve Dale, Marketing Manager, Mr Clutch
Response to the campaign was instantaneous. Increased awareness and interest were measured through phone calls, hits on the company’s website and – most importantly – sales.
The level of brand awareness created from this campaign was exactly what was needed. The campaign in 2007 was so successful that Mr Clutch booked a second, larger campaign for 2008, this time to run over a four-month period.