Sainsbury’s has unveiled a major new beauty campaign and appointed New Commercial Arts to handle the brief, for which it has recruited shoppers from a diverse range of backgrounds to feature in the work.
The retailer’s “Beautiful everyday” campaign will run across social, digital, outdoor (including weather-triggered dynamic ads) and in and around Sainsbury’s stores.
Phase one of the campaign will focus on “summer sun” and support emerging brands such as Q+A and Revolution Skincare alongside more established names such as Ultrasun and This Works.
“The campaign features a diverse range of genuine Sainsbury’s customers, with photography sitting within a collage of seasonal elements including summer skies, flowers, blazing sun and textures of the beauty products in use,” NCA said.
Sainsbury’s has moved aggressively into beauty since 2018 when it announced it was “taking on Boots and Superdrug” and turning its stores into “a compelling beauty destination, which challenges the old way of shopping”.
The initial push into beauty involved the introduction of 1,500 products, from brands such as Mane & Tail, Burt’s Bees, Essie, Korres and Dr PawPaw. It has subsequently expanded its range in 236 of its supermarkets.
Sainsbury's so-called “beauty transformation programme” has been “performing well” and is “outperforming the beauty market”, according to Nielsen IQ EPOS data, the retailer told shareholders in its annual report earlier this month.
The company plans to offer a “broader range of locally tailored products and services” across food, beauty and seasonal and general merchandise, particularly in larger-format convenience stores, called “Neighbourhood Hubs”, which “are very popular with customers and are delivering high returns”, the annual report said.
NCA expands remit with Sainsbury’s
Adam & Eve founders James Murphy and David Golding set up NCA with Ian Heartfield, formerly chief creative officer of Bartle Bogle Hegarty London, and Rob Curran, formerly chief experience officer of Wunderman Thompson, in May 2020.
The Soho-based start-up joined the Sainsbury’s creative agency roster in March, when it won homewares brand Habitat. The beauty appointment is an expansion of its remit.
The other key agencies on the roster are Wieden & Kennedy, which works with the main Sainsbury’s brand, and The & Partnership, which looks after Argos, the general merchandise arm of Sainsbury’s.
Murphy and Golding have experience of working for two major rivals of Sainsbury's in the past: John Lewis Partnership at Adam & Eve/DDB and Marks & Spencer at their previous agency Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R.
NCA has positioned itself as “bringing together brand creativity and customer experience creativity” and has already won clients including Halifax, Moneysupermarket, Uber and Vodafone.
