Don't gift

Medal Won

• 🥈 SILVER – Best Data-Inspired Creative

Campaign Overview

Facing the Credit Crunch Christmas of 2023, Not On The High Street (NOTHS) sought to stand out in a shrinking market by encouraging customers to rethink their gifting habits. Don’t Gift, a bold statement for a gifting company, used data-driven insights to inspire smarter, more thoughtful gifting choices. The campaign’s core message, “Gift fewer, gift better,” reframed the guilt of cutting back into a smarter way to give, making NOTHS the go-to destination for meaningful, purposeful presents.

Creative Concept

The campaign transformed survey insights into bold creative executions:

• Landfill Statement: A giant box at Westfield London filled with thousands of unwanted gifts to highlight waste, branded with “DON’T GIFT LANDFILL.”
• Sock Installation: Thousands of socks—the nation’s least wanted gift—spelled out “DON’T GIFT BORING.”
• Anti-Big Box Message: Brown boxes representing convenience gifting featured “DON’T GIFT BIG BIZ” to challenge thoughtless purchases.
• Social Media Storytelling: Used survey data to guide messaging and product recommendations, emphasizing unique, bespoke items.

These creative acts turned data into memorable visuals and narratives, encouraging a cultural shift toward mindful gifting.

Execution Strategy

1. Survey-Driven Insights: Conducted a nationwide study with 1,500 respondents to quantify the scale of “bad gifting.”
2. High-Impact Visuals: Positioned bold installations at high-traffic locations like Westfield London to amplify visibility.
3. Multi-Channel Outreach: Combined out-of-home (OOH), broadcast video on demand (BVOD), and social media campaigns for maximum reach.

Impact and Results

The campaign outperformed expectations despite a shrinking market:

• 6% increase in sales, while the gifting sector shrank by 2%.
• 87% of purchases came from previous customers, reactivating the legacy NOTHS audience.
• 23.6 million BVOD impressions, exceeding the target by 1 million.
• Metro cover wrap achieved 84% recall, with 2.8 million impressions, surpassing benchmarks for large retailers.
• Brand tracking metrics saw significant gains:
  • “Unique and bespoke products” rose 15 percentage points.
  • “Gifts for the people in my life” increased by 11 points.
  • “A story behind the products” climbed 12 points.

Why It Worked

Don’t Gift used striking, relatable insights to engage audiences emotionally and practically. By challenging traditional gifting habits and celebrating thoughtful, sustainable choices, the campaign resonated deeply with its audience, boosting sales and solidifying NOTHS as a leader in meaningful gifting during challenging economic times.