News: Designed to please: Made.com’s unique promo at Schiphol

The interiors brand Made.com is running a campaign at Schiphol that’s very much designed to catch the eye: it’s restyled several piers and lounges with items of its own designer furniture. These fulfill a useful function for travelers, while at the same time enabling the brand to literally design a successful campaign. Damien Poelhekke, Made’s Country Manager for the Benelux, talks about the campaign and its results.

Published on: 27 November 2017

“Our core marketing and sales channels are online,” explains Damien. “But not everyone in the Netherlands likes shopping for furniture online. In order to reach this group of people, you need to think up an offline campaign. This raises another issue: not everyone is familiar with the Made.com brand, and that’s true of the Dutch market too. So we really wanted to find a way of approaching these potential customers. In order to achieve our goals, we needed to play on our strengths and stay true to our vision.

Made.com stands for stylish yet accessible interior design. That’s why we chose to run a campaign emphasizing design and functionality. Made.com’s target group is passionate about making the most of life. These people have a keen interest in their homes – and also in travel. They’re also prepared to spend a bit more money on both of these aspects of life. So Schiphol is an ideal location for a campaign like this.”

“Our living rooms really brighten up the piers. It’s such an eye-catching campaign!”

The campaign makes good strategic use of the various areas at the airport. Damien continues, “This campaign at Schiphol allows us to let travelers experience our design and comfort. We’ve done this by giving the airport piers a makeover. Our Made.com living-room settings are a fabulously functional way to utilize this space. Thanks to our design concept, travelers can sit down in comfort and enjoy a pleasant area to spend time in. Our living rooms really brighten up the piers. It’s such an eye-catching campaign!”

Passenger engagement

What makes Schiphol very attractive is the amount of time that passengers spend at the airport. Another advantage is that most people are in a fairly relaxed mood, and are very open towards new experiences. After passing through the luggage checks and customs, they feel that their journey or holiday has truly begun. This is a great moment for brands to make contact with consumers. Damien adds, “It’s a matter of engagement – that’s what you’re trying to achieve. By approaching passengers in a unique way – such as we’re doing with Made.com’s living-room settings – you create a huge amount of awareness for your brand.” As far as Damien is concerned, this unusual campaign also has a far greater effect than advertising along the highway.

“This campaign of ours at the airport has a greater reach than you could get anywhere else in the Netherlands.”

This year, around 68 million people will be traveling via Schiphol. Most advertisers therefore prefer to place their message in a central area that offers the greatest possible visibility. Made.com decided to instead use several different piers to reach its target group. For instance, Pier D1 – which mainly serves people flying to the United Kingdom and America. Each year, around 11.7 million passengers use this pier, and all of them will see Made.com’s living-room setting. “This campaign of ours at the airport has a greater reach than you could get anywhere else in the Netherlands,” Damien comments.

Schiphol is an important European hub

Made.com has been at Schiphol for 18 months already. According to Damien, the campaign is proving very worthwhile. “It’s certainly effective in terms of reaching Dutch consumers, as most Dutch people fly via Schiphol. What’s more, the airport is an important European hub. This means we can reach travelers from other countries at the same time. Frankly, being here at Schiphol is a ‘no brainer’, certainly for an online international brand such as ours. We do have showrooms in various countries, but our presence at the airport gives us the opportunity to reach new people who may be interested.”

1,000 new leads per month

The interest generated by this campaign can be seen from the number of new leads. Passengers can use the tablets in the living rooms to register their details and get the chance to win an exclusive home makeover worth €1,500. Around 1,000 new leads per month are being gathered, 89% of which are from new potential customers. Of the new leads, 45% come from the UK and 35% from the Netherlands. The remaining 20% are from other countries. With 1% to 1.5% conversion from the new leads, Made.com is pleased with the result. “It makes sense,” says Damien. “The emphasis of our compaign is on engagement: experiencing Made.com in real life. People can see our products and also try then out immediately. They can see and feel the quality of the furniture and can touch the fabrics. It’s similar to the experience in our showrooms.”

Brand awareness, experience and sales

“At Schiphol we can reach Dutch consumers at the same time as our international target group. That’s what makes it such a special place. And Made.com stands out there because the living-room settings enable us to give travelers a unique experience. The informal character of the campaign suits Made.com perfectly, because you can use our products to bring design and comfort into your home. Schiphol offers the opportunity to convey this message in a very relaxed way. What’s more, this location makes it possible for us to combine several different strategies: brand awareness, experience and ultimately also sales.”

Would you like to know more about Made.com’s promotional campaign and about advertising at Schiphol? Then please contact one of our account managers.