Retail executives are always saying that store-level employees are their most important asset because they are the ones interacting with customers day-in and day-out. Now, chains are taking the importance of workers one step further by featuring them in television commercials and other customer-facing communications.
According to a report by Brandweek, the practice of using workers in ads is on the upswing. It points to recent campaigns from Domino's Pizza, Lowe's and Zappos as examples.
The Zappos campaign makes use of puppets known as Zappets to portray actual employees of the e-tailer. Aaron Magness, director for brand marketing and business development at Zappos, told The New York Times, "The goal is when you see the ads, in TV, print or digital, you'll say, 'That's the Zappos I know,' or 'That's a company I want to do business with.'"
The Lowe's commercials use actual employees in stores helping shoppers properly prepare for home improvement projects. "Consumers' mind-sets have changed," Tom Lamb, vp, consumer marketing, told Brandweek. "It's forced us to rethink our offerings. There's a return to sweat equity and expense control. Customers are looking for a lot more advice."
Domino's found that using franchisees and employees in its spots had greater benefits than it expected. Russell Weiner, Domino's evp, CMO, told Brandweek, "The campaign became great 'invertising' as well," he said. "Our franchisees and employees loved seeing themselves. It was compelling to consumers and motivating to our staffers."
Discussion Questions: Is the use of employees in ads any more or less effective than other creative approaches? What company's advertising, current or in the past, do you think used employees most effectively?