dixons.co.uk – The Last Place You Want To Go

To me, saying “the last place you want to go” means that it is a place you want to avoid unless there is no where else to go.
Intresting to hear what other people think about this.

Yep, far too negative. Perhaps “DON’T CLICK HERE!” would have been more effective?

This had me thinking too on the underground – at first I thought “pointing gun at foot and fire!” but the more I thought about it I have to say it’s not as negative as you first think.

Shoppers are becoming more savvy online and know to shop around, so it makes sense in some respects. It made me think about it but i’d have to say it’s a risky way of targeting people.

I can see the creative agency getting sacked over this campaign when it dies a painful death. What an absolute load of tosh!
Was it meant as a viral marketing exercise? ‘Let’s make the worst advert ever so people talk about it?’ Damn, that’s what i’m doing now!

Dixons probably thought they were being clever with the “play on words” aspect of the campaign and in context it’s not too bad: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-business/article-23748723-war-of-words-on-high-street-over-dixons-advertising.do

But just having a board with that on it, shows incredible niaviety and expects a certain campaign awareness of the consumer (which they haven’t got). Also the joke is on them, because for most electrical consumers Dixons ARE the last place to get what you want to go!

It’s a tricky one.

Will work for some and others will hate it.

I suspect it is not aimed at web savvy techno geeks that mostly know that Dixon’s is the last place to go for a bargain.

More likely at late adopters that are still getting into the buy online (yes there are those out there that still don’t shop much online) and are still looking for a brand they recognise, even if it is associated with a failed business model.

It certainly seems to creating a stir and getting some air/binary space time. Which generally isn’t a bad thing.

I think those that aren’t fans of it were never going to shop at Dixon’s anyway, so they’ve lost nothing there.

Those that would consider Dixon’s might just think it’s a clever idea and be won over with the idea.

I personally don’t mind the idea as a concept, my only issue is with the location as a shopping venue and service and for that reason it’s unlikely to convince me to shop there.

Yeah, I’ve seen this all over the underground and almost blogged about it too. I think the slogan is poor but my main problem is the message. Being an online marketer I should find the idea of people coming online to buy products they’ve looked at in Shops, but the idea of rubbing the storekeepers nose in it doesn’t make me warm towards them at all.

Exactly what virtue are they trying to attach themselves to and who is the target audience? people with enough ruthlessness to waste a shop assistant’s time asking for a demonstration on a product they have no intention of buying there, would almost certainly find somewhere cheaper than Dixons when they log on to complete their purchase.

I like it. The phrase: “last place I’d want to go…” is well known enough to entice interest when viewing this creative.

I think the ad definitely works better if the viewer is aware of the other creatives in the campaign such as this one: http://inspirationalgeek.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/dixons1.jpg present on the London Underground.

It is an interesting choice in words they have used. “last resort” tends to come across as negative in most instances. In passing conversation, saying something is a last resort could be either desperate or bad, depending on how the rest of the conversation or statement. Without the clarification, it tends to be negative.

Just seeing the tweet in the feed this morning, sounded like something was going wrong with Dixons with that tagline. People don’t always read the full story, there are those that scan/glance (user patience decreasing etc etc)

As a business owner, i would prefer to be the first resort for any shopper, why would i want my potential clients shopping around, at the chance they may perhaps find something better (not simply on the price tag). There are always different types of clients, those that are concerned about price, some about quality, then those that are brand focused.

Marketers should always avoid words in tagline that can be misunderstood or be interpreted the wrong way, least of all seen as a negative. Probably a great idea during the marketing meeting and the team pitching the idea along with the concept, yet all of that is lost in translation by the time it lands in front of the potential client.

It might be clever… but largely I think it wasn’t a great idea. I meant… what? I don’t think oh yes, now I’ll check dixons.co.uk after a long slog of searching for an item already, and now I definitely won’t!

I really like this advertising campaign. Dixons have obviously completed a lot of brand research and what, at present, defines Dixons as a brand on the high street. Coupled with the fact that of the credit crunch and Brits tightening their belts this Christmas, they have engaged with the savvy shopper who will be looking to seek out a bargain.

This ad campaign would translate very well online should Dixons want to support this campaign with an online voucher code strategy to support their price-conscious focus

I dunno gang. It’s certainly a risky campaign, but you know what they say about high risk bringing with it high reward potential.

I’m personally not familiar with the brand, so if I were to see it on an advert in the tube, I’d make a mental note to check the url out when I got back to my computer.

But maybe that’s just me.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY, http://www.dixons.co.uk! I would like to give them a 0 rating but it’s not an option on this site. I placed an order for two items which were shown as in stock. The next day, it was showing as no stock. I waited for a week and there was no sign of my order. I emailed and was told it would take 7-10 days for new stock. Two weeks later and no sign of the order so I emailed again and there was no response.

I ended up ringing their expensive 0844 number and was told there were severe stock delays. I asked to cancel my order and they assured I was ablee to do this and that a refund would be issued. A week later, I emailed to ask for confirmation that my order had been cancelled and to ask how long the refund would take. I got a response saying my order had been cancelled but, conveniently, not addressing the second question. I rang and was told a fast-track refund would be issued (allegedly it usually takes 7-10 working days for a Paypal transaction!) and would be in my account in three working days. Over a week later, there was still no refund and no response to my email.

Nearly 30 days after the cancellation, I sent them an official complaint reminding them of my legal refund rights under the Distance Selling Act (2000) and threatening to take steps towards legal action if they did not respond within 48 hours. Finally, the next day my Paypal account was credited (what happened to the 7-10 working day turnaround! Or is that just an excuse to keep the money for a bit longer in the hope I’d forget?). They are claiming it was an ‘administrative error’. Erm, twice?!? And what about all the ignored messages I sent them?

What a battle! I am never using them again and do not recommend them. The staff are very unfriendly and unhelpful on the phone and speak with heavy foreign hard-to-understand accents and do not follow through with their promises. Emails asking for refund information are not responded to. Customer service is shoddy. Avoid at any cost.

Great article. Just another example of a high street retailer trying to fit into the 21st centuary. Used to love Dixons when I was kid 30 years ago, but these days it just does not deliver