Kmart: HALLOWEEN

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: KMART
Agency: DRAFTFCB
Category: Viral Film
Advertising campaign: HALLOWEEN
Animation: Jon Gallo (Inside Job)
Creative Director: Howie Ronay (Draftfcb)
Creative Director/Copywriter: Sean Burns (Draftfcb)
Agency Producer: Brian Cooper (Draftfcb)
Chief Creative Officer: Todd Tilford (Draftfcb)
Director: Tony Gaddis (Fountain Studio)
Editor: Ben Flaherty (Inside Job)
Producer: Tina Moy (Foutain Studio)

Outcome
The results were amazing thanks, in part, to press coverage by Forbes, Bloomberg and countless other media. Hundreds of thousands of video views, millions of impressions, social buzz engagement and blogger coverage had people thinking of Kmart as THE place for Halloween. Younger shoppers and their families were engaged and inspired while in their seasonal mindset and visits to the Kmart Halloween Department increased.

Client Brief Or Objective
Kmart has more than 3,000 Halloween costumes, but few people think of Kmart for Halloween. And, Kmart is consistently outspent by heavy competitors like Walmart in key seasons. To drive awareness and capture the attention of a new, younger customer base, we staged a world record-breaking event right in front of the Kmart store.

Implementation
Celebrity dancer Monty Rezell turned Kmart’s parking lot into an event as he danced and dressed himself into a world record for most costume changes in eight hours. An experimental, innovative 360-degree camera rig captured the experience and streamed content online. The enthusiastic crowd included bloggers, influencers, press, radio stations, enthusiastic customers and Guinness Book of World Records representatives. Result? A new Guinness World Record, and a dramatic ninety-second promotional film. On site, the exciting event thrilled audiences. But the real drama was online where engagement quadrupled expectations. With little budget, costume selection was our hook to inspire visits and sales.

Relevancy
The Halloween Costume challenge strongly delivered on Kmart’s objective by showcasing the abundance of costumes available at Kmart while keeping the audience engaged in a unique way. This has never been done before. With the help of a celebrity dancer, a 360-degree camera rig, and the buzz about a Guinness World Record, we were able to capture the product in a new and interesting way. By showcasing the breadth of product that Kmart has to offer, the client achieved its primary marketing objective in a way that appealed to a younger, yet broad customer segment.