British retailer Argos is heading to London railway stations for another innovative out-of-home campaign.

The 750-outlet chain, owned by Home Retail Group, is unusual among major retailers in that it has little stock on display, but instead asks customers to browse a catalogue in-store before placing their orders at a desk, for immediate collection or home delivery. It also sells online.

Now, it is replicating the in-store experience for commuters at Paddington and Waterloo railway stations in London. Temporary booths show a selection from its catalogue; consumers can then point their smartphone at a QR code alongside the product they want, and pick it up from a store later that day.

The campaign was the work of Kinetic, Mindshare and Concourse Initiatives.

“Following Kinetic research early this year that showed a huge increase in the recognition of mobile technologies in the UK, it’s great for Argos to break new ground with this out-of-home and m-commerce campaign,” said Andrew Brunton, account executive at Kinetic.

“The rail environment is perfect to reach a time-poor audience where there will often be a high dwell time,” he added.

Recent research by Posterscope shows that railway stations are among the most favoured places for British consumers to interact with digital out-of-home; 48 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to engage with interactive media there, with shopping malls only narrowly ahead.

And this is not the first time that Argos has shown itself to be one of the more creative retailers in its employment of out-of-home, despite its relatively unsophisticated and low-tech public image. During the summer, Mindshare and Kinetic along with CHI & Partners worked for Argos on a digital out-of-home campaign with weather-sensitive content.

www.chiandpartners.com
www.concourse-initiatives.com
www.kineticww.com
www.mindshareworld.com
www.posterscope.com

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