Harvey Norman plans “Gerry finally gets online” campaign but marketing experts warn to think twice

Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey is telling anyone who will listen that he is is no longer the online retail laggard that many take him for, but marketing experts warn an ad campaign telling consumers that he finally “gets” online might not be such a good idea.

According to a report in The Australian, Gerry Harvey is considering the campaign to point to the company’s existing online offerings, including its Big Buys and Clive Peeters websites, along with an upcoming Harvey Norman online store.

“We find people will order smaller things online, but for bigger items they’ll mostly come to the store, go home and order online,” he said.

But marketing experts say Harvey Norman should think twice before beginning a campaign that references such negative tenancies, and say the company should focus on the store itself.

Brandology chief executive Michele Hogan says a campaign referencing a negative trait or sentiment – in this instance the fact that Gerry Harvey previously dismissed online retail as a dead-end – isn’t a good starting point.

“My general take on hearing that line is that they’re trying to say, despite what people may have heard, is that Harvey Norman gets the fact that online is here to stay and they need to get into the online space.”

“But the problem with that is I don’t think you get anywhere trying to turn a negative into a positive. There is an awful lot out there about how online advertising is decimating retail, and I’m not sure how an ad campaign could combat that.”

Megan Hales, chief executive of advertising agency The Campaign Palace, says Harvey Norman needs to put the consumer first when talking about its new online store.

“The biggest challenge for Australian consumers in particular, is that there is just general frustration with retailers getting online quickly enough. And there is a variety of expectations they have.”

“They want to see competitive pricing, they want to be able to compare prices and know they’re getting the best deals. Local retailers need to look at what is engaging those consumers as a starting point.”

Harvey has increasingly appeared more frequently in the public eye as a spokesperson for Australia’s biggest retailers, which have lobbied the Government to drop the threshold on low-value imports to stifle the move towards offshore retailing.

At the same time, Harvey has continued his remarks against the viability of online retail, although recently he has softened from this position and announced the establishment of Big Guys, a daily deals store, and the upcoming Harvey Norman-branded online storefront.

But Hogan says Harvey shouldn’t put himself at the front of the campaign, and instead should focus more on the store itself and educate users on how it works.

“For Harvey Norman, what they need to do is just promote the solution. I would stay away from rehabilitating the conception of Gerry Harvey as being slow to move online.”

“I don’t think that’s the role of advertising, to change that viewpoint. To be honest, I don’t know if the average consumer would really care what Gerry Harvey thinks of online retail as long as the store itself worked well.”

The “Gerry gets it” line is a reaction to the backlash the veteran endured after the GST campaign, which actually saw him move away from the spotlight.

Carolyn Loton, head of Juntos Marketing, says the company needs to simply follow through on its promises.

“Things like cataloguing, and how the online store runs, they really need to understand how consumers are shopping and simply follow through with the campaign,” she says.

“I think Gerry and Harvey Norman need to step back, and really plan for what consumers want before they spend on advertising.”

Hales recognises why the situation is a conundrum, given Gerry is such a prominent spokesperson for the company and the industry as a whole, but agrees the campaign needs to avoid personal touches.

“Gerry Harvey has been front and centre on this, but I think it would be far better for him to say that the company has listened to consumers, we know what you expect and then actually use that role to be a champion, rather than embark on a personal PR campaign.”

Both Hogan and Hales say the company should be wary of accidentally acting condescending to customers who have been shopping online for quite a while now.

“They need to treat this campaign well,” Hogan says, “because the smart people understand that online appeals to a certain type of consumer.”

“I have a personal hate of cute, stupid advertising, and this particularly smacks of that.”

Hales says the campaign needs to recognise what consumers want, and how they can get that at a new Harvey Norman store.

“It needs to be explained what the customer benefit is and why they should shop online at Harvey Norman. Many of these consumers will be switching from other stores, and I think the better approach would just be to approach the situation upfront and say why this solution works.”