Background

Barker and Stonehouse is one of the UK’s largest privately owned furniture retailers with a reputation as an interiors trendsetter offering beautifully crafted furniture in its inspirationally designed stores.

The company has eight vast showrooms across north east England, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire as well as operating a thriving webstore. It represents some of the world’s leading furniture brands including B&B Italia, Kartell, Ligne Roset, Hulsta and Flexform as well as producing an impressive range of own label furniture using ethically sourced materials.

It works with Cool Blue to deliver its four annual direct marketing campaigns.

Strategy

Cool Blue works with the store to develop its direct mail campaigns devising four campaign concepts per year to resonate with the store’s existing and potential customer base.

Each quarter we produce a customer mail pack including product brochure and relevant discounts and customer offers and incentives. Cool Blue’s role in this can involve determining themes and looks, styling and art directing brochure photography shoots, sourcing locations and managing stylists as well as the design, print and distribution of the packs themselves.

Added to this is the planning and distribution of the store’s national news inserts campaign which is also delivered on a quarterly basis.

Result

Barker & Stonehouse considers its direct mail campaign to be its key marketing asset with TV and print advertising continuing to fragment whilst sales ‘from the page’ continue to grow rapidly.

The store sources its materials responsibly and makes all product marketing materials available in digital formats for those customers who prefer to view online or download the information at their leisure.

Its direct marketing activity reflects and reinforces the store’s reputation for quality, innovation and customer service.