The Client:

Home Alternatives is a retail store in Geneva, Ohio, selling overstock and “scratch and dent” home improvement materials at rock-bottom discount prices.

The Situation:

The store recently moved from Ashtabula, Ohio, and is seeking to retain its old customers and get many more new ones, especially in Lake and Cuyahoga Counties. The owners were looking for a branding campaign, including a series of television commercials.

The Strategy:

Home Alternatives owners told us that they wanted a humorous “mascot “ character for their campaign. So we decided to create a character parodying famed Interior Design guru, Christopher Lowell. A very high-energy “Christoph Oh-Well” became the face of Home Alternatives. We created a jingle for the store and designed three commercials: the first, an image commercial, showing viewers all the store has to offer; second, a “donut”-style spot, which can be updated with new product on sale weekly, and finally a third spot, tied into the Christmas holiday season. The commercials ran on Adelphia cable in Ashtabula County, Lake County and Cuyahoga County.

The Result:

The owners of Home Alternatives told us the commercials produced almost immediate results, increasing in-store traffic and phone calls to the store, from locations as far away as East Cleveland. While the spots were running, Home Alternatives received approximately six calls a day from new customers who told them specifically that they were calling because they saw the ad on TV.