CCS McLays
The detail behind the retail
Goods Not For Resale (GNFR) is a category very few people have heard of. It’s all of the things that retailers need but don’t sell. Stationery, carrier bags, cleaning supplies, staff uniforms. That sort of thing. And even though CCS McLays have a 20+ year track record of supplying almost anything that retailers might need behind the scenes, brand awareness was low.
They’d hired …Gasp! agency to get them noticed alongside the bigger players, and crucially convey both the personality within their team, and their commitment to getting the job done. So…Gasp! got us in to develop a brand positioning that was distinctive, personable and above all, memorable.
Brand positioning
As usual, …Gasp! had done much of the hard work before coming to us: client immersion sessions, competitor reviews, market analysis, and interviews with staff, customers and brand loyalists. The lot.
One of the findings was around the amount of jargon used within the category. Jargon’s okay in small doses when you’re talking to people who live and breathe this stuff. But to stand out, everyday language was needed. Conversational relatability rather than buzzwordy bluster.
We started with an elevator pitch…
In retail, your products might be the stars of the show. But it’s all the things you take for granted that really set you apart. Like your signage, stationery, bags with the fancy handles, and food containers with lids that actually stay on. CCS McLays are all about the stuff you don’t sell. The stuff you need to keep your business running right. The stuff you’d rather not think about. The little details that make all the difference. CCS McLays sort it all.
And this led us to a new brand strapline that said exactly what CCS McLays do, in a refreshingly simple way…
Brand awareness ad copy
“The detail behind the retail” gave us license to be intentionally ultra-specific when talking about CCS McLays’ products and the scenarios that retail managers might find themselves in. Injecting energy into inanimate objects. In total contrast to the jargonny generalisms spoken by much of the competition.
And beautifully brought to life with …Gasp!’s exquisitely detailed art direction.
The Great Toilet Takeover
The second CCS McLays brief from …Gasp! started with just four words: “We’re sponsoring some toilets.” Not just any old toilets. The toilets at Retail Week’s headline event of the year: the jewel in the crown of the UK retail and FMCG sectors, Retail Week x The Grocer LIVE.
Retail Week had never considered offering their toilet area for sponsorship before, until …Gasp! came up with the genius idea of making CCS McLays the proud sponsors of 1109 sqft of exquisite bathroom space.
To embody The detail behind the retail positioning, we wrote dozens of fourth-wall breaking copy lines across every feasible surface. A proper marketing style brand campaign, full of the personality that you can expect when working with CCS McLays.
On the back of every cubicle door
On every mirror
Above all the urinals
Big stickers on the floor
Even the bins
And a couple on the way out
Humour can get in under the door while seriousness is still fumbling at the handle
It’s rare to be given the freedom to be strategically silly in B2B. But …Gasp! know how effective it can be in the right circumstances. These were undoubtedly the right circumstances. Here’s their recap of the full campaign.
And the last word is from our co-founder Dave Harland, who never, ever dreamt that he’d get to write the words “widdle” or “piddle” in a professional setting…
“In 2067, when I’m hopefully swinging on a hammock overlooking the Med, and I think back to the fun I had during my career, the great CCS McLays Toilet Takeover will undoubtedly be up there.”