La Redoute has begun a consumer marketing campaign that draws on its heritage and former printed catalogue.
Distributed across France twice a year for decades
in several million copies, La Redoute’s catalogue was
far more than a commercial tool: it laid the groundwork for an early-stage marketplace, as did the Argos catalogue in the UK.
For more than half of the French brand’s customers, reading its 1,200 pages was a special family bonding moment. Although UK consumers never saw the catalogue, the campaign will introduce them to
previous decades of French style.
A majority of French customers read the catalogue several times during the six months, most often placed on the living room coffee table by a third of customers, leafed through and annotated, the catalogue held a unique place in the daily lives of the French.
The pan-European campaign transforms catalogue pages into contemporary advertisements as the brand highlights that modernity has never been tied to a specific era, and taps into consumers’ belief that life was better and less complicated in previous decades.
It has also adopted a new strapline: ‘French style for modern living, since 1837’.
‘The idea was to build a bridge between retro and modernity, between the real and the virtual, to
reconnect eras through a contemporary, deeply multi-generational language rooted in pop culture,’ says Virginie Boudet, La Redoute chief brand and communications officer.
‘It was also important to remind people that La
Redoute has always been ahead of its time.
‘Today, new technologies allow us to elevate this heritage, rediscover our collections, and reconnect generations.’
