John Lewis: Man on the Moon

This case study explains how John Lewis, the British department store, used social media and content to make an emotional TV ad famous and increase sales during the Christmas period.

Advertiser: John LewisAgency: adam&eveDDBCountry: United Kingdom

Objectives

Unusually, The John Lewis Partnership (which also includes Waitrose supermarkets) is mutually owned, making it the UK's largest employee co-operative. The stated objective of the partnership is "the happiness of all its members, through their worthwhile and satisfying employment in a successful business".

Every year, the board awards a profit-related bonus to all permanent employees ("Partners"). Christmas is vital for generating those bonuses, accounting for around 20% of annual sales and 40% of profitsii. So Christmas matters a lot to the people at John Lewis. And...

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