Brief:

• Home improvement retailer Wickes generated almost 613,000 views in the industry's first influencer campaign on social video app TikTok in the U.K., according to an announcement that influencer marketing agency Takumi emailed to Mobile Marketer. The #MyWickesMyWay effort features seven creators in videos that demonstrate Wickes' range of products.
• The creators offered DIY tips and hacks while urging TikTok users to participate in home improvement challenges, supporting engagement with Wickes' campaign. As of last week, the campaign had generated 120,000 likes, along with a combined reach of 442,000 and engagement rate of 18%, per data provided by Takumi.
• With more consumers spending time at home during the pandemic, spending on improving homes and gardens is forecast to grow 13% to £4.94 billion ($6.5 billion) by Christmas, according to British Home Enhancement Trade Association data provided by Takumi.

Insight:

Wickes' first influencer campaign on TikTok aims to engage younger consumers who use the app to follow their favorite DIY creators and share videos. By running its #MyWickesMyWay campaign with branded hashtag challenges, Wickes can demonstrate how to use its products for home improvement projects and urge people to visit its stores. As an essential business, its locations have remained open during lockdowns, though the retailer also offers delivery and "click and collect" service, according to its website.

Wickes' campaign comes as more marketers in the U.K., U.S. and Germany are expected to increase their influencer marketing efforts to cut through ad clutter and reach younger consumers who are more elusive to traditional media channels like linear TV. About a third (35%) of marketers in those countries are considering working with influencers on TikTok in the next year, Takumi found in a separate survey. Almost three quarters (73%) of marketers said they're putting more resources into influencer marketing than they were a year ago, including the same percentage in the architecture, engineering and building trades, according to Takumi's study.

"We want to help the nation feel houseproud, and as we're all spending more time inside our four walls, we want to encourage new audiences to engage with our brand and home trends," Wickes' head of marketing Shelly Allison said in a statement, calling TikTok an "ideal space" for home improvement content.

The influencer campaign comes amid a recovery in spending on building materials in the U.K., though a new wave of lockdowns may weaken that rebound. Wickes' parent company Travis Perkins, the biggest seller of construction supplies in the country, reported revenue declined 3.4% in Q3 from a year earlier, which was a significant improvement from the 20% plunge in Q2 as lockdowns took effect.

Amid a recent jump in coronavirus cases, the U.K. this month started a second lockdown that lasts until Dec. 2, just as the holiday shopping season enters its final weeks. Wickes is allowed to remain open during the lockdown, though the restrictions are likely to drive online orders for delivery or pickup.