Early last month, Harry and David began running its first direct response television commercial in a decade. The 60-second spot will run nationally on the Oxygen, Lifetime, Discovery and CNN networks, among others.
The commercial focuses around the Medford, OR company’s Tower of Treats product, which features a variety of edibles presented in a stack. The campaign consists of two price point tests: a $29.95 option and a $36.95 variation that offers a few more items. The variable Tower of Treats arrangements Harry and David has promoted in the past ranged in price from $24.95 to $339.95 (the latter for 12 Towers, delivered one a month for a year).
The campaign was developed by Haggin Marketing of Sausalito, CA. It features a toll-free number and Web sites customized to each network, in order to allow tracking. While the media budget was not available, the campaign will run on a balanced schedule that includes prime time, late night and some morning spots.
Harry and David had tested television marketing successfully 10 years ago, but chose at the time to focus on a catalog prospect acquisition strategy, according to Haggin spokeswoman Kathryn Grant.
The return to television coincides with a much broader retail reach for Harry and David, Grant said. The chain currently has 145 outlets.
In a related story, Direct’s sister publication Catalog Age recently learned that Japanese pharmaceutical company Yamanouchi has invited potential buyers to bid on its Medford, OR-based Bear Creek Corp. division, which owns Harry and David and horticultural mailer Jackson & Perkins.
According to a source who requested anonymity, Bear Creek sent an offering memorandum to a well-defined group of potential buyers to determine if it could sell the businesses. Prospective bidders have been invited to Bear Creek’s headquarters for a walk-through and to talk with management. Bear Creek would not comment.
The source estimated that Bear Creek could fetch between $250 million and $500 million. According to Catalog Age 100 estimates, Bear Creek generated more than $500 million in sales last year.
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