The mark of any big idea is whether or not it has legs; whether it is versatile enough to carry any message or meet any brief. For McArthurGlen, Europe’s largest network of designer outlets, we came up with an approach the client was 100% happy with. With the credit crunch fast approaching, they wanted to fire the first salvo on the designer retail battlefield by announcing a 60% discount across all outlets. We recommended that to maintain the brand’s core values, we needed to underpin this strong sales message with style-focused lines which would convey the enjoyable nature of the designer outlet shopping experience. With propositions such as ‘Up to 60% off every day. 100% desirable’, the campaign is that rarest of marketing beasts; one that works on both a tactical and aspirational level. To date, the press and TV campaigns have worked their designer socks off, bucking the trend in a depressed clothing sector with a significant uplift in sales.