MEDIA & MARKETING:ADS WITH personality are something of a speciality in the electrical retail sector. Think Harvey Norman, soft-spoken Geraldine in Discount Electrical or the Power City salesman who tells you, "Dis microwave oven - only €49.99". Perhaps these TV and radio ads drive you nuts, but in a crowded market, they make brands stand out writes Siobhán O'Connell.

However, what comes to mind when you think of Currys, the UK chain that finally built a presence in Ireland a few years ago? Currys has a multimillion euro annual ad spend, most of which is spent on price awareness ads in the national press, which are just like the ads they run in England.

Belatedly, it is trying to add some Irish personality of its own, with a new TV ad campaign focusing on customer service.

Currys is one of three retail brands under the umbrella of DSG Retail Ireland, the others being Dixons and PC World. DSG has scrapped the Dixons retail presence in Ireland, with all the Dixons stores rebranded as Currys. So the imperative for Declan Ronayne, managing director of DSG, is to try to brand Currys as an attractive alternative to its more high-profile rivals.

Sales of electrical goods in the second quarter of 2008 were down 11 per cent on the previous year. This slippage was inevitable given the SSIA factor in 2007, but no business likes to see its turnover on the slide.

Says Ronayne: "Retailing is tough right now and electrical retailing is even tougher. But there is no better time for us to invest in building the brand. There is a requirement to take market share and advertising delivers market share."

To this end, Ronayne has turned to Rothco, an upcoming ad agency that has been winning some blue chip accounts in recent years. According to Richard Carr, Rothco's client service director: "Currys is looking to the future. Their research told them that consumers couldn't tell the difference between Currys and other retailers in the sector."

The main plank of the revised marketing strategy is to spend more on television advertising. Says Carr: "For a brand like Currys with mass market objectives and the need to rapidly build a distinctive personality, TV has to be top of the pyramid."

Rothco has devised a series of eight TV spots that will air until the end of the year. The slogan used in the new TV spots - With You in Mind - is also used by the brand in the UK. The main message coming through from the ads is that Currys has major purchasing power, though there is also an attempt to sell the message that the service quality in Currys is superior.

Selling lowest price and best service in a 20-second ad burst isn't easy, and it's debatable whether it's even a good idea.

Ronayne's dilemma is that consumers react first and foremost to price offers, but they'll only return if they have a good experience. He is attempting to ensure this happens by encouraging staff to act more as sales assistants and less as sales hustlers. The remuneration systems has been changed with a higher level of base pay, and many staff in the 18 Currys shops have been kitted out in bright red T-shirts bearing the message: "Relax, I'm not on commission."

The ads don't add much personality to the brand, but the TV spend will raise its profile and increase the pressure on rivals to up their marketing spend too.

siobhan@businessplus.ie