COLES crowned Retailer of the Year for its outstanding campaigns at the international Real Media Awards has beaten fierce competition including last year’s winner ALDI as well as finalists Woolworths, Big W and Dan Murphy’s, Coles to come out on top this year for retail marketing excellence.

Formerly known as the Australasian Catalogue Awards, the 28th Real Media awards were held on Friday 30th August in Melbourne, Australia celebrating excellence across letterbox marketing, publishing, direct mail, point of sale, marketing efficacy and more throughout Australia and New Zealand.

John Leaman, GM, Coles said it was an honour to be recognised as Australia and New Zealand’s leading retail marketer.

“We are so excited to be crowned Retailer of the Year. From our Coles Supermarket catalogue to Coles Magazine to the Coles Local publication, we are consistently working to offer our consumers a curated, relevant and engaging experience.”

“A huge congratulations to the whole team at Coles, including Salmat and IVE this would not have been possible without you. A big thank you to Big Red, Medium Rare Content Agency, Keep Left and NBHD Creative for all of your campaign and design support,” commented John Leaman Head of Marketing Operations, Coles.

Coles has had a big year taking home the Supermarket retailer award for their ‘A Fresh Look at Christmas’ publication by NBHD Creative as well as the Point of Sale / In Store Display retail award for their ‘Free Flights Plane’ publication.

Supermarket catalogues are continuously proving to be highly effective in driving sales. According to Roy Morgan Research, catalogues are ranked number one as the Media Most Useful when making a purchasing decision for groceries and 70% of main grocery buyers made a purchase after reading a catalogue in the last 4 weeks.

Kellie Northwood, Chief Executive Officer, The Real Media Collective congratulated all of the finalists and the winner across the category.

“Retailer of the Year is a prestigious Award and not easily won. This year saw the best of the best retail brands across all segments enter. Congratulations Coles for your well-deserved win, your publications continue to deliver, delight and engage Australians across the nation. To the Finalists, ALDI, BIG W, Dan Murphy’s and Woolworths congratulations, proud recognition to being recognised within the top 5 retail marketers in the country, no easy feat,” said Northwood.

“The Real Media Collective is an example of the industry coming together, brands, agencies, retailers, printers, publishers and distributors celebrating the work they create in partnership to drive efficacy across the impressive and results-driven media channels we represent. The Real Media Awards are a testament to this success and a great reflection of our Collective philosophy,” concluded Northwood.