This blog post will explore three other DIY businesses’ social media posts. After viewing Instagram and Facebook, I realised most companies post the same thing on both platforms, so I will focus on Instagram. All these posts are from the colder months, so you can see what they do differently to Edecks. After research, I noticed these DIY stores, including Edecks, repost many of their customer’s content on their accounts, which is great for showcasing what potential buyers can achieve with their products. However, I’m going to focus on advertising campaigns.
Wickes
Wickes’s is a home improvement retailer. Their advertising campaigns are very effective during the colder months of September to December because of several strategies they implement.
Seasonal Relevance
Wickes creates content on its Instagram page that matches the needs of its customers during the winter months, promoting products like insulation, heating upgrades, and cosy renovations. This makes their posts more relevant and actionable, driving higher engagement. Below is a promotional post showing the essentials customers need to keep safe during winter. I focused on this for Edecks as they have little personal content about the colder months. During this time, the UK had a snow and ice warning (as we don’t get snow very often), showing they put effort into posting timely advertisements.
Visually, the post is simple and straight to the point. This content uses carousels where you can showcase multiple images in one post. So as the audience scrolls through, they will see all the useful products Wickes has listed here. The background image matches the winter theme, and the colours used are on brand. The call-to-action is very clear in bold text and the incorporation of emojis, making the brand feel more humble and human-like. I’ve taken inspiration from this, especially with the aspect of not overcomplicating the advert and making the message clear.
A Visual-first Platform
Instagram is a very visual platform where photographs and videos are shared. Wickes excels at this by showcasing before-and-after renovations, cosy home decor, and DIY projects tailored to the colder months of the year. Adverts like this tap into the customers’ emotions, wanting a safe and restful home. Edecks can definitely incorporate this into their Instagram feed.
The designer’s composition of this post is interesting, as they used different shapes and slanted the before image. Incorporating layers as the “after” overlaps the “before” makes the overall design much more intriguing than just having it side by side. Again, they stayed true to their brand, using the same colours and font. Including an advert of what Edecks products can do to improve customers outside the living area, similar to this Wickes one, would tap into the customers’ emotions and showcase how great Edecks products are and how customers can use them.
B&Q
B&Q is a DIY, home improvement store, and garden Centre. Its Instagram is tailored to be visually appealing and inspire a broad audience.
Festive Theme & Visual Design
During the colder months, B&Q has focused its imagery on a warm and inviting feel by showcasing cosy home settings and its products. They promote Christmas decorations and trees, ensuring the design for these seasonal ads has a minimal layout, text, and seasonal colours. During the Christmas period, B&Q promotes a campaign called the “12 Days of Christmas with B&Q.” In this campaign, they post different products that they give away daily, which gets the audience excited and engaged.
Besides creating advertisements similar to giveaways on different UK holidays, B&Q is very photo—and video-heavy. However, this imagery is very high-class and showcases all the products they sell. So, unfortunately, I couldn’t find any other cold-weather advertisements on their page.
Homebase
Homebase is another home improvement store with a garden centre. Like B&Q, Homebase focuses on Christmas during the winter months.
Promoting Products
They strategically promoted Christmas decorations during the winter months. Focusing on seasonal promotion plays on the audience’s emotions, making them more likely to engage. I want to achieve this in my design work. For one advertisement on Instagram, they used the carousel method so they put images of multiple products in one post.
Refrences
Homebase_uk, (2024) While you’re outside packing away the pumpkins, why not swap out Halloween for a touch of Christmas magic?, (Instagram), November 2, URL: https://www.instagram.com/p/DB33-X5Rp5-/?hl=en&img_index=4, [04/05/25]
bandq_uk, (2024) It’s back and bigger than ever, (Instagram), November 30, URL:https://www.instagram.com/p/DC_IEYctzWw/?hl=en, [04/05/25]
bandq_uk, (2024) Day 4 of our 12 days of Christmas giveaway… , (Instagram), December 4, URL:https://www.instagram.com/p/DDJ2yRouM1Y/?hl=en&img_index=1, [04/05/25]
wickes, (2025) Your dream kitchen is waiting… , (Instagram), March 14, URL:https://www.instagram.com/p/DHMDTGLNr-g/?hl=en&img_index=1, [04/05/25]
wickes, (2025) he Met Office has issued an amber snow and ice warning , (Instagram), January 4, URL:https://www.instagram.com/p/DEZdoqNNVnY/?hl=en&img_index=1, [04/05/25]