Emma O’Doherty, Managing Director, Mindshare Ireland

I recently had the pleasure of shopping in Sainsbury’s in Derry (you know, just passing through on a Good Friday!). I emphasise the word pleasure because at the best of times I’m not good with grocery shopping – the chilled aisles are, eh cold, and shoppers are too, often dour and business –like.

Within moments of entering I noticed something that has been missing from recent shopping trips around Dublin – the store felt alive. Not only was it busy, but there was an energetic and positive atmosphere. Granted it was a holiday weekend – people were probably more relaxed and in a better mood; but I can’t put it all down to bank holiday good humour and the fact that there was alcohol on sale! There was something else in the air – the store had confidence, the staff had confidence and this, in my opinion, fed the confidence of the shoppers.

Confident, relaxed – is there any better mood you would want shoppers to be in?

Walt Disney once said, “People spend money when and where they feel good.” In advertising, research into moods and their effects is hugely important; we are, after all, trying to ensure that people are open to receiving messages; evaluate them in a favourable way; recall brand names; and most importantly, be willing to part with money for these brands. Research, literature and Walt Disney tell us that persuasive influence is much greater when people are in a positive mood, and who are we to argue?

So advertisers aim for those moments where we are most positive – usually when we are relaxed and happy – late night TV, the leisurely weekend read and time online networking with friends.  The difficulty for brands comes in trying to maintain a positive brand preference right to the checkout. Only some of it is in their hands – point of sale advertising, packaging design, on shelf-visibility – the rest is up to the retailer and the environment created in-store.

So had Sainsbury’s done its bit to keep me in a good mood? I only visit this particular store a couple of times a year, but I’ve become familiar with where things are; there has been no aimless reordering of aisles. It’s a manageable size, always well maintained, and clearly signposted. Staff are friendly and accommodating. Everything is clearly priced and there are plenty of offers – brands and own label alike. Confident, consumer friendly, easy.

Added services, technology/apps and ‘fun’ all have their places, but easy shop-ability is the holy grail when it comes to putting an average grocery shopper in a good mood. Brands will do well to remember that too – work with retailers to bring brand messages through the store, but in a way that adds to a consumer’s easy shopping experience – meal solutions, directional signage to shelf, and visibility of offers to name just a few.

I’ll finish on one great example of a positive mood generator – the M&S Dine in for Two.  An obvious loss leader, this meal deal is such good value that when it’s on offer the store is a buzz of positive energy – consumers know they are getting excellent value in a store that does not usually compete on price – the win for M&S, increased footfall and shoppers who generally end up purchasing more than the offered deal.

Just like my over-filled trolley in Sainsbury’s!

Further reading: Retail Shoppability: A measure of the world’s best stores: http://www.kelley.iu.edu/CERR/files/shoppability.pdf

Shopper Solutions

The growth of shopper solutions in the US retail market has seen a sharp increase over the last few years as leading FMCG companies involved in shopper marketing experience a greater net benefit by adopting a solutions-based approach to their programmes.

In this blog we will address the following questions:

• What exactly are shopper solutions?
• Who benefits from them?
• Are large scale shopper solutions transferable to the Irish market?
• Are shopper solutions worthy of the hype?
• Where to for the future of shopper solutions?

What are shopper solutions?

Shopper solutions are insight-driven events that often feature two or more products that shoppers can purchase together.

The 5^th annual study on shopper marketing conducted by the GMA defines a shopper solutions programme as “a series of scalable, customizable events that are built around an insight capable of delivering incremental value to the shopper that goes beyond the inherent benefits of a product or price promotion”.

A good example of a successful shopper solution from the Irish market is Marks and Spencer “Dine for 2” meal deal whereby the starter, main course and dessert are all placed in the 1 location in-store.

A best in class shopper solution needs to tick the following boxes:

• Inspire the shopper
• Inform the shopper
• Give the shopper a reason to buy now

According to the GMA study solutions that scored highest with shoppers tend to focus on using the product/solution rather than their features or benefits. The best solutions are often the simplest as can been seen from the Marks and Spencer example. You don’t need to spend a lot on research to know that an all-in-one meal solution, situated in a single location in-store and competitively priced, will be a big success with your shoppers.

The M&S solution also benefits from the fact that all of the products are own brand, making it easier for the retailer to implement. Many of the emerging solutions from the US market are large scale installations that combine products from different suppliers and therefore require a far greater degree of planning and expertise.

Who benefits from shopper solutions?

The great strength of a well developed solution is that all 3 parties win (the shopper, the retailer and the supplier).

For shoppers a good solution should be:

• Convenient: all the elements grouped in 1 place within the store
• Economical:  Generally, but not always, a good solution will provide a saving for the shopper
• Entertaining: Elevate the meal solution to rival eating out. Tesco Ireland  a solution for St. Patricks Day which they called the “Big Night In” whereby the shopper could purchase a pizza, DVD, ice cream and six pack of beer or a bottle of wine, all for just €15.

For the retailer and the supplier the advantages of implementing of good shopper solutions are two-fold:

• By working together to enhance the shopper experience and making it more convenient, entertaining and at times economical they are strengthening the relationship between shopper and retailer and between the shopper and the brand.
• The development of good solutions forges stronger and more collaborative relationships between the retailer and the supplier.

Are large scale shopper solutions transferable to the Irish market?

In the GMA report they write that “scale is needed to make shopper solutions economically feasible for manufacturers because they typically require a greater investment in time and resources”.

In other words, in order to get a good return on investment a supplier needs to be able to achieve scale. Such scale is achievable in the US markets where a typical solution involving huge design and implementation costs can be balanced by the rollout to hundreds and often even thousands of stores.  This level of scale is not achievable in the Irish market.

That is not to say that solutions on a smaller scale cannot be implemented as demonstrated with the Marks and Spencer and Tesco examples.

Are shopper solutions worthy of the hype?

It’s fair to say that shopper solutions, in some shape or form, have been with us for decades. Sainsbury’s in the UK created recipe cards as far back as the 1980’s. So the concept of shopper solutions is not a new one.  However, what is new, especially in the US market is the scale and level of detail, insight and overall investment that go into creating a successful solution.

So are solutions worthy of the hype? Mike Anthony of Engage Consultants, one of the thought leaders on Shopper Marketing is critical of the focus that can be placed on solutions when he writes “the problem with the solutions mindset – there has to be a shopper problem to solve. What if there isn’t’? How does that fit with your consumer priorities? Also if shopper marketing is confined to merely grouping a meal solution together, then I believe its biggest opportunities have been missed. Focusing insights on the creation of “shopper solutions” appears too narrow a focus”.

Where to for the future of solutions?

Online would appear to offer many advantages to the development of solutions for the following reasons:

• Shoppers tend to spend more time online than they do at the shelf
• Online shopping can overcome the space and logistical limitations that can impede solutions in-store.
• It is easier and more cost effective to test the effectiveness of solutions online

While all of the above points are valid, online solutions have yet to gain traction. However, the growing popularity of recipe websites, online shopping lists, digital coupons, brands on social media etc., indicates that if shopper solutions continue to grow in the physical retail world, then it will only be a matter of time before their popularity migrates online.

Orlaith Blaney CEO at McCann Erickson Dublin

I’m a massive fan of superb packaging design and with all of the manic competition in-store and dozens special offers screaming ‘’buy me twice for the price of once’’, it is hard to cut through and really get noticed. We’ve also got some great in-store media now, on shopping trolley handles, floor stickers, security barriers and shopper six sheets all covered with strong brand messages to get you to buy one washing up liquid or cheese brand over another. We know from all of the fantastic store by store research, that this activity is not only very effective, shopper marketing has become a science and expertise all of its own, with research and planning decks being written solely focused on the importance of getting mum to buy you when she is in shopping. Our typical Mum is one busy lady. After she has dropped the kids to school, she is rushing home to do the afternoon taxi run to GAA or Hurling and then organise the dinner and homework and school lunches. Tough work. So, with all of this going on, what role can fantastic packaging play to help you sell?

I have been struck recently by some brilliant award winning packaging design and my general sense is that some Irish brands still haven’t cracked it. My website of the moment is the world’s best packaging design website  http://www.thedieline.com – if you are in the market for some truly inspirational packaging design, definitely check this site out. We all know about brands like Innocent and how superbly they use their packaging to build their brand personality. Recently, brands like Brodericks (new Irish biscuit company with distribution in Insomnia)  http://www.brodericksbrothers.com/  and famously, Cully and Sully, http://www.cullyandsully.com/  built their business on the power of superb packaging design and they are all winning in the market as they have made excellent investment in how they look to their customers. Mr Tayto has had a bit of a revamp too, with a 3D version of himself on pack. http://www.tayto.ie

Packaging design often makes fatal flaws. Some food brands in particular, for example the type size on pack is too tiny on nutritional guidelines, the quality of food photography is poor and the general power to persuade is diluted by a weak choice of colour combination and messaging overload on pack that just makes is disappear on-shelf. I’ve also seen some excellent work being done in the UK, on shelf ready packaging (SRP) and some errors being made on that front too. We’ve covered this issue on our own blog, http://www.mccannerickson.ie/tag/packaging/ and we’re just really interested in the power of brilliant packaging and the difference it can make to your business and to your communication strategy.

Finally, I thought I’d just show you some really great examples of brands that have struck me recently. They are from www.thedieline.com. The first is Saucy Fish Co. I love the way they use half the fish shape on the packaging, with the top half transparent to show the product.

I am also a fan of Steve’s Leaves, an award winning bag for packaging rocket leaves, etc. http://www.stevesleaves.co.uk/ . I love both their website design and their packaging. The latest innovation in the USA on salad packaging is in a glass jar called simply ‘The Salad Jar’. I’d definitely buy this over a plastic bag full of leaves that only last a day or two.

And lastly Coca-Cola -”As the part of its “Tribute to Fashion” charity project, Coca Cola asked some of the best Italian designers to put their stamp on its limited edition bottle, including Moschino, Donatella Versace, Angela Missoni, Alberto Ferreti, Consuelo Castiglioni and Etro, who showcased their creations at the Milano Fashion Centre.” The Moschino Polka Dot Design is really fab.

So, if you’re reading this, please ask yourself is my packaging design interesting, involving, does it reflect what my customer wants and likes and does it build my brand story. There is plenty of inspiration around, so if you could do with a bit of a rethink on your packaging, put it on your ‘’to do’’ list for 2012.

Tags – TheDieLine.com, Tayto, Cully and Sully, McCann Erickson, Steves Leaves, Coca-Cola, BrodericksBrothers,

Orlaith Blaney is CEO at McCann Erickson Dublin. You can follow her on twitter @orlaithb (and she says @TheDieline’ – the worlds #1 packaging design website is well worth a follow on twitter

How smartphone technology is changing the path to purchase.

For the growing number of us that are smartphone users it now seems almost impossible to imagine a world without them, such has been their influence on our day to day lives.  Among the many ways smartphones have impacted us are in how we consume media and in how we shop, both of which have resulted in changes to the ever evolving path to purchase.

The traditional path to purchase was a linear journey, where both the number of sources to receive brand information and the choice of shopping channels were limited.  Today’s path is much more complex due to the proliferation of new media channels and a host of different shopping channels.  It is a journey which zigzags between old and new media and throughout which a person may shift frequently between consumer and shopper mode.  Brands must understand this new, dynamic path to purchase and connect the dots to decipher how consumers will use their smartphones to interact with other touch points on their shopper journey.

Smartphones can provide brands with new opportunities to win at the “shopping planning” stage of the path to purchase.  A fantastic example of this in practice is Kraft’s iFood Assistant app. The iFood Assistant contains thousands of recipes with reviews and comments from users who are part of an online community.  It lets users easily add the ingredients to a shopping list, provides step by step cooking instructions and even provides cooking videos for all us novice chefs. Creating online communities such as this, with members who share and discuss opinions, has changed the way brands communicate with their shoppers, moving away from simply talking to the shopper to a more collaborative form of communication which engages shoppers in a 2 way conversation.

Smartphones can also facilitate immediate interaction between shoppers and their surroundings at all stages along their shopper journey, something which was implemented brilliantly in a campaign run by Tesco in South Korea.

Through in-depth research Tesco found that many Koreans were focused on getting to and from work and felt they had little time for supermarket shopping, which they saw as a dreaded task. Tesco’s solution was to create virtual stores in Subway stations.  The displays were exactly the same as actual stores. The only difference being shoppers used their smart phones to shop.  By scanning a QR code the products landed in their online basket and were delivered to the shoppers’ door once they got home. After this campaign, numbers of new registered users rose by 76% and online sales increased by 130%.

A successful mobile marketing campaign must form part of an integrated campaign with other media channels. This was implemented to great effect in Ireland by Cadbury, with the launch of their Dairy Milk “Share A Square” app last autumn.

A key element of the app saw it integrated with Facebook to allow users to share virtual squares with their friends. When users collected 8 squares they were rewarded with a bar of Dairy Milk which they could claim in their local Centra store. In addition to integrating the app with social media, the campaign pioneered in Ireland with the use of intelligent mobile messaging by targeting young women in the proximity of a number of stores, on days with indulgent TV occasions which are popular with this target audience.  A QR code designed using squares of Dairy Milk also appeared on print advertising and on POS in-store, directing consumers to download the app free of charge.  The campaign was a huge success for Cadbury and a new version of the Share A Square app was launched in February of this year.

There are also a number of ways smartphone technology can be used to influence shoppers within the traditional brick and mortar store too but it must be noted that when in-store, particularly in the FMCG sector, shoppers are in a very mission focused “shopping mode” and all communications must bear that in mind.

Mobile couponing will undoubtedly have a significant role to play.  As improbable as it may seem the majority of laser scanners currently cannot read barcodes from a mobile phone screen.  This will change in the coming years as both retailers and phone manufacturers realise the potential for mobile couponing.  Walgreens now have mobile scanning capabilities at all of their stores in the US and in November of last year they launched their first campaign which allowed shoppers to instantly redeem mobile coupons in-store.

NFC and RFID technologies will also enable the evolution of the mobile wallet.  Companies as large as Google see the potential of this and the Google Wallet app, which holds credit and loyalty cards, can now be used in the US in many leading retailers such as Gap and Macy’s.

Above all else, when creating a mobile marketing program, it is imperative to do so with a deep understanding of your customers’ needs and behaviours.  Resist the temptation to use QR codes or create an app simply as they are in vogue.  The marketing tools associated with smartphone technology can be extremely useful in shopper marketing strategies but their implementation must be based on insights which offer real benefits to shoppers.

To download a PDF of this article, as it appeared in this month’s issue of Checkout magazine, click on the following link: Smart Economy

Fragrances can help you sell more and create happier customers who connect emotionally to your brand

We all know that different fragrances can affect our mood, lavender is commonly known to be relaxing, while citrus aromas are stimulating. Not as commonly known is that scent can produce significant changes in customer behaviour and perception when used in a commercial environment.

Scent is the only one of our five senses that goes to the emotion and memory centre of the brain. When asked which sense was most important when making a decision about which brand to buy, respondents to a survey rated the sense of smell as number 2 of the five senses after sight (BRAND sense, Martin Lindstrom).

Retail:

To link a brand to a scent is more than just diffusing a pleasant fragrance in a space. It is taking a company’s brand identity, marketing messages, target audience and matching these with a fragrance that amplifies these branding aspects.

Take the new Holister fashion retail store in Dundrum Town Centre as an example, as you pass the doors of the store you can associate the brand with their fragrance which appeals to their target audience and is instantly recognisable to customers who have shopped in their other stores. When in the store, the scent coupled with low level lighting, music and surroundings can establish a longer lasting emotional connection to the brand. As the Holister fragrance (So-Cal) is sold in-store the brand can continue connecting with customers long after they’ve closed the doors. Another good example of linking a brand to a fragrance is Massimo Dutti in the same centre. Massimo Dutti’s floral scent appeals to a slightly more mature audience and creates a pleasant shopping experience where it encourages the customer to browse longer and spend more.

Research suggests that we are 100 times more likely to remember something we smell than something we see, hear or touch and confirms that ambient scent improves brand memory and leads to customer loyalty.

Grocery:

Stimulating the sense of smell to buy products in the retail grocery sector is not a new concept. Bakers and Patisseries have been doing this for many years. They understand that smell amplifies taste and the use of these smells can attract customers that may otherwise pass their doors. Just visit a grocery outlet early in the morning for the smell of freshly baked bread or mid afternoon to walk through the various smells from sampling stands and you will witness the strength of this marketing format.

While it’s not always possible to have food aroma’s in-store as the likes of packaged, refrigerated or canned foods cannot be smelled there are a number of companies now offering scents that resemble foods to complete the in-store experience.

There are many benefits to using a scent in a grocery setting such as creating an emotional connection by diffusing food smells which can make customers connect with the product on display and enhance sales and promotions. Scent Marketing can be more cost effective when compared to other marketing formats and finally smell amplifies the sense of taste which is essential when trying to increase food sales.

While we have only looked at retail and grocery sectors above, there are many other areas that fragrances can be used such as in hotels to create a connection with guests that is individual and unique, in airport terminals which can reduce stress and anxiety in waiting lounges for those nervous travellers and others like cinemas, car showrooms, offices and even banks, although improving customer satisfaction through scent in this sector may be a little more difficult.

While still a comparatively new format in the Irish market, scent will become a normal part of advertising in time and as soon as we find out how to measure the success of marketing by fragrance, brands will want to make the emotional connection to their customers using their own signature scent.

Aidan Greene – Managing Director of MediaVest Ireland 

Humans are strange creatures. How many times have you experienced a variation on this particular scenario?  Your husband/wife/partner asks your advice on a potential purchase; let’s say a particular new coat that they have been considering for weeks. You give your opinion based variously on some or all of the following:  love, past coat purchases, your projection of frequency of wear versus the risk of said coat being banished to the innermost layer of other coats resting on the banister.   “Go for that one”, you say.  Off they go, unshakeable in their resolve to buy coat X.  They return with coat Y.  “What happened?” you venture.  “The woman in the shop said that this would suit me better”.  In an instant, the opinion of someone who genuinely cares for you and has your very best interests at heart are obliterated by the (commission-based?) influence of a complete stranger.

Apply this to an advertising campaign, casting television in the role of the faithful partner. TV painstakingly courts you, entertains you, informs you, building a trusting relationship.  Brands use the TV medium to build brand connections over months, maybe years.  Yet when you’re in the shop, some meddlesome stranger, in the shape of point of purchase advertising, intercepts you and turns your eye at the last minute.

The path to purchase is a tricky one, with plenty of potholes and diversions.  That’s why we media people bang on about Recency theory.  The last advertising exposure before a purchase is often the most powerful.  We are all so open to suggestion right up and until the deed is done.  We must cross a battlefield strewn with last-minute temptations suggesting that you buy something else or something more, right up to and including the check out.  Even in the death throes of the shopping experience, there is still room for one more item in the basket, as anyone departing with an unplanned Crème Egg or the latest homeware revolution from JML can confirm.

It’s remarkable therefore that some advertisers fail to compete on this vital battleground.  I’m astounded that advertisers who would give their right arm for an end-of-aisle display don’t give a thought to point of purchase media.  I’m not suggesting that a brand-building on TV, radio, or outdoor campaign is useless. Far from it. But it is only one step in the process.  Advertising needs to chaperone the consumer right to the very end.  PoP Media is an essential means of ensuring that the consumer keeps the faith.

PoP media does have its challenges.  Like all other media, its various forms should be used to their individual strengths.  Simply reproducing the TV idea seldom works.  Advertisers should be aware of the environment and also the stage in the purchasing process when designing the creative.  Like the rest of the out-of-home industry, digital sites must be embraced.  The PoP media industry must continue to adapt to the changing habits of the purchaser.  With the growth of digital, the point of purchase could be the consumer’s couch rather than a supermarket. The mindset is essentially the same whether you’re at a virtual or a real check-out. Media planners, media owners and advertisers need to embrace the opportunity to provide the last advertising exposure across all channels.

While Shopper Marketing may have many definitions and undoubtedly many marketers are having difficulties in deciding where it fits within their organisation, what is evident is that Shopper Marketing is growing in importance and that companies with integrated strategies are “winning in-store.” A comprehensive survey from the USA shows that companies with developed Shopper Marketing plans are growing 50% faster than the categories they participate in.*

Shopper Marketing can be best understood by examining how brands have implemented their particular strategies.  Therefore, rather than examine the many theories and complexities that can accompany an explanation of Shopper Marketing, let’s look at some real life examples of it in practice.

Example 1: Working together on a shared strategy, Kimberly-Clark and the US retailer Target designed a new solution to celebrate mothers and children as they graduate from nappies to training pants. Kimberly Clark and Target found that the transition for a child and a mother from nappies to training pants is similar- both have “moved on” from the nappy phase and both feel a certain sense of achievement. As a result, Kimberly Clark and Target developed several new in-store concepts whereby training pants were placed in an aisle physically separated from the baby aisle and placed with other products that were directly relevant to both the toddler and the mother. This initiative enhanced brand equity for both partners and also drove incremental sales across the relevant categories.

Example 2: Come winter time when colds start to spread, many households don’t always have enough Vicks and Kleenex, etc. at home. The shopper, heavy with a cold, is more likely to visit their nearest pharmacy or convenience store rather than pay a visit to the larger retailers. P&G and Walmart spotted this issue and realised that while Walmart was the leader in the cough/cold category, when the time came for cough/cold season, a large number of shoppers would not expose themselves to the parking lots or long queues at larger outlets. So Walmart and P&G built a campaign around the theme of “preparedness” to encourage shoppers to stock up when they were in store. This insight was so strong that the resulting campaign ran for several years and Walmart’s spend on these products increased by 30%.

There are 2 key elements in both of these examples that qualify them as excellent representations of Shopper Marketing. Firstly, the suppliers developed and utilised insights into shopper behaviour that allowed them to gain an advantage. Secondly, the suppliers worked closely with the retailers ensuring that they had retailer buy-in from the very start of the process.

While both of the above examples are store-focused, it should be noted that the brands in both cases were known to shoppers well before they entered the store. This brings us to the third important element in any Shopper Marketing strategy: integration of the above-the-line and below-the-line advertising and messages.

Often a brand’s above-the-line message is lost or even contradicted when the shopper goes in-store. This is due to the fact that the brand’s trade marketing and consumer marketing teams are working separately. A successful Shopper Marketing strategy is dependent on both teams working together on a shared plan.

The following example demonstrates this integrated approach.

Example 3: Cravendale milk in the UK developed a campaign which incorporated the theme “Tastes so good, the cows want it back” throughout the entire marketing mix. TV ads featured cows stalking Cravendale buyers. Shelf talkers reinforced the cow’s message (“We want it back!”) in the style of a ransom note, with cut-out letters and a hoofprint. Door drops in the same style were used to distribute coupons. The packaging was redesigned to clearly set it apart from other brands of milk. Sales of Cravendale increased, and further analysis made it clear that the success was due to the combined effect of all the elements (TV, In-Store activity, door drops etc.)

While we are not privy to the insights that led to the choice of slogans and creative concepts, the Cravendale campaign is an excellent example of a brand influencing the shopper throughout the complete path to purchase by integrating their above-the-line and below-the line campaigns.

Developing an integrated Shopper Marketing strategy takes a huge amount of time and effort within an organisation. It needs be driven from the top down. As can be seen from the 3 above examples, it cannot be achieved without insights into shopper behaviour, retailer buy-in and integration between the trade marketing and consumer marketing teams.

*Source: Delivering the Promise of Shopper Marketing by GMA/Deloitte

Visualise are delighted to announce some exciting new case study results from a number of In-Store media campaigns in 2011.

Please see link below to brochure outlining some of these campaigns. Included are the excellent sales uplift results from a multi-format campaign for a new product, a single format campaign for a leading pet care brand and also our first case study results from our newest format; C-Store digital screens. These featured campaigns had a positive impact for the brands involved and helped them to achieve increased sales uplift results.

Visualise Case Studies 2011

For any further information you require please feel free to contact us at Visualise.

In “Beyond Redemption: 2G Digital Shopper Marketing” Dan Frechtling Vice President of DS-IQ  writes about the advances between the 1^st and 2^nd generations of digital shopper marketing.

Frechtling opens the piece by reviewing the history of digital innovation and cites a number of examples, across different fields, which all reveal a pattern.

The pattern, Frechtling points out, is that while the first generation of digital re-creates, the second generation creates and that is also what is happening in digital shopper marketing today.

What is 1G digital shopper marketing?

Frechtling focuses on the following forms of digital shopper marketing and describes how they originally appeared in their first generation form.

• E-Circulars
• Digital coupons
• Social media

E-Circulars

These were web pages that at the outset of digital shopper marketing were simply online versions of the newspaper inserts used by both brands and retailers. As the 1^st generation evolved features were added such as the ability to filter by category and flip through pages.

Digital Coupons

In their simplest form Digital coupons were graphic tiles on web pages that mimicked the appearance of coupon books. Users could then clip these coupons with their mouse and print them out and bring them to the store.

Social Media

Frechtling makes some interesting analogies when looking at brands ventures into social media. Consumers expressing affiliation with, or “liking,” brands online is compared to the modern day bumper sticker.  Sharing this affiliation with others is akin to broadcasting a word-of-mouth recommendation and joining groups with shared affinity is similar to opting into a mailing list or attending a convention.

What does 2G digital shopper marketing provide to marketers?

While Frechtling acknowledges that the 1-G world of e-circulars, digital coupons and social media is a great improvement on their physical origins he contends that the 2G offerings offer distinct advantages for retailers, manufacturers and consumers. Retailers and manufacturers gain new targeted and dynamic marketing options while shoppers gain access to offers which are more relevant to them.

2G E-Circulars

While 1G circulars are effective at driving people to a store and encouraging them to buy more, 2G e-circulars provide personalized and targeted communication which can among other things

• Cross-sell complementary products
• Re-activate lapsed product buyers
• Align with individuals’ purchase cycles

2G targeting typically works by letting shoppers opt in to the kind of offers they wish to receive, using collaborative filtering to make recommendations based on what other like-minded shoppers have chosen, or at possibly its most efficient  level by using a shopper’s purchase history to deliver the most relevant offers for them.

Frechtling cites an example where, not only are shoppers receiving these emails twice as likely to buy the targeted items but retailers succeed as well, with shoppers having 10% larger baskets overall.

2G Digital Coupons

Frechtling states that as users logged in or opted in for offers 1G digital coupons helped turn a mass medium such as FSI from push to pull. What they didn’t do however is differentiate between new and current buyers, or target specific actions such as multi-unit or more frequent purchases.

In a similar mould to digital circulars, 2G digital coupons also reach the right people with the right offers and can offer the following advantages to marketers

• Attracting new buyers by selecting and targeting the shoppers most likely to try.
• Expanding the consumption among current buyers by increasing purchase frequency and units.
• Re-activating lapsed buyers by bringing back those who switched brands of defected from the category.

An example is given from a campaign for a multi-category food brand which targeted shoppers who bought its soups and pizzas but not its frozen dinners.  These shoppers saw offers for the latter category when visiting either a personalized web page or an in-store kiosk. The response rate was 51% and drove thousands of purchases that were not only new to the product but also to the frozen dinners category.

Another improvement which has greatly enhanced digital couponing is the facility for shoppers to load coupons to their store loyalty card, thereby removing the need to cut out or print off coupons and bring them to the store with them.

2G Social Media

2G social media has evolved from getting shoppers to not only become affiliated with the brand but actually promoting it. 2G social media campaigns do three things particularly effectively;

• Reach emotional loyalists.
• Engage them not just in clicking, but shopping.
• Offer them insider status.

A fantastic example of 2G social media in action that Frechtling cites is Kroger’s recent Cart-Buster event featured on Facebook and YouTube which gave all shoppers the ability to save storewide.

Special perks were offered to Facebook visitors with additional deals being presented to the first 1,000 shoppers on the Facebook page each day at 3PM. Shoppers were then actively encouraged to upload their videos to YouTube showing the savings they made in-store.

Advances in digital marketing techniques also enable campaign optimization which allows for monitoring of campaigns and shifting spend between targeted segments and testing different offers to optimize spend.

What does 2G digital shopper marketing provide to shoppers?

Ultimately the advances in technology and increased knowledge among marketers of how to use the digital tools at their disposal should mean that shoppers are also benefitting more from 2G digital shopper marketing.

When marketers get targeting right, shoppers experience it as relevant.  Relevance is about offering the right products at the right time to shoppers and making it easier for them to make the purchase.

Frechtling concludes the article with his 3 guiding principles for 2G

• Principle 1: Go beyond redemption
• Principle 2: Don’t jail shoppers in static segments or zones
• Principle 3: Look for ways to bet after the race has started

To read this article in full, please click on the following link; Beyond Redemption: 2G Digital Shopper Marketing

Johnson & Johnson makes shopping better for mums.

There have been many articles written about the importance of brands getting on the shopping list, but with the amount of choices in-store, point-of-purchase is still where purchase decisions are made.

Johnson & Johnson have endeavoured to better understand mums and their needs with a view to improving the in-store shopping experience of children’s over-the-counter medications.

Through in-depth analysis, J&J were able to determine alternatives to over-the-counter medications & which are complimentary items such as tissues and vapour rubs allowing them to see how mums made their decisions in-store.

The analysis indicated very clearly that the paediatric market was very distinct and separate from the adult market and would benefit if all the over-the-counter child products were shelved together as shoppers looked for a host of products for their sick children.

J&J also found that the shelves did not call out the symptoms they addressed as when a child is sick, mum wants to relieve the child’s symptoms.  If the child has a cough, she wants cough medicine and for sneezing and congestion mum wants an allergy product. They also found that the store shelves were arranged by active ingredients in the product and not the ailment relief. This finding resulted in three key changes to the product set.

• Distinct child and adult medicine shelf sets. Separating adult from child (and children’s from infants within paediatric) gave mums the assurance that they were not going to accidently pick up the adult alternative with a higher dosage.

• Symptom-based shelf arrangements within both children’s and adult medicine. Arranging products by symptom resulted in a shelf set that matched the key benefit shoppers are seeking when shopping for medicine.

• Streamlined assortments. This simplified the shopping experience for both adult and child shoppers by limiting the available choices in each of the sections.

The same approach is also being used with adult cold/flu solution-centre displays in select retailers.  Research shows that when shoppers are sick they are looking to get in and out of the store quickly and are not interested in shopping the aisle for cold and flu medications which is why some retailers have started to provide the cold and flu products closer to the front of the store which is more convenient for the ailing shopper.

Mapping consumer needs with shopper behaviour to gain insight requires an outline based on a precise understanding of the consumer needs, its usage and their purchase patterns.  That is why it’s important to ask why consumers use products and how they group them in order to make their purchase decision.

These insights then need to be translated into good section signage to direct the shopper in-store and make their shopping experience simpler resulting in a better in-store experience and increased revenue growth for the retailers and manufacturers.

For the full article go to:

Shelf Assurance