The Sell, a regular MarkLives column on shopper marketing, by Mimi Nicklin (@miminicklin) It seems to me that in general people like to talk ‘shopper’, and agencies like to claim ‘shopper’, but that often underlying this trendy new money maker is a disinterest from the industry that is so powerful that the discipline is not only an afterthought, but avoided all together.
[pullquote]The industry is changing, there are experts emerging and the biggest brands in SA are changing their briefs, their thinking and their budgets and showing us how shopper is done.[/pullquote]
The perception is that the ‘in-store bit’ is the less interesting, less exciting sister of the rest of the communications mix.Whilst we know this is the final and critical point of actually selling the product, it gets dismissed, forgotten or left to the last minute. The shopper concept gets left with no time to research, to create or to innovate, with a belief that an on-pack sticker or a busy wobbler will be enough to convert the habitual shopper mom as she flies down the aisle.
In a previous life I may also have fallen into this group of people so I am not totally naïve. I know that producing a TV ad is more glamorous than designing a gondola end, and I know that the photography behind a print ad can, literally, stop one in their tracks. However, I have spent the last few days wondering why it is that ‘shopper’ in the USA, Europe and even Asia is a discipline full of change and innovation and excitement, yet in SA we are so often stuck with‘matching luggage’ linked to the consumer campaign that fades into the clutter of retail messaging. Why can’t we see what the rest of the world is seeing so clearly?
My conclusion, for today at least, is that it is our fault. Sorry reader, that includes you. 
Firstly I blame agencies, specifically BTL and shopper agencies, for not selling better work conceptually or innovating with retail mechanics. For not putting more time and money into real shopper insights or understanding the spaza shelf as well as the Shoprite one. For not hammering down the doors of retail buyers and understanding their footfall, their basket data and their broadsheets versus just the brand problem at hand.
And talking of buyers and retailers, I blame them too.Walmart, Target, Tesco’s and Carrefour – all examples of retailers working with their suppliers to change shopper behaviour, to make their stores more ‘shoppable’ and to offer their shoppers superior experiences and offers that help them buy! In SA the retail teams are so often averse to trying something new that when the innovation, from the above mentioned agencies, is created and innovative, it runs in the boardroom alone.
And finally, I blame marketers and brand managers. The global ones for not embracing the phenomenal work that their foreign counterparts are making happen abroad, and all of them for not understanding the excitement and pride (and sales!) that can be garnered from a unique and tailored retail execution that talks to their shoppers as well as their consumers. For not pushing their agencies to do better and for leaving the shopper requirements off the brief entirely.Simply adding ‘POSM’ to the list of deliverables without a separate shopper insight, objective or trial barrier is not going to help SA catch up with the world, nor is it going to help our shoppers buy more, more often. In fact, it’s going to ensure we continue on our journey to 50 shades of same when it comes to in-store execution and shopper marketing.
So, beyond just moaning about the state of the nation (and potentially offending half my industry!) I thought that perhaps quarterly I would use my column to showcase some of the work locally that is bucking the trend and doing things differently. It is out there! The industry is changing, there are experts emerging and the biggest brands in SA are changing their briefs, their thinking and their budgets and showing us how shopper is done. Whilst it may still be a wobbler or a simple airtime hook, there is work that is swapping the same for the standout, and providing our shoppers with ideas made for them-ideas that are as engaging & smart as the work we give our consumers.
My Top Three in Q2:
- Starting with the simple, take Finish Dishwasher tabs, currently offering a DVD in every pack, in partnership with NuMetro movies. A genius partnership that sees mom’s shopping decision made infinitely easier by offering her added value (versus financial value) in choosing the Finish pack over the store and competitor brands. An obvious bribe? Yes, but a smart one. It creates relevance to their shoppers’ mindset via a guaranteed reward at shelf that will have her telling her friends about her ‘freebie’ and her kids about their new gift. Finish knows that the housework will be infinitely easier if the kids are occupied with their new copy of Happy Feet and mom feels great for bringing home a present with the shopping. Emotional reward balanced with rationale shopping decision? Check.
- Next up, KFC’s “Let the Colonel Pay for your Lobola – Win 11 Cows’ shopper promo currently in store. Utterly genius. Put simply, it’s a cash incentive to increase your ‘purchase size’ per visit. They encourage shoppers to increase their spend in store to R40 and in return offer you a cash prize that is totally on brand, stands out well beyond a standard ‘win cash!’ headline and talks directly to the reality of their shoppers. So yes it uses a cheeky tone of voice to reference a serious discussion point, but this makes it worth talking about to your friends in and out of the store. The inclusion of ‘the more times you enter the higher your chances’ means it is worth increasing your shopper trips as well as hard earned cash spend. Chicken Licken’ just fell off the shoppers’ radar this month…
- And finally, the below in-store campaign for hair care brand M. This one is a couple of months old now, and no, this is not the world’s most engaging or beautifully designed shopper comms, but it has an insight that is worth its weight in gold. ‘Win a VIP experience at SA Fashion week for you and your hairdresser.’ If there was ever an example of a piece of shopper marketing that understands who their shopper is and can link the shopping decision with the consumer’s emotional mind, this is it.
So there we have it, three examples that prove all is not lost! There are smart shopper ideas out there that are driving short-term behaviour change and ROI. And none of them cost the earth. They may not be as emotionally compelling as a 30” ad, and they may not win creative awards, but they talk to their shopper simply and make them ‘buy today.’ Surely that is, at least in part, why we as agencies, retailers and brand marketers come to work?
I therefore conclude this month that amongst the 50 shades of same, there are at least 30 shades of smart, so perhaps all is not lost for the shopper in SA after all.
– Nicklin followed her passion and experience in the consumer, retail and shopper space, from regional roles in Europe and Asia, to South African shores in 2010. Having led global brands through the line for Procter & Gamble and two of London and Hong Kong’s top agencies, her background gives her an international perspective to add to her depth of SA understanding. Nicklin serves as Strategic Director and a Partner at 34 Group.
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