by Mimi Nicklin (@MimiNicklin) Every three months or so, I use this column as a review of existing shopper work ‘on the ground’ to summarise the current state of the nation. This time, I was reminded how much I love doing this by something as simple as a cupcake painted in blue and white…
Currie Cup final
It was game day, the Currie Cup final, and the Cape was proud, excited and nervous all mixed into one. From as early as 8am, the men were dressed in Western Province shirts and the traffic lights were alive with hawkers selling, well, anything that allowed for a stripe. I, being the non-rugby-fan shopping addict that I am, chose thatmorning to grocery shop.
It is estimated that, at any one time, there are 600+ live activations (promotions, sampling, activations, offers) in most large grocery stores in South Africa and, that Saturday, Checkers Hyper was buzzing. I could barely walk for a sample, prize or tasting heading my way.
Experiential on steroids
From wine tasting (yes, there was a queue, even at 11am!) and new iced teas to ‘fishing for prizes’ for Omo (I won a bucket, thanks Unilever!) and free dog-food mini packs… this was experiential on steroids — if not for all the right reasons, given I sat in ‘trolley traffic’ in nearly every aisle.
Engaging offers and freebies aside, it was the cupcakes that caught my eye. Checkers has a bakery section of note and there were at least two sampling tables set up — new ‘koeksister mini bites’ (we were in the Cape, after all) and seed loaf — but the queue here wasn’t for the freebies.
Nope, it was for the Western Province-painted, blue-and-white adorned cupcakes. An entire table of cakes, averagely painted and decorated in a not-quite-right WP blue, striped and proud. Flying like hot cakes (ahem) into baskets of smiling moms, proud dads and kids to whom the atmosphere had been identified as the perfect pester power moment.
Does both well
A simple reflection of ‘real’ life, that event that day: the local community’s passion point was drawing shoppers, filling baskets and positioning Checkers again as a store that does fresh, gets variety and does both well. Time to change your supermarket based on a simple cupcake design? Perhaps.
Of a two-hour grocery visit, the cupcakes impressed me the most but, needless to say, there were other pieces of communication in-store that, while not as emotive, equally show an understanding for shoppers’ reality that is worth sharing.
My top five
Here are my top five:
1. From an innovation point of view, Rhodes’ new Snap Cap: genius invention in the form of a plastic lid, allowing the brand to stand out with two simple benefits — “New. Fridge Friendly”. A very smart link between shopper mindset and consumer usage. Genius.
2. Robertsons’ new shelf units: highly improved visibility, beautiful brand space and a colour-coded display that forms part of the shelf. Campbell’s Soup did something similar with Walmart in the USA but I am thrilled to see this on SA soil.
The entire category now becomes easy to shop, straight-forward to navigate and quick-quick to view and choose from. Gravity feeds make for perfect grab-and-go, and even the pricing is at eye level and simple to follow by variant. This trend is bound to spread beyond the herbs and spice aisle; watch this space.
3. JIK — in a similar space to Rhodes with its “Free” Dosing Cap — is worthy of mention, not only because it manages to position a message that says “choose us and we’ll give you the lid” but because it turns it into a compelling offer. Multiple messaging aside (stain removal, product of the year, free cap…), this pack stands out on a shelf of ‘sames’ and certainly makes JIK feel like the added-value option.
Creative? No. Well-executed? Not particularly. But a smart shopper-hook? Yes! I might have branded the ‘Dosing Cap’ so that the leave-behind in the home is constantly reminding Mom to choose JIK again but heyho…
4. Domestos: less a smart reflection of usage-understanding and more just a pleasure to see a brand driving emotion in order to create standout. In an aisle of ‘free dosing caps’ and ‘3-for-2 offers’, this positions the premium brand for what it is — premium and standing for more than functional cleaning. The banners catch your eye, the shelf space is segmented clearly and the shopper is jolted, just for a moment, to heart over wallet.
Sadly, there is no explanation as to how buying Domestos helps the SA students, so the comms could be clearer to drive ‘action’ (ie purchase) but, nevertheless, a worthy large visual-led, emotive campaign.
5. My last one for this month is from Wellingtons: similar to Domestos above, this one makes the shortlist because of entertainment value. When shoppers wander the aisles grabbing their usual fare, the introduction of smart copy that causes them to smile makes it worth choosing Wellington’s sauces over the competition. “TheWors Whisperer” and “The Lambshank Redemption” certainly had me chuckling, driving the brand in just the right way.
Again, I would have strengthened the ‘hook’ once having caught the shopper emotionally, driving the shopper ‘action’ and ensuring s/he picks up a pack but, regardless, it is good to see some smart sauces pushing more than the functional “20% extra free” or “new recipe” promotions.
A hard call
So, that’s the top five for this quarter – a hard call from a long shortlist. There are some brilliant pieces of work coming through, if you ignore the barrage of Christmas decorations.
I didn’t mention Cadbury here but it is doing incredible freestanding units and shelf-ready packaging that I may look at next month. Certainly a company to learn from.
In the meantime, based on the popularity of the cupcakes over that weekend and beyond, perhaps it is time for me to consider changing my supermarket, too…
Mimi Nicklin (@MimiNicklin) 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. She serves as strategic director and a partner at 34 Group. Mimi contributes the monthly “The Sell” column concerning shopper marketing to MarkLives.