7 SHOPPER RULES OF ENGAGEMENT & 3 BEST IN CLASS CASE STUDIES
Brand owners such as Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive & Unilever have all began to increase their interest & investment in Shopper Marketing. However, according to MCCP’s Expert Dialogues with Ireland’s leading FMCG marketing directors a lot of confusion exists around the disciple “We are talking about it, but we are not completely clear on what we are talking about!”, FMCG Marketing Director.
In order to offer some clarity and inspiration we at MCCP have developed the following article which looks at seven shopper rules of engagement & some best in class examples of how these rules were leveraged with great success.
Seven Shopper Rules of Engagement
MCCP has invested in conducting extensive desk & primary research in order to pioneer the understanding of the shopper marketing discipline & indeed the Irish shopper. Our research has found that a number of golden rules can be applied to grab the shopper’s attention & forge relationships beyond price. These rules should not only be applied only in-store but out of store also, as shoppers begin developing a mental list of shopping needs long before they reach an outlet;
- Unearth & leverage shopper insights
- Simplify your selection
- Offer more relevant choice
- Guide their choice with clear navigation
- Tailor messages
- Use your packaging to communicate relevant quickly & clearly
- Provide shoppers with surprise, delight & fun
Three Best in Class Case Studies
We have chosen 3 Best in Class Case Studies which have utilised some of MCCP’s shopper rules of engagement effectively and reaped a return on investment by doing so.
1. American Apparel ‘leverages the shopper insight’ that people fear missing out on a good deal
American Apparel, the retailer, formed a tie-up with Groupon meaning US consumers purchasing a $25 voucher received another $25 to spend in its branches, some 133,000 coupons were sold, with participants actually splashing out $70 in stores, and 25% of people redeeming the offer signing up to its email list. American Apparel was not only happy with “larger than average orders” but also the introduction to “verifiably new customers,” according to Tom Casey, American Apparel’s president.
2. Ariel ‘guided their choice with clear navigation’ by setting quality standards queues
Stiftung Warentest (StiWa) is a German consumer organisation and foundation involved in investigating and comparing various suppliers’ goods and services in an unbiased way. When Ariel’s colour detergent won a StiWa award two years running they shouted about it to Mums during soccer season, ATL, in-store & on pack. As a result the StiWa became highly important in detergent purchase making decisions & Ariel demonstrated quality leadership & fended off increasing competition from own brand detergents.
3. Asian shoppers were ‘surprised & delighted’ by a human refreshment bar
In Asia 70% of shoppers did not visit the supermarket beverage aisle on every trip. The category of ready-to-drink beverages was simply not important or habitual enough to make it to their weekly shopping list. This was an issue for both the brand and retailers.
Armed with the experience that when shoppers sample a new product in-store, they are more likely to buy it, a dynamic shopper engagement was created by transforming the shelves in the beverage aisle with a ‘human refreshment bar’. Potential shoppers were engaged in tasting new flavours. The result was increased penetration of beverages and traffic to the beverage aisle – happy retailers, satisfied shoppers.
For more information on shopper marketing & shopper insights contact Susan Kelly on susan@mccp.ie or on 00353 16350030.