How brands can win in ‘the age of the shopper’
The Visualise Shopper Marketing Conference 2014, held this morning (26 September) in the Guinness Storehouse, examined how an investment in shopper marketing can help manufacturers both attract new customers and improve brand loyalty
Print26 September 2014
With only 2% of shoppers doing their full grocery shopping in one store, retailing in Ireland is undergoing its greatest revolution since the birth of the supermarket, with the balance of power firmly shifting from the retailer to the shopper.
That was the message behind the annual Visualise Shopper Marketing Conference 2014, held in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin on Friday, 26 September.
The event, now in its fourth year, was attended by some of Ireland’s leading retailers and industry figures, and featured a number of speakers. These included world leading shopper marketing expert, Mike Anthony, founder and CEO of engage, a global management consultancy. He highlighted the fact that 70% of promotions actually lost money for the manufacturer. However he added that promotions could be beneficial if they “helped make a dramatic shift in shopping behaviour”, siting the example of a Guinness promotion whereby consumers could receive a fridge specifically for storing beers, helping to generate greater sales.
Sue McVie, shopper marketing director at Kerry Foods also gave a thought-provoking presentation. McVie has responsibility for the Category Management, Shopper Marketing and Format Development teams within GB and Ireland across Kerry Foods’ cheese, spreads, sausages, cooked meats and pastry categories. She outlined how brands could drive online supermarket sales by ensuring “brilliant basics” were met, such as ensuring online product listings had good photography and search engine optimised product descriptions. She also outlined how Kerry Foods conducted a successful ‘back to school’ campaign by listening to key insights from mums, such as focusing strongly on teatime and snack occasions, instead of solely on lunchbox options.
TheMC for the morning was consumer and shopper behaviouralist and marketing thought leader, Ken Hughes. Commenting on this year’s conference, Eoghan Phelan, general manager, Visualise said: “Brand proliferation and ongoing price wars between rival supermarkets have meant that Irish shoppers have become more demanding, so it’s now more challenging for brands to effectively communicate with their target shoppers. Therefore, it’s critical that they understand shoppers and adapt their marketing to reflect this.”
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