the definitive shopper marketing guide

The Definitive

Guide

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Shopper Marketing Tool Index

Introduction: The Evolution of Shopper Marketing

The Essence of Shopper Marketing

What Shopper really is, what it isn’t, and who’s profiting

The key differences between consumers and shoppers

The incredible importance of shopper insights/analytics

The Non-Linear Omni-Channel Shopper Journey

Powerful statistics that make the business case

Case Study: Scotch Tape

The Nuts and Bolts of Shopper Marketing

Processes and best practices

Know your shopper(s) before you beginChannels, trends, seasonal events and tacticsCommon challenges in the Shopper Marketing worldWatching your competition closely for insights

Case Study: Allegra

What you need to succeed

Digital & Social AcumenBudget, Roles & OrganizationPartnership with all levels (Retailer, Brand, and Agency)Essential Metrics you need to track

Case Study: Alcon Eyecare

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Exploring the Future of Shopper Marketing

Neuromarketing and Behavioral Insights

Tracking, Testing and Simulations

Seamless Shopping Experiences

Final Thoughts

Acknowledgements

Bibliography

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Looking for a quick video overview? Check out the Shopper Marketing Video Infographic for a quick overview on the latest research.

Shopper Marketing Action Plan & Toolkit

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING

Table of Contents

SHOPPER MARKETING COMPETITION TRACKING

SHOPPER PARTNERSHIPPRIORTIZATION TOOL

SHOPPER MARKETING PEER BENCHMARKS APP

S H O P P E R M A R K E T I N G T L I N D E X

LEARN


SHOPPER MARKETING CAPABILITIES APP

SHOPPER MARKETINGPROFILE TEMPLATE

SHOPPER MARKETINGPROGRAM STRATEGIES

SHOPPER MARKETINGMETRICS DASHBOARD

SHOPPER MARKETINGVENDORS MATRIX

SHOPPER MARKETINGMOBILE PRACTICES

SHOPPER MARKETINGMATURITY MODEL

SHOPPER MARKETINGPROFILE INTERVIEW

SHOPPER MARKETING COUPON PRACTICES

SHOPPER MARKETINGVENDOR TOOL

SHOPPER MARKETINGSTRATEGY WORKBOOK

SHOPPER MARKETING ROLES FRAMEWORK

SHOPPER MARKETING IMAGE INFOGRAPHIC

SHOPPER MARKETING VIDEO INFOGRAPHIC

SHOPPER MARKETING BUDGET TEMPLATE

SHOPPER MARKETINGJOURNEY TEMPLATE

SHOPPER MARKETING CONTEST PRACTICES

SHOPPER MARKETING SYSTEM RFP

SHOPPER MARKETINGPROJECT PLAN

SHOPPER MARKETING BUSINESS CASE

SHOPPER MARKETINGINSIGHTS DATABASE

SHOPPER MARKETINGSIGNAGE PRACTICES

SHOPPER MARKETING JOB DESCRIPTION

ANALYZE PLAN EXECUTE MEASURETECHNOLOGY

The following list is a toolkit that will be mentioned throughout each section and is available as an action plan at the end of this Guide. Get access to all of these resources and more by visiting the Shopper Marketing Solutions Set.

RESEARCH TRAININGGUIDES

PRACTICAL TOOLSPROCESS STAGES


IntroductionThe Evolution of Shopper Marketing

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It’s at the grocery store, in your email inbox, on your social media feed, it noti-fies you on your mobile phone, and if it was truly successful, it’s sitting deep inside your subconscious mind. We are inundated with offers, trials, and new products at every turn, from the more modern vehicles such as YouTube video ads, to traditional approaches like flyers in your home’s mailbox.

What they all have in common is a hope that you will give up some of your most valuable commodity: time and attention. Sure, they want your money too, but it doesn’t start there. They are looking to become part of your plans, your thoughts, and ultimately your shopping list. They want you to take action, they want to inspire a need within you to purchase immedi-ately, and can we really blame them?

The world has become one big shopping mall and everyone has something to sell, but everyone is also too distracted and too busy to hear these sales messages through the noise.

Yet, we all rely on the incredible convenience of consumer products and services to live our modern lifestyles, helping us save time by providing solutions to our everyday prob-lems in life.

In an age where we no longer grow our own food, and where we rely on sophisticated technology such as smart phones to communicate with each other, it’s very clear that we need Shopper Marketing and the prod-ucts and services it offers, as much as it needs us.

There was a time when the world was different, when advertisements were only in the newspapers, and catalogs were the dominant form of product discovery.

There wasn’t a Walmart with every item ready for immediate purchase, and the product selection was tiny. The manufacturers of consumer products had a monopoly of sorts. A monopoly in the market but also a monopoly of the market’s attention.

Then again, once radio advertising hit the marketing world, things began to change.

Radio shows were directly sponsored by companies, such as soap manufacturers, that openly promoted their products exclusively and attracted millions of consumers with free entertainment.

In the age of the Internet, the influence of Shopper Marketing is everywhere you go.

The Evolution of Shopper Marketing

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | INTRODUCTION

But how did we get here?

THE EVOLUTION OF SHOPPER MARKETING

6THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | INTRODUCTION

In fact, the ‘soap opera’ was such an invention that housewives would listen to these dramas during the day, and then became hooked in by the story lines while they cleaned the home and prepared dinner for their families. With only a few stations available, the advertisers really had a captive market.

That said, people actually enjoyed hearing about products that could help them get results in their lives. As more technology began helping take the workload off of everyday life, from modern washing machines and blenders, to synthetic rubber tires and aerosol cans, society started to become ‘consumers’ of these products that made life ‘easier’.

As time passed, and the television found its way into our homes, the radio shows became visual, and the advertisements went from jingles you heard, to logos, mascots and demonstrations you could actually see.

People became both consumers of products but also consumers of tele-vision content. It became easier to influence people and inspire them on what their lifestyle could be like if they enhanced it with modern products and technology.

In fact, in the early days of the consumer revolution, demand was so high retailers couldn’t keep the products on the shelves, and manufacturers had the upper-hand in supplying what the people wanted; they owned the most popular brands.

As time passed, the number of television channels increased where brands could advertise and single shows would no longer have exclusives for a product. Instead, commercials began running in between shows, to allow multiple sponsors to share what they had to offer, and the majority of consumers were watching them daily.

By the time cable television became unregulated in the 70’s, the number of channels became too diverse and the television ad models power began to evaporate. By the time the 80’s arrived, giant retailers such as Walmart and Tesco had strengthened their position in the market, and were no longer begging manufacturers to stock their shelves. The tables had turned, and now retailers had the upper hand.

Not only did they have the ability to choose which brands they could fill their aisles with, but they also created generic private label products, built often by the same factories that built the brand name products.


7THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | INTRODUCTION

The game was changing rapidly, and the margins for manufacturers were evaporating even faster. Retailers expected brands to advertise their prod-ucts on television, and with rising tv ad costs, manufacturers margins became even slimmer. What started for manufacturers as an easy win, became a game of cat and mouse, chasing for space within the stores they once took for granted.

By the early 90’s ‘category management’ was a dominant force in driving in-store activity, which was a discipline focused on facts and powered by the data from retailers. During this time sales had a greater role, which may also contribute to the middle ground between marketing and sales that still exists today.

Over time, brands realized that to have a fighting chance at getting their prod-ucts in the hands of consumers, they would need to start looking at things differently. They would need to coordinate promotions, along with retailers, to actively market their products together as a team with the common goal of providing value and making a profit in the process.

They would need to try new ways of presenting their products, in different locations both in store and out to increase sales; which was something everyone could agree on.

This level of coordination and proactive strategic orientation became the central force for success for both retailers and brands. In the end, they really did need each other. A retailer couldn’t focus their time or resources required on each individual category within its store on its own (such as ‘Beauty Care’).

With the right negotiation and team effort, brands could take over this effort and in partnership with the retailer, help to grow the category while focusing on their individual brands. It was a win-win relationship, and this tradition continues to this day. In fact, this relationship is at the core of what we call Shopper Marketing.

By the early 2000’s, brands discovered just how incredibly important and valuable all of the powerful insights they collected were that they derived from their analytical data on shopping. As these insights were utilized to build even more powerful targeted marketing, brands and retailers real-ized that working together to optimize their strategy around specific shop-pers, using these insights as the foundation, generated incredible results.

With the arrival of the disruptive force we know as the internet and the mainstream acceptance of e-commerce, everything began to change.


THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | INTRODUCTION 8

Stores no longer had to rely exclusively on selling and promoting in-store, on tv, or with print ads. Not only did the options for buying change, but so did the behavior of the shoppers.

They now had the ability to research and discover the best deals, share their opinions on products, and purchase from a distance thanks to increased capacity for worldwide shipping, in a way the old catalogs of the 1800’s would drool over.

We now find ourselves in a modern world filled with incredible possibility. Never before has there been more ways to reach and influence shoppers to add a retailer or brand to their shopping list. Although the captive audi-ences of the past are now gone, we now have tools and insight collec-tion that help us understand how to rapidly optimize our approaches for increasing revenue growth in a way our ancestors could have only dreamed.

From virtual reality stores used to test product placement strategies, to eye tracking technology used to gauge emotional engagement with a particular offer, the opportunities for marketers seem endless.

Sarah Gleason is a senior executive at Gfk, and is a master at developing and institutionalizing actionable consumer and shopper marketing strategies. Gleason spent 18 years in brand management, new product development and strategy at General Mills and Kraft General Foods. She was recently honored as one of 100 ‘Women of Excellence’ in the Shopper Marketing field.

RESEARCHERTHE

To achieve this we have partnered with some of the best industry experts, authors and speakers on Shopper Marketing, to include their valuable input, experience and insight.

In this guide, you will discover a distilled best practice approach to Shopper Marketing that will superpower your strategy and lead you in the direction of success.



Daniel J. Flint is Professor and Director of the Shopper Marketing Forum in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Manage-ment at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is co-author of the book “Shopper Marketing: Profiting from the Place Where Suppliers, Brand Manufacturers, and Retailers Connect”, and regularly presents at global conferences.

Carl MacInnes is a senior executive responsible for global shopper marketing practice at Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, where he supports the building of billion dollar brands by the introducing of neuromarketing practices in key global markets, and as co-author of the book, “Shopper Marketing: Neuromar-keting Strategies to Win the Battle at the Shelf”.

PROFESSOR MARKETERTHE THE

Rick Abens has been helping companies improve marketing productivity with practical analytics for over 25 years. Prior to founding Foresight ROI, the leading supplier of Shopper Marketing ROI measurement, he was Director of Global Marketing Analytics at ConAgra Foods, where he built the corporate marketing analytics function and measured return on marketing investment.

THE ANALYTICS GURUSCory Rosenfield is the co-founder of Qoints, which uses real live digital marketing data from campaigns of many of the world’s largest brands, and provides statistics to advertising agencies and brand marketers, helping executives set truly objective campaign benchmarks. A serial entrepreneur, Cory had his first exit at the age of 21 in the IT services space.

THE



April Carlisle, Senior Vice President, Global Shopper Marketing, is Retail Strategy leader for the Shopper Marketing practice for various clients within the agency, Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide, including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, 3M, Kellogg’s, and Kraft, as well as new business initiatives and global training. April has been named “Who’s Who in Shopper Marketing” four years in a row.

Elizabeth Harris is the EVP Strategy Director at Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide, working across their brand and shopper marketing groups. She has 25 years of experience in developing insight-based marketing and advertising programs for clients such as Procter & Gamble, Walgreens, Kraft, and Sears. Elizabeth was also named “Who’s Who in Shopper Marketing” for the past four years.

Tammy Brumfield is Senior Vice President of Retail Marketing Practice at The Mars Agency. An accomplished Shopper Marketing Executive with extensive experience providing leader-ship in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, Tammy has led and developed high-impact Shopper Marketing organizations for the world’s most visible brands.

AGENCY REPSTHE

Toby Desforges is an author, consultant, speaker and business leader with over 25 years’ experience working with leading consumer goods businesses including Mars, PepsiCo, Sony, Unilever, Danone, Fonterra and Kao. As the co-author of “The Shopper Marketing Revolution”, he is a globally recognised expert in Shopper Marketing and Customer Development.

CONSULTANTS

Christopher Brace founded Syntegrate Consulting with a 360-degree view of the challenges marketers face. He has held management positions in Brand Management, Adver-tising, Shopper Marketing, and Promotions on both the client and agency sides of the business, providing him a truly inte-grated foundation.

THE


THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | INTRODUCTIONSales Tools Integration

11THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING

The Essence of Shopper Marketing

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Shopper Marketing isn’t as new as some may think; it has evolved over time and has been called a lot of other things. (Perhaps a few of these terms listed in the corresponding chart sound familiar).

You may recognize that some companies still call their shopper depart-ments ‘Customer Marketing’ or ‘Retail Marketing,’ but ultimately the shift towards an integrated strategy and partnership between both the brand, and the retailer, has truly become the biggest differentiation in ‘Shopper Marketing’, no matter what the department is called.

It’s also important to note that although the consumer packaged goods industry (CPG) has been at the forefront of shopper marketing since its inception, they are no longer alone.

Many different industries have jumped aboard the shopper marketing train, including travel & leisure, banking, insurance, and automotive. A shopper marketing strategy is truly applicable for any type of commerce for any industry, whether they are selling a product or service, and this is no longer just for CPG brands.

“Shopper Marketing is the delivery category and channel solutions that

create a win-win-win for brands, retailers and shoppers based on shopper insights.”

Association of National Advertisers (ANA)

Source: Arc Worldwide/Leo Burnett

Retail marketingNo retailer involvement

Co-Op MarketingMinor retailer involvement

Account specific promotion Limited retailer involvement

Co-MarketingIncreased retailer involvement

Customer MarketingIncreased manufacturer investment

Shopper MarketingBuild equity for both brand and retailer

What Shopper Really Is, What it isn’t, and Who’s Profiting

So what is Shopper Marketing?

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE ESSENCE OF SHOPPER MARKETINGWHAT SHOPPER REALLY IS, WHAT IT ISN’T, AND WHO’S PROFITING

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All in all, Shopper Marketing is a sophisticated form of integrated marketing between retailers and brands, which run campaigns based on shopper insights and segmentation, using social and digital, apps, websites, online brand experiences, live experiences/events (in store, or at location), in-store visibility/POS (point of sale), as well as brand interaction and activation.

Unlike other marketing programs which focus solely on the compa-ny’s brand, in the world of Shopper Marketing, everything you want to achieve is seen through the perspective of the shopper, and what is most important to them. The focus is no longer primarily on the retailer, as more brands sell directly to shoppers via the internet and e-commerce. Thanks to the advent of modern technology and online shopping, the shopper has complete freedom to make the choice of where they complete their final purchase. That said, in most cases, brands do not work alone, and so a positive relationship between brands and retailers (or e-tailers) are often at the core of any successful Shopper program.

Ultimately, there are four levels of engagement within Shopper Marketing that need to be separated, distinguished and understood before we can continue.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE ESSENCE OF SHOPPER MARKETING

If some of these terms are new, or you just want to understand the main terminology used in Shopper Marketing, check out the Shopper Marketing Glossary tool found in the Tool Index or Action Plan in this Guide.

Everything you want to achieve is seen through the perspective of the shopper, and what is most important to them.

WHAT SHOPPER REALLY IS, WHAT IT ISN’T, AND WHO’S PROFITING

14THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE ESSENCE OF SHOPPER MARKETING

So what about consumers? Are they the same as shoppers?

First, we have the brands that create the products or services that will be sold. Their main goal is to build the brand awareness around their offerings, and promote them so that they can increase sales and ensure continuous consumption occurs. Brands not only need to build a successful product or service, but in many cases, they also need to build strong relationships with retailers. Ultimately, brands have the most at stake ensuring they get their product or service to market.

1. Brands

Next, we have the retailers (and e-tailers) who sell these products to the shoppers. Retailers see shopper marketing as a tool to drive sales. Their main goal is to grow the success of product categories at their stores, and build loyalty from the shoppers, so that their store (whether online e-commerce, offline brick and mortar or a combination of both) is the primary place the shopper will purchase from, and that every-thing they need is available. This includes non-traditional retail loca-tions where shopper marketing takes place such as at banks, hotels, or insurance companies.

2. Retailers / E-tailers

To add to this mix, we have the consultants and agencies who often represent the retailers and brands, aiding them in crafting insightful campaigns that are designed to build engagement within shoppers seeking solutions. Although some brands and retailers have internal teams, more often than not, they require outside help to scale their marketing abilities. Agencies see shopper marketing as a technical program they bring to life for their clients.

3. Agencies

Lastly, we have the Shoppers themselves. These are the individuals who take the time to visit the retailer, choose a brand, and make a purchase. Every shopper is different. Some shoppers are quick to run through the store and grab whatever they see on sale, and others take the time to look at different brands to make their eventual choice. Some shoppers use planned shopping lists, and others are completely spon-taneous, but both are looking to solve problems using products, from shampoo to coffee filters, running shoes to rechargeable batteries; everyone has different consumption habits and needs.

4. Shoppers

The Four Levels of Shopper Marketing Engagement

WHAT SHOPPER REALLY IS, WHAT IT ISN’T, AND WHO’S PROFITING

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There is a big difference between a shopper and a consumer.

While the consumer is the one who actually uses the product or service, it’s the shopper that makes the decision on what to ultimately buy. Although they can be the same individual, many times they are not.

For example, babies consume diapers, and pets consume pet food, but they will never directly influence a specific purchase (outside of their dietary or health needs and preferences which are interpreted by the shopper). In the end it’s the mindset of an individual that changes whether they are behaving as a shopper or consumer.

Behavior is a key differentiator between consumers and shoppers.

Consumer behavior is focused on your needs, what is happening in your life, the things you desire, whatever is around you that you can access, and your likes and dislikes.

Shopper: active intent and/or direct ability to make a purchaseConsumer: User of a product category

PurchasesConsumes

Choice focusedBrand focused

Shops for a productDesires a product

Influences shopping behaviorInfluences attitudes of shopper


“Consumers and shoppers are not the same thing. They may be

the same individual, but when you are consuming you have a set of

behaviors that are different from when you are shopping.”

Toby Desforges, the Consultant

The Key Differences Between Consumers and Shoppers

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE ESSENCE OF SHOPPER MARKETINGTHE KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMERS AND SHOPPERS

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Consumers don’t drive brand awareness or build brand equity. Consuming is easy, and often gratifying. In fact, consumption drives shopping, as renewal products such as hand soap get depleted, and other products such as cellphones become outdated or require replacement.

On the other hand, shopping can be time consuming, and possibly even frustrating. Shoppers have a behavior that is focused on solving problems, they are searching for products or services that they, or others, will eventu-ally consume, and they are ultimately the people who make the purchase decision(s).

They must make many more decisions than someone who is just consuming a product or service, including but not limited to, deciding on price, features, and availability. Sometimes, marketers themselves confuse who is the shopper and who is the consumer. For example, a well-known beer brand, while promoting it’s beer within stores, uses an image of a beautiful woman wearing a short dress (and often as a life size display).

On the surface, considering men are the likely consumers of the product, this strategy seems logical: men are attracted to women and beer has long been sold using women to motivate men to purchase the product (with the implied experience of increased social confidence, and being seen as attractive by the opposite sex).

The problem with this strategy is that, according to Consultant Toby Desforges research, in some markets 95% of beer purchased for home consumption is bought by women, whereas 90% of beer consumed in the home is by men.

If you think about it for a moment this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. It’s often women who purchase the groceries, or who go shopping in stores for their families. That said, those women often fully understand and are aware of the manipulation these kinds of ads are trying to influ-ence on the men in their lives, and they may even resent it. It’s situations like these that show just how important it is to understand and apply the unique behavioral differences between shoppers and consumers in any Shopper Marketing strategy.

In fact, it’s these insights about how people shop, who is shopping, where they shop and why they shop, that most often drive the decisions in a best practice Shopper Marketing program.

Collecting and analyzing these insights is where the real magic of Shopper Marketing unfolds.

In some markets 95% of beer purchased for home consumption is bought by women, whereas 90% of beer consumed in the home is by men.


Source: Flint, Hoyt, Swift. 2014.

THE KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONSUMERS AND SHOPPERS

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Analyzing and applying behavioral insights, on not only how people shop, but also factors such as those based on their values and the perceived benefits of the purchase, are an essential part of any successful Shopper Marketing program, and are in many cases a big part of the overall budget. These insights have become equity in the negotiations and collaborations between brands and retailers/e-tailers.

Collecting more insights about shoppers at the category level, is some-thing that all retailers/e-tailers are doing independently, and so collabo-rating with brands to gather more data is an enticing proposition.

The ultimate goal for these insights is to drive strategy according to how shoppers can be influenced at key points along their shopping journey. Insights can be gathered in a myriad of different ways, but all lead towards the same goal of understanding behavior in such a way that a campaign, product, service or any other variable can be optimized to increase the possibility of a purchase being made.

For example, you may be familiar with how analytics are used to evaluate the success of a webpage. Using software tools such as Google Analytics, marketers are able to see how long a visitor was on any given page, what pages they went to next, where they came from to begin with, and whether they ended up actually making a purchase.

This data can also be used to split test between two different page layouts for a landing page, splitting traffic equally in what is often called an A/B split-test, to determine which layout is the best at getting the desired outcome.

The Incredible Importance of Shopper Insights/Analytics

Insights can be gathered in a myriad of different ways, but all lead towards the same goal of understanding behavior in such a way that a campaign, product, service or any other variable can be opti-mized to increase the possibility of a purchase being made.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE ESSENCE OF SHOPPER MARKETINGTHE INCREDIBLE IMPORTANCE OF SHOPPER INSIGHTS/ANALYTICS


Insights can be gathered both in and out of the store, from methods such as loyalty cards used during checkout, online behavior collected within a brand’s omni-channel environment, or from cameras tracking the move-ment of people in stores, and how long they stand in front of a specific display to understand engagement. That said, interpreting data is an art, as well as a science.

Perhaps someone is standing in front of that display because something they saw actually offended them in some way. On the other hand, maybe the messaging wasn’t very clear, or they weren’t looking at the display at all, but just happened to stop there for a moment to check their phone.

There is always more than meets the eye to what we see in terms of shop-ping behaviors. According to Professor Daniel Flint’s research, 70% of grocery purchases are made or influenced by women, even if the men are doing the actual purchasing. This research comes from the study of neurology, or more specifically, Neuromarketing.

As Daniel shares, male and female brains are significantly different on how they process information, so marketing has to be very, very different for each. Due to the high percentage of female influence on purchasing deci-sions, this alone is a very big reason why there is more emphasis on HER vs HIM in the shopping world, even though they are both often in the role of shopper.

Although neuromarketing shows the influence women have on purchasing decisions, Sarah Gleason, shared that this dynamic of focusing on the female buyer is changing depending on the category and channel.

Shopper insights follow the same logic. The more you know about how shoppers are reacting to your products both in a physical or online store, and how they are reacting to the layout of the store or webpage itself, the better decisions can actually be made.

Researcher Sarah Gleason explained that in almost every case, A/B testing on its own is far too basic an approach for an effective shopper marketing strategy. Instead she shared that companies should be thinking about the whole shopping purchase journey, and understanding key points of insight along that journey at specific phases (such as early on, or close to making a decision).

This can include a shopper travelling within a companies omni-channel system, from physical store to online presence, back and forth. The ques-tion naturally arises, on which part of the journey has greatest influence for a shopper in that company’s category. This includes understanding at what location the purchasing behaviors are decided, whether in a physical store, online store or different location.

“To start building a powerful Shopper Marketing program, you must first

have powerful insights.”

Carl MacInnes, the Marketer

THE INCREDIBLE IMPORTANCE OF SHOPPER INSIGHTS/ANALYTICS


We now have the ability to speak to shoppers more specifically one on one, and this is causing marketing strategies to move beyond mass marketing (where you must choose one target over the other). In the past it was easy to assume the female would be buying or influence buying in most categories, but now its possible to customize and personalize marketing messages for a specific age or gender.

Sarah mentioned that this now goes far beyond gender, into areas such as ethnicity, and generations such as millennials compared to baby boomers, as it is more possible to see who is the core target.

Digital technology is allowing marketers to speak directly to shoppers and individuals in a more tailored way, whereas in the past companies had to rely purely on a CRM or database marketing approach.

“Consumers can give rationally sounding answers, where they believe

they know how they came to their shopping conclusions, even though it may not actually be true; but with

the help of neurological research, the marketer knows why.”

Daniel Flint PhD, the Professor

70% of grocery purchases are made or influenced by women, even if the men are doing the actual purchasing.

Source: Flint, Hoyt, Swift. 2014.

THE INCREDIBLE IMPORTANCE OF SHOPPER INSIGHTS/ANALYTICS

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Gathering and analyzing insights are a crucial part of ensuring Shopper Marketing success because results are driven by the ability to affect behaviors. That said, there are companies who are collecting data but aren’t quite sure what insights are hiding within.

Later in this report we will be sharing some of the metrics you should consider tracking to start this important practice. The information in the data often leads to the fundamental understanding that many variables lead to a purchase, and in this age of the internet, many of these variables are no longer actually in the store the product is purchased; they’re in the omni-channel universe.

“If you don’t understand shopper behaviors and how they are affected,

you can’t change them. Shopping insights give you an understanding of

what motivates change.”

Sarah Gleason, the Researcher

If you’re looking for a place to store your consumer insights and behaviors, with some popular behaviors already filled out, check out the Shopper Marketing Insights Database tool.

That said it’s the shoppers subconscious mind that is reading, analyzing and making decisions, which can be difficult but not impossible to track, using sophisticated measurement tools and techniques.

For example, Professor Flint shared that Pilot (a large truck stop company operating in the USA, that also owns Flying J, known as the Walmart of truck stops), a place for cars to get gas and buy convenience items such as potato chips or beverages did some interesting tests.

18 Wheelers use these locations to get supplies for a long trip, and even have a shower. Several tests were conducted on what drives people to do certain things within the stores.

Pilot was interested in measuring digital signage within the store, and located a digital sign near the showers that told customers what they could expect in the store in the future.

In the end, customers were sharing what they loved about the store, and were sharing information that was only available on these digital signs. When asked about digital signage, the customers were unaware of any digital signs in the store; it was in their mind’s eye.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE ESSENCE OF SHOPPER MARKETINGTHE INCREDIBLE IMPORTANCE OF SHOPPER INSIGHTS/ANALYTICS

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A customer may start their journey on your website sitting in front of their desktop computer at home, which leads them to call your support team via phone, and then follow up on their mobile device, in their hand, as they walk into your store with a digital coupon they got from an email, sent to them by the support agent. This journey can take many forms.

A shopper could also start on a mobile phone to gather preliminary infor-mation on the subway, later moving to a bigger screen to get more detailed information (perhaps finding a coupon, or sale).

If they end up, in the store, they might realize they are actually choosing between two different products, and want to pull up more information on their phone to decide.

You need to be ready to affect shopper behavior in every possible situa-tion. This is at the core of omni-channel marketing.

Researcher Sarah Gleason shared that multi-channel marketing differs from Omni-channel marketing, in that multi-channel marketing’s focus is on different kinds of retail outlets such as club, drug and grocery stores.

Those channels tend to fulfill different trip types or categories, for example you might do a weekly grocery store fill-up trip and monthly stock up at club store (such as Costco).

“Omnichannel Marketing (also spelled omni-channel) is a multichannel approach

to sales that seeks to provide the customer with a seamless shopping experience,

whether the customer is shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, by

telephone, or in a bricks and mortar store.”

The Non-Linear Omni-Channel Shopper JourneyPurchases don’t just happen within a brick and mortar store anymore.

Pre-Shopping

Shopping

Post-Shopping

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE ESSENCE OF SHOPPER MARKETINGTHE NON-LINEAR OMNI-CHANNEL SHOPPER JOURNEY

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On the other hand, omni-channel marketing is a combination of digital and physical shopping, using both digital and physical assets and influences to affect shopper behavior.

Although marketers have worked with both digital and physical shopping for some time now, sophistication in the technology running these systems have allowed for full and complete integration between online and offline purchasing.

The backend remembers all the customer information so that anyone, both in store, on the phone, or even the customer online can access the same information about past purchases. Omni-channel marketing is the ultimate integration possible for any store, and is essential for effective Shopper Marketing in the age of the Internet.

By having all systems working in synchronization, it is possible for the customer to use their mobile phone to check inventory at a specific location of a store, or check insurance rates, while the shopper is sitting in a coffee shop preparing for their next purchase. They could even make a purchase using their phone, either by using the ecommerce cart on the mobile website, or by calling a support number, and have the product set aside for pickup at the store, to save time looking for the item and waiting in line when they arrive.

Omni-channel marketing also helps greatly with collecting shopper insights, as past behaviors on the website, including pages visited, or support staff contacted, can now be used to add detail on how the ultimate purchase decision was made, and what the preferences of the shopper were throughout the shopping journey.

Omni-Channel Experience

Source: Kana

WebSelf-Service

OutboundCampaigns

AgentDesktop

CaseManagement

TelephonyIntegration

ExperienceCommunity

KnowledgeManagement

ExperienceAnalytics

Live Chat &Co-Browse

E-mail & SecureMessaging

GuidedScripting

DocumentManagement

KNOWLEDGE - INFUSED PROCESS

MOBILE

SOCIAL WEB

AGENT

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE ESSENCE OF SHOPPER MARKETINGTHE NON-LINEAR OMNI-CHANNEL SHOPPER JOURNEY

23

Shopper marketing using an omni-channel marketing approach has a big effect on all stages of the shopping journey.

Although most shopper marketing strategy has largely been centered on a linear approach or traditional ‘path-to-purchase’, the truth is that shoppers often travel between stages and steps in a non-linear fashion, moving back and forth as they make their decisions.

Looking beyond old-school thinking, shopper marketing is actually based directly on feedback, integration, and loops with respect to any pre-shop-ping, shopping, and post-shopping activities. Each shopper journey is really cyclical and is more about loops than straight lines.

This journey is not limited to a linear journey, but is a non-linear, cyclical process where shoppers will repeat and loop multiple steps until they are ready to proceed to a different stage of the journey.

Sarah Gleason shared that this journey is simply not linear because you can be shopping for one item or service and go into a physical store or online shop, and then see something different, and start shopping for something else altogether.

You may get part way through information gathering, and may start again, expanding your consideration set, gathering more information and doing more research.

She broke this cyclical journey down into 3 key stages (as shown on page 21).


In this stage you are gathering information, and there is something that is the catalyst that moves you into active shopping mode. Typi-cally used as a pre-store activity (pre-shopping is homework you’re doing before visiting a store) it could also be before visiting an online store to purchase. To further clarify, Sarah shared that pre-shopping is before shopping, and pre-store is the activities you do before visiting a store.

This is the actual active shopping process, including what you’re doing while gathering information in store.

This is the experience (often called the consumer experience), once you purchase and utilize the product or service.

1

2

3

Pre-Shopping

Shopping

Post-Shopping

If you’re looking to customize your organizations specific shopper journey, leverage the Shopper Marketing Journey Stages Template.

THE NON-LINEAR OMNI-CHANNEL SHOPPER JOURNEY


According to Consultant Christopher Brace, although the journey can be the same at a conceptual level: how fast someone moves through that path changes based on the industry. While the journey to purchase CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) is generally fast paced, purchasing a vacation can take much longer, while buying a car or house can often span over 6 months or longer. No matter the length of the journey, the fundamentals remain the same, and with the advent of omni-channel marketing we have more data-driven insights then ever to understand this non-linear shopping behavior.

1Explore

Gathering information

and asking questions to

satisfy curiosity

2Sift and Sort

Weighing product pros and cons, comparing prices,

functionality and availability

3Get Comfortable

Getting comfortable with the likely purchase choice

4Take Control

Checking out trends and insider information in order

to gain an advantage

5Get It Done

Reaching closure on pur-chase decision, including

acting on a deal advantage

7Anticipate

Anticipating the purchase experience be inspired or

motivated advantage

8Assess Firsthand Honestly assessing

product post-purchase advantage

9Act On Inpulse

Taking a chance and act-ing on impulse; going with

feelings over facts

10Advocate

Championing a product and sharing one’s

perspective on it with others

11Celebrate and Savor Savoring the experience

of using the product in cel-ebration of the purchase

12Provoke a Reaction Showing off via the prod-uct, aligning oneself with exclusivity the purchase

Seek Inspiration Looking to find or experi-

ence something new to be inspired or motivated

6

Source: ANA/Leo Burnett

To add some additional detail, Leo Burnett researched and surveyed 15,000 consumers that recently completed a purchase journey within the omni-channel structure, for a wide range of shopper categories, and over 146 varied touch points. The result was called ‘Decision DNA’ and it yielded a 12 step shopper journey based on motivations, and not the touch points themselves. As you review this list, think of it not as a linear journey, but as a non-linear process, that can contain loops and jumps from one stage to another.

The results were an interesting view of the Omni-channel marketing experience:

Decision DNA: 12 Step Non-Linear Shopper Journey



Although omni-channel marketing is a massive undertaking, it has the ability to offer not only an amazing customer purchasing and support experience, but also offer an incredible amount of detail into the behav-iors that ultimately lead to a purchase. One great example of sophisti-cated omni-channel marketing is what the team at Disney has achieved.

The experience begins at their mobile responsive website, which allows shoppers to purchase everything from exclusive merchandise to a trip to Disney World with a single integrated account. The entire trip-planning experience works perfectly, even on a mobile device, and allows shoppers to fully customize their trip using the ‘My Disney Experience’ tool, which also has it’s own discreet mobile app. Using this tool, you can plan every-thing from dining experiences to choosing which ‘Fast Pass’ you’d like to secure when you visit the park to avoid lineups at popular attractions.

When you arrive at Walt Disney World, they have a ‘Magic Band’ which acts as a bracelet with an RFID chip connected to your account. This allows you to enter your hotel room, order food, utilize your pre-chosen fast pass choices, and even store images taken of you within the park with Disney characters. You can also use the app to see wait times for each attraction as well as the ability to locate each attraction with directions on how to get there. Later when you get home from your vacation, the engagement continues with special offers to buy items on the Disney store website or to help you plan your next trip.

In fact, effective data management is at the core of successful Shopper Marketing. Let’s take a look at what this data says about Shopper Marketing, as an industry, overall.

Disney’s Magic Band allows you to enter your hotel room, order food, utilize your pre-chosen fast pass choices, and even store images taken of you within the park with Disney characters.


26

Not only is data important to gather during any Shopper Marketing program, it’s also important to understand what the data about Shopper Marketing says overall. The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) commissioned research, with the help of PQ Media, to understand how extensive the Shopper Marketing landscape looks like across both B-to-B and B-to-C companies. Separately ANA worked with GfK to conduct research among marketers about the future of Shopper Marketing.

Seven key findings were discovered.

Investment in shopper marketing continues to grow.

The role of shopper marketing has progressed from driving short-term sales to motivating shopper behavior.

A dedicated shopper marketing team is more likely to be viewed as a competitive advantage today than it was in the past.

When shopper marketing reports to marketing, it tends to be more strategic and is valued more highly within the organization.

Shopper insights are crucial to overcoming purchase barriers but are underfunded in many organizations.

Shoppers are gaining more control over the purchase occasion via mobile/digital.

Shopper marketing has to be more informed, integrated, and focused on the overall customer experience. *Represents Shopper Marketing Analysis channel within Retail Marketing Platform

Source: ANA/pqmedia U.S. Brand Activation Forecast 2016

Shopper Marketing* spend rose

6.6% to $14.04 billion

Shopper Marketing* spend expected to grow

6.4% to $14.95 billion

Shopper Marketing* spend expected to expand

6.4% CAGR to $18.64 billion in 2020

Per PQ Media’s spending study, between now and 2020, investment in shopper marketing is expected to expand 5.8 percent to $18.64 billion, outperforming total brand marketing spend.

1Investment in shopper marketing continues to grow.

2015

2016

2016to

2020

Powerful Statistics that Make the Business Case


1

2

3

4

5

6

7

POWERFUL STATISTICS THAT MAKE THE BUSINESS CASE


Source: ANA/GfK 2016 Research: The Future of Shopper Marketing


While the primary role of shopper marketing has always been to convert shoppers, it now has to deliver a combination of short- and long- term benefits, including driving conversion among shoppers, motivating shopper behavior through levers beyond price, and executing solutions to customer challenges.

It takes focus and time to build an effective shopper marketing depart-ment, but it’s worth the effort. Of the respondents in organizations that have a dedicated shopper marketing team, 51 percent believed that shopper marketing was a competitive advantage, and 55 percent believed that shopper marketing reflected the convergence of brands, shoppers, and retailers.

2 3The role of shopper marketing has progressed from driving short-term sales to motivating shopper behavior.

A dedicated shopper marketing team is more likely to be viewed as a competitive advantage today than it was in the past.

Primarily drive conversion among shoppers 41%

Motivate shopper behavior through levers beyond price 35%

Executive solutions on need states and causes shoppers actions

29%

Build brand equity of brand and retailer 21%

Drive short-term sales volume 26%

Build retailer and manufacturer collaboration/relationships

20%

Grow categories by leveraging shopper solutions 19%

Drive profitable long term growth 18%

9% Shopper Marketingis entirely outsourced

42%Dedicated person/team for more than

3 years

17%Person/team established

within the last 3 years

32% Supported by otherexisting departments

Shopper Marketing is acompetitive advantagefor my organization

51%55% Shopper Marketing reflects

the convergence of brand shopper and retailer




The category began to change dramatically as shopper marketers became more strategic and began leveraging shopper insights. As a result, it began reporting directly into marketing, which created greater opportunity for integration. The focus of shopper marketing shifted from the retailer to the shopper, and the percentage of marketers who felt that shopper marketing was a strategic initiative in their companies increased.

4When shopper marketing reports to marketing, it tends to be more strategic and is valued more highly within the organization.

2009

Marketing Sales

2011

2013

2016

Where Does Shopper Marketing Report Into?

27% 39%

38%

26% 40%

53% 42%

25%


Shopper insights can drive program development, but only four in ten study respondents believed their organizations were adequately investing in shopper insights, which have been identified as the fuel for shopper marketing success and have been influential in shifting the perspective on the strategic value of shopper marketing.

5Shopper insights are crucial to overcoming purchase barriers but are underfunded in many organizations.

Insights are used to develop programs designed to overcome shopper purchase barriers

Insights into a retailer’s shopper drive program development

Insights into a category’s shopper drive program development

My organization is investing adequately in its shopper insights foundation

70%

40%




To connect with consumers, the brand strategy has to permeate through every touchpoint, digital and in-store. While most shopper marketers recognize that digital technologies are shifting the power to consumers, almost half have not established a digital/mobile team focused on the shopper space.

6Shoppers are gaining more control over the purchase occasion via mobile/digital.

45%Have NOT

established a digital/mobile group

25%Yes, this is a separate group

Digital/mobile technologies are shiftingthe balance of power to shoppers andaway from retailers and manufacturers

22%Yes, part of Shopper

Marketing

8%Yes, part of another group

82%


The research predicts that shopper marketing will be more informed by insights based on actual versus claimed behavior, will better reflect that the shopping experience is part of the overall customer experience, and will include post-purchase communications to build loyalty.

7Shopper marketing has to be more informed, integrated, and focused on the overall customer experience.

Shopper Marketing will be more informed byinsights based on actual versus claimed behavior

Shopper Marketing will better reflect that the shoppingexperience is part of the overall customer experience

Shopper Marketing will include post-purchasecommunications to build loyalty

Shopper Marketing will drive increased joint businessplanning with key retailer partners

New technologies such as facial recognition, beacons, and the Internet of Things will dramatically reshape

Shopper Marketing

Brand plans and shopper plans will be fully integrated

Shopper Marketing will be well integrated into myorganization’s annual and/or strategic planning process

Shopper Marketing will become a required functionalrotation to advance in the organization

51%

43%

40%

39%

33%

30%

27%

20%


30

All in all, these findings define shopper marketing as a discipline at the intersection of marketing and sales with the primary purpose of creating a win-win-win for brands, retailers, and shoppers.


Crystalize how you define shopper marketing and its role.

Establish a dedicated shopper marketing team that reports to or is closely aligned with marketing.

Adequately fund shopper insights to understand the inflection point when consumers ove come purchase barriers and become shoppers.

Ground your shopper marketing programs and solutions in shopper insights; change the focus to include long term business building as well as short-term sales.

Integrate digital and mobile into your shopper marketing program while staying on top of the changing lan scape and acquiring the necessary skills.

Carefully consider the future and its implications for how your organization needs to be prepared.

Sarah Gleason, SVP from Gfk who wrote the report on this data, shares:

Looking to leverage these statistics? Utilize the Shopper Marketing Business Case presentation to help gain senior approval for a shopper marketing program.

Six key actions from the research that can elevate the strategic impact of your Shopper Marketing.

1

3

2

4

5

6


31

In the end, it is the Customer Experience that every Shopper Marketing program is looking to maximize.

To understand what successful Shopper Marketing looks like, let’s take an in-depth look at a REGGIE Award Winning ‘National Consumer Campaign,’ courtesy of April Carlisle and Elizabeth Harris from the agency Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide.

The campaign was called ‘The Most Gifted Wrapper.’

Scotch tape wanted to grow their unit share, and the overall relevancy of their Scotch brand tape during their key season: the holidays. In fact, 80% of sales for tape are in October, November and December as people buy tape during the holidays. That tape can last for the rest of the year (before it is fully consumed).

Through the use of shopper insights the agency team knew that shoppers, although savvy to the fact they need tape, often forget to buy it and it ends up as an afterthought, even when they’re inside a store that sells tape.

Courtesy of Arc Worldwide/Leo Burnett

Case Study: Scotch Tape

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE ESSENCE OF SHOPPER MARKETINGCASE STUDY: SCOTCH TAPE


They also knew that the shopper felt that beautifully wrapped gifts showed others how much they cared, and that what was on the outside of the gift was often as important as the gift inside (as it was the first impression the receiver of the gift would have).

From their insights, they also knew that the shopper is often also the consumer of the tape. Amongst the different possible types of shoppers, they chose not to concentrate on the shopper looking to run in and out of the store, but rather a brand aspirational, who appreciates the Scotch brand, and who is looking for gift wrapping inspiration and can be confused by the plethora of Scotch tape types.

In the past, Scotch ran a public relations (PR) contest called the ‘World’s Most Gifted Wrapper Contest’. The contest was focused on rewarding Scotch tape consumers who loved wrapping presents in unique ways, with a chance to win a trip to New York City. The PR event was focused solely on brand awareness, and did not specifically or directly drive any in-store sales.

In-store, there were in-aisle display units with the message ‘Don’t forget the Scotch Tape’. The tape was an afterthought once the consumer was in retailer shopping mode. The client wanted to both enhance their retail strategy, while still running the wrapping contest (which was a 20 year tradition).

The strategy Arc/Leo Burnett focused on was to provide gift wrapping inspiration and ideas, to encourage shoppers to buy ‘one more roll’ of Scotch tape earlier in the holiday season.


CASE STUDY: SCOTCH TAPE

33

Furthermore, they wanted to overcome the “choice confusion” shopper barrier to ensure shoppers could match the correct tape(s) with their wrap-ping project.

The agency team decided that the ‘Most gifted wrappers’ weren’t just one person here or there, but they were actually elves at the North Pole because they wrap more presents than anyone. The clever tagline they ended up going with was: “The Most Gifted Wrappers, use the most gifted tape” to further encourage the superior quality of the Scotch brand.

The team discovered that each tape style (double sided, transparent etc.) was not fully understood by the market, so they designed a character for each style of tape and created unique content for each elf/tape on how to inspire their shoppers/consumers to wrap their presents in different and interesting ways, using different tapes, or even using multiple tapes (to encourage purchase of more than one roll).

The team also designed a fully integrated marketing communica-tions program that included POS (point of sale) and Display Activa-tion in-store, a micro-site, videos, blogger content, social media posts, e-books and the original wrapping contest.

Each elf had their own e-book and their own unique approach/style. Each elf also had their own workshop and a different type of present to wrap. They each had animated wrapping examples on social media (such as Pinterest) for further consumer engagement and to provide tips and tricks to the market at large, and bring further awareness to their campaign.




34

They ran ads on Facebook that were designed to teach their market how to wrap their gifts beautifully, and to extend their reach past what Scotch had organically on their Facebook Page.

Using each retailer’s specific style guide, the in-store POS and display acti-vations were customized to meet the retailer’s expectations, while offering the brand continuity for the entire campaign. This required managing multiple relationships with different retailers to get their final buy-in and approval for the assets being deployed, and the campaign details overall.

In the end, the results were phenomenal, especially when compared to the previous year:

The agency team took home the ‘National Consumer Campaign’ award at the 2015 REGGIE Awards, a top industry award show presented by the ANA.

Truth be told, there are an unlimited number of possible ways to execute a successful campaign, but they often share common best practices that guide the way.


300%

32%

850,000

40%

increase in retailer adoption and execution

of their campaigns

additional incremental sales

extra rolls of tapes sold vs. the previous year

increase in unit sales

Let’s discover how Shopper Marketing really works.



35THE ESSENTIAL SHOPPER MARKETING GUIDE

The Nuts and Bolts of Shopper Marketing

36

When it comes to Shopper Marketing, there is no single approach or process to quantify, but it is crucial to understand that a successful program ultimately relies on a strong process based on best practice research.

We asked our experts to share their experiences and research on how they see the fundamental processes working within Shopper Marketing.

Professor Daniel Flint, based on his research, shares:

Looking for a step-by-step overview of the stages and steps, required to launch a successful Shopper Marketing program? Check out the Shopper Marketing Action Plan and Shopper Marketing Tool Index for practical tools and step-by-step instructions.

Simple 4 phase process to any successful Shopper Marketing program:

Insight development/research (business/shopper insights, and consumer insights)

Strategic collaboration (between retailers and brand)

Executing the plan

Metrics/measurement of the program

It’s worth noting that, in Dr.Flint’s experience, without the proper amount of upfront insight development, a Shopper Marketing program simply would not have the information required to succeed.

Consultant Toby Desforges has his own four phases to integrate shopper into marketing (which he suggests should be “used by every consumer goods company on the planet”).

“Shopper Marketing is a business process that is integrated into the

work of marketing and sales, it has a logical sequence and outcome, and

that outcome is designed to influence purchase behavior.”


Processes and Best Practices

1

3

2

4

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOPPER MARKETINGPROCESSES AND BEST PRACTICES

37THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOPPER MARKETING

Please note, Toby’s process is linear, requiring the first phase to be completed before moving to the second.

1 Identify what your consumer priorities are. (ie. Growth consump-tion based on insights)

2 Understand which Shopper behavior you need to create. (ie. Change purchase behavior in order for that purchase to happen)

3 Ask yourself: “In which channels are we going to create that behavior?”

4Create a marketing mix that addresses the consumers, shop-pers, and the channels we want to target. (ie. Develop effective marketing mixes that’s implemented to give that outcome)

It is worth noting that the last step also includes everything you want to achieve in both digital and traditional retail, including how you will incen-tivize retailers to make it happen.

Both of these processes concentrate on the same principal; you must understand where the shopper is (and be able to support that with data-driven insights) in order to properly plan the steps ahead.

That said, it’s also incredibly important when beginning to discuss a Shopper Marketing program to start by fully understanding what level of maturity you are currently operating within. This chart below comes cour-tesy of Arc Worldwide/Leo Burnett. They use this spectrum when asking their clients where they are in terms of their Shopper Marketing maturity: Where do you stand?

Less- More

Shopper Driven Marketing

Comprised of promotional and non-promotional

solutions

Differentiated Brand Platform

Brand communication platform that is unique to

the retailer

Promotional Alignment

Alligns manufacturer activity to retailer’s busi-

ness priorities andretailer’s own promotional programs

Customized National Promotions

Leverage national brand promotions with some custom retailer offers

Trade Promotions

Offers customized by retailer, but POS is usually prescriptive or off-the-shelf


Sophistication of Shopper Marketing Strategies

PROCESSES AND BEST PRACTICES

38

Agency reps April and Elizabeth shared that although a lot of clients still only do basic trade promotions (which are not usually associated or defined as part of a true shopper marketing program), it’s important to note that Shopper Marketing efforts are often happening in all or only some parts of this spectrum, it’s not a clear progression from left to right (from less maturity to more).

Any brand could technically be doing all of these stages in a non-linear fashion, but it’s safe to say that if they’re only doing baseline trade promo-tions, they have lots of room to grow if their objective is to apply a larger shopper marketing approach to their marketing mix.

No matter your maturity level, and level of program sophistication, all of our experts agreed that it all starts with truly understanding your shopper.

Are you looking for a deeper maturity assessment and/or maturity model? Check out the Shopper Marketing Capabilities Assessment App tool, and Shopper Marketing Maturity Model to help you and your team benchmark your capabilities as you grow your shopper marketing program.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOPPER MARKETINGPROCESSES AND BEST PRACTICES

I

39

Just as you must know your ideal buyer before constructing a targeted Demand Generation campaign, you must know your ideal shopper to build a successful Shopper Marketing program. Each shopper can be on a radically different shop-ping journey, as discussed in the earlier section on Non-Linear Omni-Channel Shopper Journeys. It’s important to start by planning out the stages of how each shopper will move along their shopping journey (keeping in mind that this journey, although seemingly linear, is actually non-linear in nature).

Different companies profile shopper segments differently, but all of them are based on insights and behaviors.

This can become complicated very quickly as a company can have many different brands, and retailers have many different product categories, with each attracting a variety of possible shoppers. That said, in many cases, you may have a specific shopper that overlaps multiple brands and/or categories, that you may want to target.

In the world of Shopper Marketing, there is no escaping the process of gath-ering insights about the shopper or shoppers you suspect, or already have some evidence, are most interested in your product, service, or category.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOPPER MARKETING

Are you looking to define your Shopper profile and journey? Check out the Shopper Marketing Profile Template, Shopper Marketing Profile Interview Questions and Shopper Marketing Journey Stages Template to help your teams quickly leverage this best practice approach.

$50

These insights are based on data that not only validate the assumptions you may already have but may also give indications about otherwise unseen behavioral trends that you could leverage in an upcoming shopper campaign.

Know Your Shopper(s) Before You Begin

KNOW YOUR SHOPPER(S) BEFORE YOU BEGIN

40

In many cases, there are multiple shoppers that you must take into account that have different reasons for using a product, service, or category. For example, in an earlier example in regards to the purchasing of beer in a store, 95% of the shoppers were women.

These women may only be buying the beer for their partner to consume, but some of them may also be interested in consuming the product themselves.

Each of these women are different shoppers with unique behavioral attri-butes, and who are going to be driven by different triggers when seeing the beer.

To add to this mix, we also have the men who traditionally buy this type of beer as well. If the male shopper goes to purchase the beer, he is travel-ling with that specific purpose in mind, and he is another unique shopper worth tracking and understanding.

A shopper who visits a store to purchase alcohol is focused on that cate-gory more specifically and could be enticed to try other types of beer and perhaps purchase something else instead, or in addition, to their favorite beer.

This purchase decision could just as easily occur on-premise, at a bar or restaurant, instead of off-premise in a grocery store aisle.

At any rate, it’s important to take the time to understand the shopper(s) for your brands and categories, and connecting data fueled insights to their profiles, to help your Shopper Marketing team (potentially with team members from the brand, retailer/e-tailer and agency working together in tandem) target the right individuals for their campaigns.

It’s important to note that shopper insights strategy work should be done first by the brand, and then leveraged together with the retailer/e-tailer to enhance and collaborate on the best strategy to apply for a true win-win-win outcome.


95% of beer sold in stores is purchased by women.

Source: Flint, Hoyt, Swift. 2014,

KNOW YOUR SHOPPER(S) BEFORE YOU BEGIN

41

It should also come as no surprise that Shoppers can have a radically contrasting mindset when they are operating within different channels. The same person, placed into a specific shopping environment, will behave differently depending on where they are.

For example, when shopping at a drugstore, as a ‘caretaker’, the motivation is centered on concern for your family’s well-being.


GROCERY DRUG MASS CLUB DOLLAR C-STORE

ASPIRATION PROVIDER CARETAKERTHRIFTY

PROVIDERSMART

SHOPPERVALUE

SHOPPERIMPULSE SHOPPER

MOTIVATION Anticipated weekly task; routine Concern for family well-being Value & lifestyle Adventure shopping Value & need Convenience

MODE Fresh food driven; moving to mass for commodity

Planned purchases - moderate price impulse purchases - avg

to high priceEDLP The deal, the steal; bulk

savingsPredictably lowSize controlled Fair but not a deal

OPENNESS Low absorption, habitual shopping patterns

Label reading high absorption

Low on commodity; high on lifestyle Opportunistic Open to value oriented deals

only; need driven Only if it’s right in front of me

LOCATION IMPORTANCE

Within neighborhood Within neighborhood Up to 10 mile radius Up to 10 mile radius Within neighborhood On commute path

SERVICE IMPORTANCE

CHOICE IMPORTANCE

Essentials High choice expectations Breadth and depth or exclusive

Limited to top 2-3 brands per category

Generic with 1-2 brand leaders

Limited breadth & size selection

ENVIRONMENT

Navigational signage; clear-ly identified brand blocks;

information at shelf; branded “destination departments” in

certain banners

Navigational signage; brand blocks difficult due to lack of depth; seens as expert and

service oriented

Cluttered, overwhelming aisles; little opportunity to

stand out as brand

Controlled flow; opportunistic finds, sampling

Very small footprint, merchan-dise adjacencies confusing;

little visual opportunity

Small footprint; smaller pack sizes; immediate consump-

tion oriented


That same person becomes a ‘smart shopper’ when shopping at a club, like Costco, and takes on an adventurous shopping persona looking for free samples and new arrivals.

To aid in this discovery process, Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide has shared their Shopper Mindset model which illustrates the changes in shoppers behavior in much more detail.

Channels, Trends, Seasonal Events and Tactics

CHANNELS, TRENDS, SEASONAL EVENTS AND TACTICS


In the world of Shopper Marketing, each channel provides a different opportunity.

To further illustrate the incredibly diverse variety of opportunities, take a look at this additional chart which summarizes the channels, trends, seasonal events, and tactics that can be used as part of a Shopper Marketing program.

CHANNELS TRENDS/SEASONAL TACTICS

Apparel April Fools’ Day Account-Specific

Club Stores Back to School Co-Marketing

Convenience Stores Black Friday Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

Department Stores Breast Cancer Awareness Cross-Merchandising

Dollar Stores Cinco De Mayo Digital Marketing

Drugstores Cyber Monday Displays & Signs

E-commerce Easter Entertainment Tie-ins / Licensing

Electronics Earth Day Events

Fashion Accessories Father’s Day Games/ Contests/ Sweepstakes

Footwear Halloween In-store Media

Health and Beauty Independence Day Interactive vending

Housewares Memorial Day Loyalty Marketing

Centers/Hardware Mother’s Day Mobile Marketing

Mass Merchants Movember Packaging

Office Supply New Product Launches Paid Media

Pet Stores New Years Eve Premiums/ Incentives

Services Summer Holidays Product Placement

Specialty/Other Super Bowl & Football Private Label

Sporting Goods Thanksgiving Relationship Marketing

Supermarkets Valentines Day Sampling

Toy Stores Veterans Day Social Media

Warehouse Clubs Winter Holidays Video Displays

Get your campaign planned out with set objectives, KPI’s and timeframes using the Shopper Marketing Strategy Workbook, and lay out your overall plan using the Shopper Marketing Project Plan presentation to gain approval from senior leadership for your ideas.

CHANNELS, TRENDS, SEASONAL EVENTS AND TACTICS

43

No matter which channels, trends, and tactics are employed, each Shopper Marketing program comes with it’s own unique issues and challenges; some clear, and others not. From new product launches to visibility, capturing shopper attention to being in context to shopper needs, there are a lot of areas that need careful attention for a Shopper Marketing program to have success.

On the other hand, some of the experts we interviewed, have their own specific concerns and areas they look out for in ensuring a Shopper Marketing program is successful.

Marketer Carl MacInnes shared that the lack of organizational under-standing of how powerful Shopper Marketing can actually be is a major issue, where Shopper becomes a forgotten discipline (even given infor-mation on how much decisions are made in store, and how consumers and shoppers can be nudged in-store towards different brands). It’s critical to engage senior management in understanding the strategic importance of Shopper Marketing at the CMO level and below.

Consultant Toby Desforges agreed that the biggest issues often lie within the organization, and in his case, he specifically focused on the C-Suite’s reluctance to support a Shopper Marketing function. He shared that the C-suite gets bombarded with new buzzwords or new ways of doing things, and Shopper Marketing is thrown into this confusion, asking questions like: Why should we do it?, What does it deliver? and, How do we deliver results using it?

Professor Daniel Flint added more specifically that there are two very targeted problems within the simple four step process he shared earlier (which included Insight development/research, Strategic collaboration, Execution and Metrics/Measurement). According to his research and expe-rience, the last two steps in his process are causing the biggest problems:

ExecutionMetrics/Measurement

According to the research in a recent ANA report entitled ‘Shopper Marketing: The Next Generation’, the key challenges of Shopper Marketing are:

Taking an omnichannel approach to reach end users at all touchpoints

Making brick-and-mortar visits mirror the effectiveness of the online environment

Using social media to drive traffic to retailers and develop online communities afterward

Tapping into mobile in shopper marketing campaigns, to engage consumers pre-store, in-store, and post visit

Utilizing software solutions to monitor shopper marketing campaigns and help drive ROI metrics


Common Challenges in the Shopper Marketing World

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COMMON CHALLENGES IN THE SHOPPER MARKETING WORLD

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When it comes to ‘Execution’, strategic collaboration, and trying to get multiple functions and silos (such as brand and sales) working together, not to mention multiple agencies, it can be a daunting task.

On top of all of this, coordination within the brand’s team and resources is required, and there is still the very important job of working with the retailers/e-tailers team to execute the events and be on the same page regarding objectives. Getting all the digital media (social, websites etc.) and print media integrated and playing nice together, and then executing the project correctly in a store is also not easy. It’s key to engage and discuss all of this early on during the planning process.

Professor Flint shared that according to Sorenson’s data, just in brick-and-mortar stores, Shopper Marketing is only executed correctly an average of 45% of the time.

Researcher Sarah Gleason shared that often this happens because the campaign is not insight driven, or there is not a perspective or under-standing that the team is trying to target, including what is truly meaningful to the shopper. For example, a parent buying a birthday or Christmas present for their own child may visit a specialty store, whereas if that same individual is buying a gift for a childs friend they may have a budget in mind and shop at a different location.

Simplicity in communication can also be an issue, as often point of sale material is trying to say too much and do too much, with competing visuals and copy.


Shopper Marketing is only executedcorrectly 45% of the time.

Source: Flint, Hoyt, Swift. 2014



There can be a creative execution element that can cause the campaign to fail, and often this may not have been pre-tested as most companies do not pre-test their copy.

The truth is, that getting what was planned by/with the retailer/e-tailer, to actually happen in store, is very challenging, because sometimes the store manager has a different idea on what would work in that local market, or other time because multiple ideas were sold to the retailer at the same time, and both teams didn’t know it, causing overlapping or redundant campaigns.

Professor Daniel Flint also shared that the other big challenge in any Shopper Marketing process is the Metrics and Measurement required to truly understand what is going on, with lingering questions such as: How do I justify my budget in shopper? And, How do I show that this is as effec-tive or more effective than doing something else?

Ultimately collecting the appropriate metrics to answer these questions can be the saving grace to justify the decisions made.

The other big challenge in any Shopper Marketing process is the Metrics and Measurement required to truly understand what is going on.


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Another important area to measure and track is the activity of your competition. The ideas they execute via shopper marketing campaigns (which are around us at all times in the marketplace) are great places to validate an approach you may have not yet tried.

For example, when a new Call of Duty video game was released, Target’s team, knowing the ideal shopper was a gamer who would be playing on their couch and eating snacks, placed bags of Doritos chips and cans of Mountain Dew soda directly beside the game in the electronics section. They also repeated the same setup in the grocery area including the game itself alongside the chips and soft drinks.

Although it is difficult to adequately track the results of a competitor’s campaign like this (especially while watching it from the outside), it does lend to an idea that could be used again either in that exact category (gaming and snacks) or even inspire a different combination altogether such as pairing furniture such as a shoe rack, in the shoe section (where it will be in context when noticed), or placing batteries beside a popular toy that does not have batteries included (to ensure the batteries are purchased with the toy, and not lost to a later purchase in a dollar store when it is realized that batteries were missing).

There is no need to always reinvent the wheel, especially if according to your tracking documentation of competitor behavior, a campaign has been repeated.

If your competitor is running a campaign a second time, even if it is a variation on the first campaign, this is an indication the first campaign was successful in some regard.


Are you looking for a fast way to track your competition? Check out the Shopper Marketing Competition Tracking Database to help you and your team keep track of the ideas and insights you discover from analyzing your competitors.

Watching Your Competition Closely for Insights

By tracking your competitions behavior, you can discover crucial insights into their behavior, and perhaps even forecast or anticipate their next move, allowing you to position yourself in a way that is not overshadowed by their next competing campaign.

WATCHING YOUR COMPETITION CLOSELY FOR INSIGHTS

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When you encounter strong competition, it’s important to stand out.

Tammy Brumfield, from The Mars Agency, shared a case study that show-cases how being aware of competitor marketing activity can be incredibly helpful in launching a new product.

After Allegra went over-the-counter, making it the fourth Allergy Rx to OTC switch following Benadryl, Claritin, and Zyrtec, they knew would need to step up their game in order to fend off the competition, grow their brand and ultimately the category.

Existing competition already was dominating the category, and this provided The Mars Agency and Chattem the opportunity to find a niche-messaging opportunity that the others were not currently pursuing.

Beyond national marketing efforts, Allegra partnered directly with CVS to achieve their goals.

The Mars Agency targeted allergy sufferers shopping in the beauty aisle, and taught CVS shoppers that Allegra is their new “not so obvious beauty secret”.

Case Study: Allegra

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOPPER MARKETINGCASE STUDY: ALLEGRA

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This unique angle offered a disruption to the normal shopping behavior in the beauty aisle and a non-competitive space to announce Allegra’s over-the-counter availability to female shoppers who want to both look and feel good.

The Mars Agency’s objective was to capture the CVS shopper’s atten-tion for Allegra and gain incremental sales in May to round out the allergy season.

Their KPIs were Allegra brand impressions and sales during the month of May. Allergy sufferers often seek lower cost options from other channels, so their challenge was to interrupt their ideal shopper while she was shop-ping at CVS and give her a reason to buy Allegra.

Program results were driven by Allegra brand impressions and sales. In-store Allegra/Lumene partnership displays created a compelling expe-rience while a comprehensive 360 pre-media campaign including the Allegra Makeover Video Game, blogger outreach, direct mail, Facebook sharing and banner ads delivering over 143,000,000 impressions and 2,977 incremental displays.

This program exceeded goals at every touch point- Shoppers, Retailer and Brand.

The Mars Agency’s big idea opened up the door to have a relevant conver-sation with shoppers while growing the brand and ultimately the category.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOPPER MARKETINGCASE STUDY: ALLEGRA

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It is no surprise that the digital revolution has fully taken over Shopper Marketing. From mobile apps to social media platforms, and to email coupons to virtual store simulations, the power of leveraging the latest technology has empowered the modern marketing team to push their boundaries and integrate more heavily with other solutions.

It’s not only important to have access to this technology, but for your marketing team members to be fluent in applying these digital tools to solve a myriad of difficult problems such as tracking, automation and data synchronization. Ensure your team is keeping on top of the latest trends, and that they are given the time to occasionally test new solu-tions to give your company a major competitive advantage.

In this modern age of Shopper Marketing, the advances in what is possible, from gathering insights using eye tracking, to integrating all systems tightly together into an omni-channel system, are all found in the software and hardware you utilize.

These tools will be doing the heavy lifting for you and your Shopper Marketing program.

Digital solutions include the following technologies:

VR Stimulation

Marketing Automation (with

lead scoring)

Digital Assistants (such as Alexa)

Beacons

A/B and multivariate testing

Tracking cart abandonment

In-store behavior analysis

Advanced couponing

Loyalty systems

Eye-tracking

Customer profiling

Mobile Apps Social Media Tracking and Engagement

Analyze store displays using

algorithms

That said, choosing the right tools can be difficult, with many factors such as scalability, data integration, and price, playing an important role in ultimate decision making. In the end, what is most important overall, is that your team has a commitment to achieving on-going excellence in both digital media and social media skills.

Looking to find and select the right Shopper Marketing vendor? Use the Shopper Marketing Vendors Matrix to start finding leading vendors for selection, and then use the Shopper Marketing Vendor Selection Tool to compare them to each other and discover which one suits you best.

What You Need to SucceedDigital & Social Acumen

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOPPER MARKETINGDIGITAL & SOCIAL ACUMEN

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Most people think that Shopper Marketing relies on an additional budget with a dedicated team that will support the program, and while this is defi-nitely helpful, there may be a lot of overlap and alignment within your existing marketing efforts and resources (including sales and consumer promotions).

Some companies outsource all of their shopper marketing activities, to ensure they don’t miss anything important, and to leverage existing experts and best practices as they begin to grow the function.

More often than not, your existing marketing or sales team is already able to run a Shopper Marketing program for you, without any extra resources required.

This is only possible, of course, if you have the processes in place to empower their efforts, and the insights needed to build an effective plan.

That said, depending on your company’s situation, you may need to hire additional resources. Researcher Sarah Gleason, shared that nearly 60 percent of the organizations she recently surveyed had a dedicated shopper marketing group.


“You don’t only need different roles and responsibilities for

successful Shopper Marketing, you also need different processes, and attention to get the right insights.”


Her research discovered that a dedicated team with three or more years of experience was more likely to embrace shopper marketing as a competi-tive advantage, and were more likely to see it as the convergence of brand, retailer, and shopper. In fact, she outlined new organizations should not expect any immediate change, as three years was the critical milestone in her study findings. It often took three years of team collaboration to build out the processes, relationships and insights required.

Are you looking to hire a Shopper Marketing team? Check out the Shopper Marketing Roles Framework to build your team, and use the Shopper Marketing Manager Job Description to hire them.

Budget, Rules & Organization

BUDGET, RULES & ORGANIZATION


ROLES RESPONSIBILITIES PROCESSES TECHNOLOGY CONTENT METRICS

Senior Management

Revenue AccountabilityStaffing & Channel ManagementReporting to CEO/Board

Budgeting & PlanningReviews & CoachingRecruitment & Retention

Insights DashboardMarketing AutomationCRM

Thought Leadership BlogWebinar PresentationsConference Keynotes

Revenue by ChannelShopper Lifetime Value, NPSReturn on Customer (ROC)

Shopping Marketing Owner

Retail and Brand StrategyOmni-channel StrategyDigital Marketing Strategy

Shopper Marketing BudgetingAgency ManagementCommunications Management

Insights DashboardOmni-channel SystemsProject Management

Shopper Marketing BudgetAgency ContractsShopper Marketing Policy

Market Share, ProfitabilityBrand EquityOmni-channel Usage

Brand MarketingBrand Centric ActivationBrand Impact AnalysisCampaign Creation

Advertising/SponsorshipLead GenerationCampaigns

Insights DashboardMarketing AutomationDigital Asset Management

Advertising/SEOEmail CampaignsPrint Media

Campaign ROI, Email MetricsMarketing Qualified LeadsContribution to Pipeline

InsightsInsight Collection and AnalysisSimulations and Virtual InsightsROI Forecasting

Campaign AnalysisCampaign ScoringMeasuring Historical Metrics

Insights DashboardVirtual Store SimulationMultivariate Metric Management

Insight ReportsInsight-based ProposalsA/B Split Test Results

Cost Rate, Market ReachLift Rate, Sales ImpactROI, P&L Impact

Digital & Social Media

Omni-channel systemsSocial Listening and EngagementMobile apps and tools

Omni-channel DevelopmentSocial Channel ManagementMobile Channel Management

Insights DashboardOmni-channel SystemsSocial and Mobile Platforms

Posts, Tweets, PhotosForums, Chats, CommentsArticles, Community News

User EngagementSentiment AnalysisCampaign ROI

Sales ManagementOmni-channel AnalysisExternal CommunicationsRetailer Channel Sales

Omni-channel ManagementInfluencer IdentificationRelationship Cultivation

Insights DashboardAnalytics & ReportingRetail Contact Database

Data Sheets, WhitepapersCase Studies/TestimonialsProposals, Presentations

Channel GrowthRevenue by ChannelMarket Share, Profitability

Field and/or Account Teams

Customer Team ActivationRetailer RelationsCampaign Execution

Product LaunchProduct PositioningCompetitive Analysis

nsights DashboardProject ManagementCompetition Tracking Systems

Campaign AssetsCampaign Channel MapsCompetitive Analysis

Avg. Revenue Per RetailerAvg. Order ValueConversion Rate, Renewal Rate

Retail/Channel Sales Partners

In-store InsightsIn-store Campaign SupportRetail/Channel Sales Support

Shopper ExperienceVirtual Simulation and TestingIn-Store Behavioral Analysis

Insights DashboardShopper Analysis SystemsOmni-channel Systems

Shopper PersonasShopper Journey MapStore Layout Map

Shopper Satisfaction IndexShopper Lifetime ValueNet Promoter Score (NPS)

Demand Metric’s Shopper Marketing Roles Framework


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According to Consultant Christopher Brace, when organizations start with shopper marketing there is typically no shopper insight research or research budget.

As the company becomes more progressive (Stage 2 of the Shopper Marketing Maturity Model) no more then 10% of total research budget has ever been allocated.

Once the company becomes more mature and even world class with shopper marketing (Stage 3 and 4 of the Shopper Marketing Maturity Model), that percentage goes up.

No matter the size, the organizational structure of a Shopper Marketing team can lean towards either sales or marketing.

On one hand, you require sales to sell the shopper program into a specific retailer, and on the other, you need to market your brand to build equity in that retail environment.

Either way, your program will often lean in one of two directions: Brand centric (marketing) activation, or Customer team (sales) activation.

Each of them comes with a different approach, but both of them can bring you success.


All budgets, activations, and resources are controlled centrally by the brand

In some cases, national programs can have little retailer differ-entiation other than merchandising vehicles (ie. club packs, OPP (opening price point) brands, pricing, promotional) and in other cases it can require full branding for each retailer/e-tailer

Resources often organized by:a. channel (food/drug/mass/speciality/ecommerce) b. format (large store/small store/convenience)

Budgets come from brands to activate - can be a tax or tin cup method

Brand delivers a “toolkit” of assets for activation / customization

Sales customizes and activates

Resources often organized by:a. Dedicated resources on top 3-5 retailers physically co-located with retailer and sales teamb. Shared resources on top 15 retailers located at brand hdq or field-based - typically channel or region focused

Brand centric activation

Customer team (sales) based activation


Which one is right for your team?

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When it comes to choosing a budget, you should determine the amount to spend based on what you think you can achieve with a brand in a specific environment.

All in all, the most important item to budget for is insights so you can gather data on how people are behaving when they are shopping. This information is crucial for the entire Shopper Marketing programs success and inception. In the case that you cannot create a new budget, you might be able to divert a budget from another area such as Market Research, to get these insights collected instead.

Consultant Toby Desforges shared that a good place to look for resources to divert to gathering shopper insights, is any brand tracking taking place. He suggests to ask “How much is brand tracking delivering actual busi-ness value and how much is just managing metrics?” In many cases you may be able to remove some unnecessary existing tracking effort, and focus your analysis on shopper insights instead, with the opportunity to develop insights that become a hypothesis about consumer and/or shopper behavior that could grow your brand.


Toby shares that 90% of the time, you can use the same gross budget for research as you had before, yet you will also get more productivity out of those collected insights, all while building insight equity (all insights will accumulate into a library of data useful for long-term analysis).

These insights can be both related to the shopper or consumer, but it is important to note that these insights are different and focus on different stages of the overall shopping and product consumption journey.

Marketer Carl MacInnes explained that initially budgets should be heavily weighted towards getting the right insights, and getting a way to test the strategy (and sometimes this can be high risk).

Are you looking to build your budget? Check out the Shopper Marketing Budget Template for an easy way to get started planning the costs for your shopper program.

He shares that the three main buckets for a Shopper Marketing budget are the cost for:

Gathering insights/analytics

Building campaigns

Deployment3

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Fonterra, the company Carl MacInnes works for, also spends money in continuously understanding shopper psychology in-depth and trying new tools (digital tools, in store tools, ecommerce tools etc.)

They invest heavily in technologies like ‘Virtual store’ and ‘Automatic camera observations of behavior’ to gather these insights.

Analytics guru Rick Abens explained that as budgets get bigger, there is increased scrutiny on how the money is spent. He shared that according to his research, 63% of marketers feel they don’t properly measure their shopper marketing ROI.

“The budget goes, where the ROI shows”

Rick Abens, the Analytics Guru

In a related note, Sarah Gleason shared that amongst her recent research study participants there was an almost universal belief that proper measuring of shopper marketing program effectiveness and ROI is required for long-term success.

That said, she explained that while the technology exists, the lack of a defined and proven method for measuring ROI is seen as the biggest obstacle.

Rick also explained that the top 3 reasons to measure your metrics are as follows

Justify Bigger Budgetsa. This is really about accountability, for resources and money you’ve been givenb. You need to prove that it worksc. Understand how much they should spend on Shopper Marketing

Optimize Budgetsa. Where you should be spending itb. What customers, brands, and platforms to spend it on

Marketing that works by testing more, to know what actually is working


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Tracking metrics is an essential part of any successful Shopper Marketing program.

With an unlimited potential for possible metrics to track, it’s a good idea to start with metrics that are already known, to help measure results.

This topic more than any other drew some big differences between those interviewed, with some having very strong differing views on the matter.

Professor Daniel Flint shared that his research highlights Shopper Marketing metrics for both the macro and micro levels, where the macro handles the big picture, and the micro focuses on tactical aspects.


Sales Lift

Please note that you should ensure you

know when the sales lift occurred, where it

was in the store, and what stores it ran in,

to ensure compliance was 100% executed

properly. Take these precautions so you can

measure sales lift from that specific store,

to ensure it is actually attributed to your

initiative.

Share Gain

As a result of running an initiative, especially

if it is over months.

Increased Collaboration

Did working on projects together, increase

brand and retailer collaboration?

Profitability and Growth

Did the campaign increase profitability?

Did it help the product category more

than before?

% of Shoppers Who Saw the ProgramYou can do this poll with some sampling

panels such as mTurk on Amazon, or Niel-

sens panel, or you can do it with your own

proprietary data

For Advertising# of impressions (they paid for)

# of things printed

# of shoppers who had the opportunity to

see it

Macro Metrics Micro Metrics


Are you looking for a Metrics Dashboard? Check out the Shopper Marketing Metrics Dashboard to help you and your team track important metrics in your shopper program.

Essential Metrics You Need to Track

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ESSENTIAL METRICS YOU NEED TO TRACK

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That said, not everyone agrees that impressions alone are a metric that should be valued.

Cory Rosenfield, co-founder of Qoints, collected all of the data from REGGIE award winners (an ANA run brand activation awards competition) to see if there was a correlation between the number of impressions on a campaign and actual sales lift generated.

The results were interesting; there was no negative or positive effect. Cory shared that impressions are an old-school way to view campaign results, from the days of TV and radio, but it doesn’t translate into digital.

Now that companies are tracking sales lift and volume lift, his data discov-ered that impressions were not correlated to any effect on those metrics.

Cory makes the case for quality over quantity, and that it gets exponen-tially greater when it comes to social channels.

For example, a personal recommendation can go a long way. An indi-vidual could only have 100 Twitter followers, but could also be a micro influencer (in that there is significant activation from the number of impres-sions to their following).

A micro influencer is more respected then any broad media source, and will drive way less impressions but could have an incredible sales lift, download, or conversion rate.


A personal recommendation can go a long way. An individual could only have 100 Twitter followers, but could also be a micro influencer (in that there is significant activation from the number of impressions to their following).



Cory argues that you can’t just look at conversion rates with respect to impressions. He asserts that having multiple messages, depending on what’s working with different audiences, leads to much greater success.

When it comes to metrics, many different factors are in play when any shopping decision is ultimately made, and some companies are focused on finding ways to organize the mountains of data into something actionable and understand the impact they have collectively.

To this end, Rick Abens has developed an advanced multivariate metric measuring process, which he uses with clients such as Clorox, Kraft-Heinz and Nestle that uses many variables together at once to understand the outcomes of multiple actions.

He calls these metrics his ‘Decision Metrics.’ Using past data from many clients campaigns, Rick can simulate possible forecasted sales lifts based on different variables or decisions.

This process represents how marketing actions are linked to the Profit and Loss (P&L) impact using analytics. By using this approach, Rick says he can use historical measurement to predict the P&L impact from marketing options in order to help make the best marketing decisions.

To this end, Rick Abens has developed an advanced multivariate metric measuring process, which he uses with clients such as Clorox, Kraft-Heinz and Nestle that uses many variables together at once to understand the outcomes of multiple actions.



Rick Abens explains this sophisticated analytics process as follows:

The Marketing Actions are the spending and creative decisions made and implemented in the marketplace. There are both quantitative factors, like marketing reach and cost (eg. buying 5 million digital impressions for $25k or distributing 1 mil-lion direct mail coupons), and qualitative factors (like the copy used, timing or the target market).

These actions create Market Reach that quanti-fies the amount of marketing exposure that reach-es shoppers.

Common measures for reach are: GRPs, TRPs, Impressions, Coupon Circulation, Coupon Re-demptions Number of Stores and click-throughs.

All of these can be converted to a common measure such as number of shoppers exposed to the market-ing tactic. The actual reach may be different than the planned amount of reach that was purchased due to execution and compliance levels.

The relationship between how much you spend and how much reach actually happened can be quantified by Cost Rate, which is dollars per shop-per reached. Historical Cost Rates can be used to evaluate the price of marketing tactics that are being considered for the future and can be used to forecast Market Reach for decision assessments.

The Sales Impact is the amount of sales volume resulting from the Marketing Action.

In other words, volume sales that would not have happened without the marketing action. The lift rate is calculated from Sales Impact volume divid-ed by the Market Reach.

This calculated Lift Rate can be used to forecast expected Sales Impact from planned Market-ing Actions. When conditions are expected to change or trends are affecting the Lift Rates, this effect can be justified. It is best to adjust the Lift Rate to what is expected for a more realistic Sales Impact forecast.

The P&L Impact is calculated based on the prof-it and revenue per volume times the Sales Im-pact volume.

P&L Impact

Sales Impact

Market Reach

Marketing Action

Cost Rate Lift Rate Return Rate

Decision Metrics


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Funding often depends on proving that a department is spending money more effec-tively then someone else in that organi-zation or brand, and that compensation is based on the ability to generate strong ROI specific to that funded function.


The value of this measurement and forecast process is that the sales & profit impact forecast is more objective and reliable for better deci-sion making. The impact forecast is based on actions you can control and actual cost and lift rates from historical objective measurements.

That being said, not everyone agrees with a multivariate data analysis approach.

Consultant Christopher Brace is skeptical about the marketing mix anal-ysis industry. He shares an example that illustrates his concerns by setting a marketing budget as $5, with $1 in each of the following: TV, print, digital, shopper marketing, and trade promotions.

His problem is with how to separate the return of investment for the $1 spent on shopper marketing, from the other $4 in the budget. He explains that when buying a product, some customers are buying based on their own individual research, loyalty or discovery independent of any shopper marketing program, and most shoppers do not know how they made a specific purchase decision, and cannot say whether they were influenced by TV, print, digital, shopper or trade promotions. His argument is that if the shopper does not know, how could a computer algorithm?

Chris shares that although he understands why companies are searching for the analytics holy grail, that it’s actually a systemic problem. He explained that funding often depends on proving that a department is spending money more effectively then someone else in that organization or brand, and that compensation is based on the ability to generate strong ROI specific to that funded function.

His belief is that instead of separating the impact of each dollar spent, companies should focus on the return of investment on the overall inte-grated spend, and to test variations of that same mix to see the changes overall (take 0.50 from TV and put it into shopper to see if there is a lift).

Opinions and strategies aside, there is no ignoring or disagreement that every company needs to measure their metrics to define success and determine ROI.



Brands and retailers/e-tailers must have a solid relationship to ensure a successful shopper marketing program. That said, the one selling the product or service definitely has the upper hand in the relationship.

According to Consultant Christopher Brace, collaborating with retailers is one of the most fundamental strategies required for success. He shared that the tendency is for brands to provide a fully-baked program with insights before going to a retailer, which shuts the retailer out, and doesn’t provide any collaboration. He recommends that for a best-in-class approach, brands should sit down with the retailer and talk about what they want to accomplish.

Chris says that going in knowing the brand has specific strategic growth initiatives prioritized for that year and discussing strategy first including what the retailer wants to accomplish is essential. Once the brand has the retailers’ feedback, he recommends that they go back and then work on insights to back the program up. His view is that any brand strategy should be adequately aligned to each retailer’s unique needs and strategy.

In essence, the old model of shopper marketing is a brand telling a retailer what they want, but the new model is asking retailers what they need so the brand can shape their shopper initiatives to meet those needs.

For this reason alone, it’s very important to understand what challenges retailers experience before you strategically approach them with your Shopper Marketing objectives and strategies.

“Shopper marketing is about communicating and understanding why someone is buying a particular product or service, and why he or she is going to

that particular retailer/e-tailer.”

Sarah Gleason, the Researcher

Partnership With All Levels (Retailer, Brand, and Agency)

PARTNERSHIP WITH ALL LEVELS (RETAILER, BRAND, AND AGENCY)

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When it comes to what retailers want from brands, they include:

Retailers/e-tailers leverage a combination of marketing programs:

Best pricingParticipation in retailer led programsUnique offerings (that are relevant to the retailers/e-tailers customer base)Category ManagementInsightsShopper Marketing programs (grounded in insights around their shoppers, and their stores)

Retailer-led marketing programsBrand-led marketing programs


Retailers generally have problems with over-storing, multi-channel issues where the brand is selling directly, zero growth in-store while ecommerce is growing, and margin pressures. Agency reps April and Elizabeth shared that retailers operate on slim margins due to cost overheads of labor and real estate vs. online merchants, so they look to manufacturer partners to assist with their marketing efforts both in and out of store.

Besides margin, the following metrics are also important to retailers/e-tailers:

Top-line growthSame store salesTrafficShare of walletLoyaltyTrips/Baskets/MixShopper conversion

Are you looking for Partner Prioritization? Check out the Retail/Brand Partnership Prioritization Tool to help you and your team prioritize your opportunities in context to your goals.



Retailer Led Marketing

In this scenario, the retailer creates the marketing program based on their own ideas and concepts, and leads the effort. The retailer relies on the manufacturer’s brand(s) to fund the campaign in exchange for merchan-dising (eg. If the brand participates in the retailer’s marketing program the retailer will give them display, merchandising or feature support).

For example, Walmart runs a retailer-led program with brands partici-pating called ‘Back on Track’ annually in early January, and is focused on helping you achieve your goals such as weight loss, completing taxes or re-stocking the pantry. Brands participate as part of this program and are featured predominantly in the store as part of this larger promotion.

Kellogg’s developed a shopper marketing program that integrated both diet and exercise and helped drive traffic to Walmart stores through gift cards and cross merchandising with exercise equipment. Kelloggs created special pack-aging exclusive for Walmart detailing the campaign in tandem with merchan-dising and signage in the store. This campaign built equity for both the Special K brand as a shape management brand as well as Walmart as a destination retailer to support your personal goals. This program was led by the retailer, and funded by the brands featured and included in the special promotion.


Brand Led marketing

In this scenario, the brand delivers a single or larger campaign in order to drives sales and category growth for the brand, at multiple retailers.

This kind of arrangement can often be funded by brand or sales organi-zation budgets in exchange for merchandising. These types of campaigns are designed to maximize building brand equity, and are customized for the retailer based on their style guide. For example, Coca-Cola ran a music-based shopper campaign over the summer and took full respon-sibility for building all banners and creative assets required, including designs for Target’s website, and a unique in-store display in conjunction with the overall campaign themed for each retailer specifically. The Scotch tape example shared earlier is another example of brand-led marketing.

No matter if your program is brand led, or retailer led, it’s important that your relationship stays win/win. The truth is that Shopper Marketing is a collaborative effort between manufacturer and retailer; both of them are equally important in the relationship.

For this reason, it’s important to measure both parties key performance metrics to understand how both parties are doing at all times.

Are you looking to select the best possible retail partner? Check out the resources within the Agency Management Methodology & Toolkit.

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Analytics expert Rick Abens measured 20,000 events (using a stan-dardized model) across many of the large consumer packaged good companies, and looked for patterns in the data. He discovered that the biggest category growth strategy is pre-store marketing tactics such as coupons and banner ads.

These tactics work because the coupons bring them to the store and give a reason to put the brand on the shopping list.

Rick also recommends measuring a retailer’s events and plotting them on the matrix shown on the right. The goal is the top right corner (brand and retailer win) where both the brand and retailer win equally.

On this chart, a ‘Brand Win’ (in the bottom right corner) usually signifies a pre-store strategy such as coupons or advertising. This approach will give your brand a high ROI, but it won’t grow the category.

In this scenario, you will need to change and add some category growth tactics or the retailer may not get so excited about working with you and your team next time.

If there is a ‘Retailer Win’, it means you spent quite a bit of money to grow the category but didn’t get a good ROI for your brand. This gives you negotiating leverage for the next event’s price or support.

All in all, it’s the partnership and collaboration between brands, retailers (and sometimes agencies) that truly make shopper marketing a win-win proposition for both sides.


Pre-store Tactics Drive Category Growth Collaborate to Win

Retailer Support Drives Brand ROI

Retailer WinNegotiate Price

Brand WinChange Tactics

Brand &Retailer Win

OpportunityEvents

Brand ROI

Cat

egor

y G

row

th

Low High

Source: Foresight ROI

Collaborative Planning Tools to Win With Your Customers


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In this case study, both the retailer and brand were winners. This retailer led program, which was created and executed by the Arc Worldwide team, was also a winner of a REGGIE Award.

Every year Walmart runs their ‘Back-to-school’ program, and Alcon, an eyecare company selling products such as eye drops and contact lens solution, wanted to try something new to get attention from Walmart shoppers.

They wanted to provide shoppers with a compelling reason to engage with the eye care category while everyone was talking and shopping for back-to-school supplies (such as folders, markers, etc.).

According to Alcon’s insight research, 80% of what a child learns in school is provided via visual learning, which makes the eyes the most powerful learning tool, especially compared to basic school supplies and stationery.

The agency team created the Howard the Hedgehog character to help take the fear out of having an eye exam.


Case Study: Alcon

64THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF SHOPPER MARKETINGCASE STUDY: ALCON EYECARE


The marketing mix included an e-book which helped teach children why getting an eye exam is so important. While reading the book with the child, the book has tests for color blindness and dyslexia, and other problems they would otherwise check for in an eye exam.

Alcon partnered with Walmart because supercenters have optical stores inside the Walmart building. The purpose of the program was to help self-diagnose your child, and get your childrens’ eyes looked at as a result.

There were handouts distributed by street teams, including Red/Blue goggles for color blindness tests, and displays when you walk in the store, as well as social media posts including additional images and videos.

The campaign brought the eye care category ‘into focus’ for retailers during the crowded merchandising time frame and grew category and brand sales.

The program was a success and won the Arc Worldwide team another REGGIE award for Shopper Marketing excellence.


CASE STUDY: ALCON EYECARE



Exploring the Future of Shopper Marketing

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Insights are driven by behavior; those insights can tell you the secrets to success.

These observations are central to Shopper Marketing success and are studied closely by Neuromarketers such as Fonterra Marketer Carl MacInnes. Carl uses sophisticated technology to track shopping behav-iors in order to produce insights that can be used to optimize the shopper program.

Along with his research partner, Dr. Peter Steidl, Carl believes that as we face terror threats and financial volatility in this modern age of global uncertainty, their research shows that we are embarking into a ‘fear economy’ in which consumers seek comforting experiences to escape from the ordinary.

According to Carl and Peter’s analysis, consumers will deal with the emerging fear economy in a few unique ways.

During recessions, consumers are more likely to reconsider habitual purchases to find more cost effective alternatives. For many, this choice is not based on lack of income, but rather the uncertainty ‘in the air.’ On the other hand, consumers tend to buy more inexpensive indulgences, including candy and makeup to compensate.

When people fear the future, they are less likely to leave their home. Peter and Carl expect in-home spending to increase, including home improvements, spending more time online, entertaining guests, and on home entertainment related purchases.

“Neuromarketing is a field that claims to apply the principles of neuroscience to

marketing research, studying consumers’ sensorimotor, cognitive, and affective

response to marketing stimuli.”

Neuromarketing and Behavioral Insights

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF SHOPPER MARKETINGNEUROMARKETING AND BEHAVIORAL INSIGHTS

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Consumers are also more likely to engage with nostalgia, to invoke the ‘good old days’, and brands will begin leveraging this more to make their consumers feel peaceful.

Other consumers will begin keeping a low profile, especially those who have purchased expensive luxuries that they don’t want others to learn about, and judge them over.

Marketers should also consider unexpected rewards, as opposed to a traditional loyalty scheme, as any positive surprises lead to a substantial release of dopamine, the feel-good transmitter.

Carl and Peter believe that those who accept and embrace this ‘fear economy’, and leverage its insights in their shopper marketing plans, will be making a solid investment into their future.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF SHOPPER MARKETING

“The most agile organization that is sensitive to indicators of change and able to adapt quickly and effectively will gain a competitive advantage.”

Carl MacInnes, the Marketerand Dr. Peter Steidl

Consumers are also more likely to engage with nostalgia, to invoke the ‘good old days’, and brands will begin leveraging this more to make their consumers feel peaceful.

NEUROMARKETING AND BEHAVIORAL INSIGHTS

It’s important to reiterate that these ideas are theories based on research, and not statistical fact, and although the insights they share may have practical wisdom, some experts are skep-tical of neuromarketing overall.

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In-store, digital and omni-channel tracking technology is continuing to grow at an incredibly fast pace. From sophisticated eye tracking, to mobile phone tracking, and camera tracking, retailers and brands are looking to these devices to secure strong consumer and shopper insights they can use to further optimize their campaigns.

Any technology that is linked directly to gathering insights in a more effi-cient or powerful way, will continue to trend, as marketers crave data to give them a competitive advantage. With augmented reality, mobile phone users will be able to interact with digital environments and product demos, from the palm of their hand. This technology includes ‘virtual store’ simu-lations, augmented reality, and full blown virtual reality store testing. By testing in a virtual environment, insights can be gathered on a campaign before it is even officially launched.

Marketer Carl MacInnes, is a big fan of the ‘Virtual store’. He claims it is one of the biggest tools his company Fonterra utilizes. ‘Virtual Store’ allows A/B testing with massively high frequency, and quickly for poten-tial impact on strategy. Fonterra builds virtual stores (like a Walmart) and then sends a research panel filled with thousands of Walmart shoppers to explore it. Carl and his team virtually change planograms, and get people to shop in store using different POS information. He then A/B tests which of those virtual stores generate the most category and brand impact (in virtual stores, and virtual reality environments)

Carl’s next frontier is leveraging a full virtual reality store, with eye tracking and emotional engagement tracking built in.

Tracking, Testing and SimulationsHis process includes taking the most successful store from his A/B split testing research of the ‘virtual stores’, and then travelling within that store in Virtual Reality within a ‘VR lab’ at Fonterra. Carl is following in the foot-steps of others who have successfully leveraged virtual store technology to test their ideas such as Walmart, Kimberly-Clark, and P&G.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF SHOPPER MARKETING

From sophisticated eye tracking, to mobile phone tracking, and camera tracking, retailers and brands are looking to these devices to secure strong consumer and shopper insights they can use to further optimize their campaigns.

TRACKING, TESTING AND SIMULATIONS

70THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF SHOPPER MARKETING

He had some chilling questions:“How many people reading this guide will be redundant because of purchase automation?”“At what point are the data analytics capabilities of marketers so far away from what would be needed to do micro-segmentation on a week-by-week basis, that we simply stop needing them?”“At what point do we recognize that a sales force, is not neces-sary to service an online purchase environment?”“How well are we embracing machine learning in our marketing?”

“Machine learning is already a reality. It’s not like it might come to the consumer goods industry,

it’s already in the consumer goods industry.”


On the other hand, Consultant Toby Desforges is looking at the other side of AI simulations: the digital transformation of the work force.

Researcher Sarah Gleason sees technology continuing to dominate the view of the future landscape. She anticipates that the creation and adoption of new digital and mobile tactics will continue to accelerate.

Sarah expects the future to be more about the total customer experi-ence, both understanding and enhancing it.

She shares that for many, VR’s implications for shopper marketing seem far off, but one aspect that distinguishes brick-and-mortar shopping from online is the experience that can be delivered.

Her prediction is that as VR develops, it could transform the online and in-store experiences alike, possibly creating the seamless merging of the two that has been envisioned for years.

According to Toby, when the same machine learning technology that’s already in the banking and financial world, comes to marketing, AI (arti-ficial intelligence) will reduce the marketing work force dramatically (the volume of people employed and working in marketing and sales globally will be reduced).

Software and applications are already being deployed by Walmart and Amazon’s distribution centers (and are already making micro decisions at a stunning pace).

TRACKING, TESTING AND SIMULATIONS

71

Professor Daniel Flint believes in a more positive view of Shopper Marketing’s future, with the goal of driving towards integration across media. He loves the analogy of dropping bread crumbs meaning that no matter when the shopper starts shopping (usually online), if they get into a conversation with the brand, and engagement stays strong, they usually keep shopping until a purchase is made.

For example, you need to get answers for some specific questions and you’re driven to a website or Pinterest board, which drives you to Insta-gram, which then drives you back to the website, and ultimately to the online store; these are all breadcrumbs being dropped on your journey.

This is all part of an upcoming seamless shopping experience that includes real-time shopping, in-store personalization based on data in the omni-channel structure, and smart dressing rooms (which allow you to preview multiple outfits digitally).

iBeacon couponing will add another layer to the omni-channel systems design, as digital coupons are delivered to a shoppers device automatically.

Lastly, the Internet of Things is also becoming part of the omni-channel universe, and included in this seamless experience, where fridges can order groceries to be delivered.

Seamless shopping experiences will truly change everything we think we know about retail.

Seamless Shopping Experiences

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF SHOPPER MARKETINGSEAMLESS SHOPPING EXPERIENCES



Final Thoughts

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The implications of the omni-channel world are far reaching within society. Never before has purchasing a product been easier or more interactive.

For the shopper, this trend is like a dream come true. All of the complaints and obstacles to purchase have begun to disappear; from understanding inventory status and aisle location in a store without needing an employee to guide you, to purchasing and placing the item on hold to avoid long lineups in-person.

The omni-channel environment is a glimpse into what the future of purchasing a product will be, and it’s only the beginning.

With the advent of drone-based delivery schemes coming from large retailers like Amazon, the online shopping world will continue to threaten traditional brick and mortar stores, pandering to the busy millennial who is comfortable embracing technology in order to save precious time.

‘Click and collect’ programs are already rolling out with retailers such as IKEA and Walmart, thus reducing the need for shoppers to navigate the store itself. Google and Amazon are already aggressively pursuing same-day delivery for small items purchased near large population centers, such as New York City.

The Internet of Things, ordering what is missing in your pantry, some laundry detergent, (so it can arrive in an hour or less), is just around the corner.

Final Thoughts

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETINGFINAL THOUGHTS

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As retailers and brands continue to build their empires, it’s important that we all remember who is really in control: the shopper. Every one of us is a shopper, and we all hold the future of retail in our hands (often quite literally when holding a mobile responsive website on a cell phone).

It’s our preferences that these powerful analytical systems are trying to understand. It’s our hopes and dreams that these products are looking to fulfill, and we are empowered by the understanding that the world of consumer goods needs us, as much as we need it.

We truly live in the future already. These sophisticated consumer prod-ucts and services enrich our lives and give us immediately available solu-tions to problems we may not even realize we have, yet there is a product waiting to serve us.

These retailers, brands and manufacturers, while ensuring their own success and profitability, also ensure ours, giving us a lifestyle that was considered fantasy only 50 years ago.

That said, we need to watch what the future brings with a measured approach, and ensure that the speed of progress really lines up with our actual needs and wants as a society.

With deep machine learning beginning to become a reality in all aspects of our life, the decisions that create our world are no longer being made solely by human beings.


In an effort to change the world and make it more automated, we may have already done so.

Now that Amazon has a grocery store run by robots that requires very little human intervention and driverless cars are already hitting the streets, it’s becoming very clear that the world of the shopper and consumer will never be the same again.

In a world where your fridge is able to automatically order you food, the role of the ‘shopper’ is changing forever.

Welcome to the future.

FINAL THOUGHTS

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THE ANA TEAMThank you to the following people for their unrelenting support and enthusiasm throughout the production of this guide and toolkit: Kathleen Hunter, Jesse Feldman, Todd Kaiser, Mike Kaufman, Paul Robinson, Irene Pantazis, Kerry Breen and Lisa Guhanick

THE CONSULTANTSToby Desforges is an author, consultant, speaker and business leader with over 25 years’ experience working with leading consumer goods businesses including Mars, PepsiCo, Sony, Unilever, Danone, Fonterra and Kao. As the co-author of “The Shopper Marketing Revolution”, he is a globally recognised expert in Shopper Marketing and Customer Development.

Christopher Brace founded Syntegrate Consulting with a 360-degree view of the challenges marketers face. He has held management posi-tions in Brand Management, advertising, Shopper Marketing, and promo-tions on both the client and agency sides of the business, providing him a truly integrated foundation.

THE PROFESSORDaniel J. Flint is Professor and Director of the Shopper Marketing Forum in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is co-author of the book “Shopper Marketing: Profiting from the Place Where Suppliers, Brand Manufacturers, and Retailers Connect”, and regularly presents at global conferences.

THE DEMAND METRIC TEAMMuch appreciation for the team at Demand Metric for their support throughout the creation of this guide and toolkit: Jesse Hopps, John Follett, and Jerry Rackley.

THE ANALYSTPhi Schmidt is the VP of Product Development at Demand Metric, and the senior research analyst behind this guide and toolkit. Phi helps Demand Metric build brand new toolsets, infographics, research reports, how-to guides and video courses used to certify members including partners such as Microsoft and the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) on topics such as Online Advertising, Demand Generation, Video Marketing, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and many other important marketing topics.

Acknowledgements

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETINGACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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THE MARKETERCarl MacInnes is a senior executive responsible for global shopper marketing practice at Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, where he supports the building of billion dollar brands by the introducing of neuromarketing practices in key global markets, and as co-author of the book, “Shopper Marketing: Neuromarketing Strategies to Win the Battle at the Shelf”.

THE RESEARCHERSarah Gleason is a senior executive at Gfk, and is a master at developing and institutionalizing actionable consumer and shopper marketing strategies. Gleason spent 18 years in brand management, new product development and strategy at General Mills and Kraft General Foods. She was recently honored as a ‘Women of Excellence’ in the Shopper Marketing field.

THE ANALYTICS GURUSRick Abens has been helping companies improve marketing productivity with practical analytics for over 25 years. Prior to founding Foresight ROI, the leading supplier of Shopper Marketing ROI measurement, he was Director of Global Marketing Analytics at ConAgra Foods, where he built the corporate marketing analytics function and measured return on marketing investment.

Cory Rosenfield is the co-founder of Qoints, which uses real live digital marketing data from campaigns of many of the world’s largest brands, and provides the statistics to advertising agencies and brand marketers, helping executives set truly objective campaign benchmarks. A serial entrepreneur, Cory had his first exit at the age of 21 in the IT services space.

THE AGENCY REPSApril Carlisle, Senior Vice President, Global Shopper Marketing, is Retail Strategy leader for the Shopper Marketing practice for various clients within the agency, Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide, including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, 3M, Kellogg’s, and Kraft, as well as new business initiatives and global training. Carlisle has been named “Who’s Who in Shopper Marketing” four years in a row.

Elizabeth Harris is the EVP Strategy Director at Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide, working across their brand and shopper marketing groups. She has 25 years of experience in developing insight-based marketing and advertising programs for clients such as Procter & Gamble, Walgreens, Kraft, and Sears. Elizabeth was also named “Who’s Who in Shopper Marketing” for the past four years.

Tammy Brumfield is Senior Vice President of Retail Marketing Practice at The Mars Agency. An accomplished Shopper Marketing Executive with exten-sive experience providing leadership in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry, Tammy has strong experience in leading and developing high-im-pact Shopper Marketing organizations for the world’s most visible brands.

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETINGACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Omni-Channel - TechTarget

Omni-Channel Activation Conference - ANA

Shopper - ANA Marketer’s Edge

Shopper Marketing - ANA

Fear Economy - Marketing Mag

Found At The End Of A Target Food Aisle - Reddit

Neuromarketing - Wikipedia

Shopper Marketing Increase Purchase Decisions - Amazon

Shopper Marketing Revolution Consumer Retailer - Amazon

Shopper Marketing Neuromarketing Strategies Battle - Amazon

Shopper Marketing Profiting Suppliers Manufacturers - Amazon

Shopper Marketing Insights For Retailers - Slideshare

Best Buy Deploys QR Codes To Enhance Shopping Experience - Retailgeek

Shopper Marketing - Wikipedia

Shopper Marketing - WPP

Trends: Shopper Marketing - Warc

Unleashing The Shopper Marketing Engine - Atkearney

Shopper Marketing Best Practices Report - Retailhouse

Shopper Marketing In Store: An Introduction - Researchgate

Shopper Marketing PDF - GMA Online

Retail Dictionary - Vendhq

Glossary of Key Retail and Retail Marketing Terms - Retailer Training Services

“In some markets 95% of beer purchased for home consumption is bought by females, where 90% is consumed in the home by males” (The Shopper Marketing Revolution” Anthony and Desforges pages 28-29,32,61)

“70% of grocery purchases are made or influenced by women.” (POPAI 2012 Shop-per Engagement Study)

“Shopper Marketing is only executed correctly an aver-age of 45% of the time.” (Flint, Hoyt, Swift. 2014. Shopper Marketing: Profit-ing from the place where suppliers, brand manufacturers and retailers con-nect. Pearson Education, Upper Saddle Ridge, NJ)

Bibliography

THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETINGBIBLIOGRAPHY


S H O P P E R M A R K E T I N GA C T I O N P L A N & T O O L K I T

Follow this simple, step-by-step, methodology to develop a shopper marketing plan that increases sales, builds shopper insights, and grows brand awareness.

79THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO SHOPPER MARKETING | SHOPPER MARKETING ACTION PLAN & TOOLKIT

In an economy surrounded by brands, retailers and never ending shopping opportunities, Shopper Marketing is an essential tool that brings brands and retailers together under a singular goal: increasing sales.

From brand-led programs where the manufacturer works with numerous retailers under a unified campaign, or retailer-led programs where brands join a retailer’s existing planned special, such as a back to school sale, Shopper Marketing is all about the partnership between the manufacturers that produce the brands people consume, and the retailers that sell these products to shoppers in their stores.

This methodology will take you through the 6 stages of an effective Shopper Marketing program, providing you with best practices to empower any effort, and a toolkit to enable immediate practical application of this knowledge. Although this methodology is meant to be applied from beginning to end, in the sequence provided, it is possible that you may already be working on a Shopper Marketing program and some of these steps may not be necessary.

No matter where you are with Shopper Marketing, we recommend you take a look through all of the stages, steps and tools provided so that they may lead you on the right path, or in some cases, fill any GAP’s you may have in your existing program.

Introduction

How to use this consulting methodology:This methodology consists of six stages, each with a description, steps and action items. Action items include using our premium tools & templates. Our intention with this methodology is to help you:

Understand shopper marketing and identify the audience and partners you should focus on.

Evaluate and select the technology that will be the backbone of your shopper marketing strategy.

Plan and craft a strategy to increase sales, build shopper insights and grow brand awareness.

Analyze Opportunities2

Measure Results6

1 Learn About Shopper

Technology Selection4Campaign Execution5

Strategic Planning3

1

2

3

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Review the foundation of shopper marketing best practices.

Inspect the latest research on shopper marketing programs

Understand the maturity of a shopper marketing program

Evaluate the roles required to achieve shopper marketing success

Discover how Shopper Marketing works, review the overall best practices, and understand how to evaluate the roles and maturity of a Shopper Marketing program.

STEP 2Inspect the Latest Research on Shopper Marketing

Action Item: Watch the ‘Shopper Marketing Video Infographic’ or read the ‘Shopper Marketing Image Infographic’ for a quick overview of the research findings.

With a solid understanding of shopper marketing best practices, it is a good idea to further validate this information with the latest statistical research about what is working in shopper marketing.

STEP 1Review Shopper Marketing Best Practices

Action Item: Read ‘The Definitive Guide to Shopper Marketing’ to get a broad overview of shopper marketing best practices from leading industry experts. This is the document you are reading right now!

Before you begin your journey into building a shopper marketing program, it is important that everyone on your team is on the same page about what is possible and relevant within the context of shopper marketing. Reviewing best practices is a practical way to quickly get current on the topic.


Measure Results6


Strategic Planning3

1

2

3

4



Measure Results6


STEP 4Evaluate the Roles Required for Success

Action Item: Review the Shopper Marketing Roles Framework to quickly understand the team required to effectively execute on a shopper marketing program.

Whether you are looking to add responsibilities to your existing sales and marketing team, or you are looking for a dedicated team of human resources focused on shopper marketing, it is important to understand the roles and responsibilities required within a shopper marketing program.

STEP 3Understand Shopper Marketing Maturity

Action Item: Look at the Shopper Marketing Maturity Model to see what shopper marketing looks like in both its most unrefined and world-class levels of execution.

There are some critical components in any shopper marketing program that showcase how sophisti-cated the operations, technology and strategy really are.

Ensure you feel comfortable with the concepts behind the unique sections that make shopper marketing what it is.

Strategic Planning3


STEP 1Assessing your Shopper Maturity

Action Item: Fill out the ‘Shopper Marketing Capabilities App and the Shopper Marketing Peer Benchmarks App’ for an interactive chart that will visually show you where you stand with your current shopper marketing maturity.

It’s a great idea to benchmark your current maturity with shopper marketing, so you can leverage your strengths and focus on growing any deficiencies.

By doing regular benchmarks you can track your team’s progress and be aware of what areas need your attention as your program grows.

STEP 2Determine Strategic Partnerships

Action Item: Use the interactive Shopper Marketing Partnership Prioritization Tool to understand which partners will be the best fit for your company

Shopper marketing is all about the partnership between brands and retailers.

Building these relationships is at the heart of what you are looking to achieve, and is where the rubber hits the road with any shopper marketing program.


Measure Results6


Strategic Planning3

Assess your existing shopper marketing maturity

Determine strategic partnerships worth pursuing

Define the budget for your shopper marketing program

Build the business case for shopper marketing

Assess your existing Shopper Marketing maturity, determine strategic partnerships worth pursuing, while assessing budgets and building the business case.

1

2

3

4



Measure Results6


STEP 3Define the Budget for your Program

Action Item: Leverage the Shopper Marketing Budget Template to get a visual idea on current spending, to keep your program on track while it grows.

Without allocated resources, your shopper marketing program will never get off the ground. Ensure a budget is established to plan expenses required to plan and execute your program.

STEP 4Build the Business Case for Shopper

Action Item: Leverage the Shopper Marketing Business Case template for a slide presentation you can use to convince leadership to approve your ideas.

Now that you know more about what shopper marketing is, how it works and why it’s so powerful, you will need to share these discoveries with leadership in your company to get approval to continue with the shopper marketing program.

Strategic Planning3


Strategic Planning3


Measure Results6


STEP 1Build a Profile that Represents your Shopper

Action Item: Once you have collected enough info about your ideal shopper(s), use the Shopper Marketing Profile Template to build specific profiles your team can utilize.

Every marketing effort starts with the ideal buyer, and in the case of shopper marketing, your ideal shopper or consumer. Ensure that you have a detailed profile for each shopper, so you can tailor your marketing programs to their specific situation.

Build a profile that represents your ideal shopper

Begin gathering the insights about your shoppers

Build your shopper marketing journey stages

Plan your objectives, and the metrics to measure their success

Complete and present your shopper marketing plan

Hire resources to manage the program

Plan your objectives and the metrics to measure their success, and begin gathering the insights about your shoppers and competition to build shopper profiles.

1

2

3

4

5

6

TIP: Leverage the Shopper Marketing Profile Interview Questions template to get the questions you should consider asking anyone involved in a survey to research your ideal shoppers.



Measure Results6


STEP 2Begin Gathering Insights about Shoppers

STEP 3Build Your Shopper Journey Stages

STEP 4Plan your Objectives and Metrics

Action Item: Fill out the Shopper Marketing Insights Database with any existing insights you have, and use it as a place to store on-going discoveries about your shopper(s).

Action Item: Utilize the Shopper Marketing Journey Stages Template to lay out the behav-iors and insights for each stage of the non-linear shopping journey to plan your campaigns.

Action Item: Utilize the Shopper Marketing Strategy Workbook to help plan the high level execution-related objectives and KPI’s for your shopper marketing program.

Insights about shopper behavior are critical to the success of any shopper marketing program. It is critical that you and your team collect and analyze insights on a regular basis to empower decisions you make about how to attract shoppers to your program.

Although most shopper marketing strategy has been centered on a linear approach, the truth is that shoppers often travel between stages and steps in a non-linear fashion, moving back and forth as they make their decisions.

That said, it’s important to understand the stages shoppers can travel between to build the best campaigns suited to their non-linear activity and behaviors.

Before starting any marketing program it’s important to have a solid plan with specific objectives, performance indicators, and a timeframe, to ensure the program is focused on specific results.

Strategic Planning3 TIP: Watch your competition to discover insights from their existing programs using the Shopper Marketing Competition Tracking tool.


Strategic Planning3


Measure Results6


STEP 5Complete and Present your Plan

STEP 6Hire Resources to Manage the Program

Action Item: Modify and then present your Shopper Marketing Project Plan to senior lead-ership to get the resources allocated to execute your program.

Action Item: Utilize the Shopper Marketing Manager Job Description for your needs and post it online to find someone who can help manage your shopper marketing program.

Getting approval on your initial plan, from leadership within your company, is an important step that will both help build your teams confidence on the work ahead, and secure the resources required to bring the program to life.

In most cases, you will need at least one dedicated human resource managing your shopper marketing program.

Building a dedicated team will ensure the best results, but your program may need to start by assigning tasks to your existing sales and marketing teams to save budget.



Measure Results6


STEP 1Discover Shopper Marketing Vendors

Action Item: Review the Shopper Marketing Vendors Matrix to find technology solutions that suit your needs.

Evaluate shopper marketing technology solutions that enable your team to bring your Shopper Marketing program to life. These technologies can bring incredible insights, or provide a competitive unique way to present your program to your ideal shopper(s).

STEP 2Determine the Best Vendor(s)

Action Item: Use our interactive Shopper Marketing Vendor Selection Tool to discover the best vendor(s) for your program based on what matters most to your company.

More often than not, there are multiple vendors you may be interested in pursuing for your shopper marketing program. It’s important to score these vendors based on what your company needs most to find the perfect fit.

STEP 3Build an Integrated Shopper System

Action Item: Use our Shopper Marketing System RFP to discover the best vendor(s) with the skillset required to integrate all of your systems together into a single Shopper Marketing system.

Your CRM, Marketing Automation, Loyalty Card, Customer Service and other systems will need to be integrated into a single Omni channel. Using an RFP template will help you get the ball rolling on finding the right partners to bring this system to life.

Strategic Planning3

Discover shopper marketing vendors that provide solutions

Determine the best vendor(s) that suits your needs

Use an rfp to build your integrated shopper marketing system

Evaluate technology solutions that enable your team to bring your Shopper Marketing program to life.

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Measure Results6


STEP 1Review Main Strategies, Tactics & Trends

Action Item: Review the Shopper Marketing Program Strategies template for suggestions on the most widely used tactics, trends and channels for a shopper marketing program.

It’s always helpful to constantly review the different approaches you can make in any shopper marketing program, both as you build your campaigns, but also to help improve existing campaigns.

STEP 2Launch Campaigns Based on Best Practices

Action Item: Leverage the Coupon Best Practices, Contest Best Practices, Digital/Tradi-tional Signage and Retail Mobile Best Practices checklists to ensure best practices are followed for your campaigns.

During any shopper marketing program, ensure you are leveraging best practices for any specific campaign approach to maximize your chances for success.

At its core, if a shopper marketing program gathers insights and builds a relationship, it’s already valuable even before direct ROI.

Strategic Planning3

Review the main strategies, tactics, and trends in shopper marketing

Launch campaigns that are based on existing best practices

Prepare and launch campaigns that are based on existing best practices.

1



Measure Results6


STEP 1Measure the Results of your Campaigns

Action Item: Use the Shopper Marketing Metrics Dashboard to track key metrics in your campaigns, so they can be easily and visually shared with senior leadership.

The final step in any shopper marketing program is ongoing.

You will need to carefully measure the results of your campaigns over time, to prove revenue impact, and leverage insights gathered for future campaigns.

Strategic Planning3

Measure the results of your campaigns to determine roi.

Measure the results of your campaigns to determine return on investment (ROI).



Measure Results6


As you bring your shopper marketing program to life, continue to leverage the tools and resources in this methodology to benchmark, track and optimize your progress. For quick and easy access, leverage the one-page Shopper Marketing Tool Index for immediate access to all the resources, which is found at the start of this guide.

Conclusion

Strategic Planning3
