Mark Artus, CEO at global brand agency 1HQ, says firms should be placing greater emphasis on persuading consumers from the ‘shelf outwards’, rather than ‘broadcast media’ in.
Significant influence is given to many above-the-line forms of marketing such as advertising, but we believe that while it’s important to raise awareness of a product or service, the strategy rarely translates into a call to action at the point of purchase in the retail environment. Therefore, it’s essential that businesses understand the need to communicate their brand(s) clearly and emphatically from both ends of the spectrum, outside and in-store.
I have always struggled to understand why there is not a more seamless process in the transition of above-the-line to below-the-line messaging. Both need a very clear strategy, as both are important yet have different goals. Rarely do these two disciplines work together, yet when they do the result is powerful.
Selecting a winning channel strategy is becoming increasingly tough. It used to be the case that businesses could clearly segregate their use of differing marketing channels above-the-line, but as online sharing continues to rise in popularity, many firms are finding they can’t segregate what information people see about their company and its products. ‘Liquid marketing’ has resulted in a tidal wave of online information, and companies can no longer dictate when and where their products are seen, with poor items flushed out by online reviews and negative social media sharing.
In below-the-line (BTL) planning, consumers’ path to purchase has often been thought of as a straightforward funnel, starting with awareness and leading to purchase. In reality, it’s often cyclical and almost certainly never linear. In this complex environment, shelf-out thinking ensures that compelling assets are identified during the conception of developing the brand, with cues created for the sole purpose of influencing purchase behaviour across the different touch points consumers interact with.
Developing compelling assets means they can continually influence the purchase behaviour from the packaging out. Design has always played an important role in this process, with creativity used to persuade purchasing behaviour.
By understanding what your brand’s biggest assets are from the selling perspective, you can decide how to ‘sweat’ these assets BTL and choreograph these messages over time to form a favourable impression to address the myriad of shopper missions – the reason why the individual is stepping into the store. Get your message right and you can let this tidal wave of information (a wave that’s going to get bigger in future), carry your brand’s core message direct to the consumer.
For example, in order to change people’s perceptions that tomato ketchup is simply a lubricant for fast food, we developed a set of assets for Heinz based around the big idea that their ketchup is ‘Grown Not Made’. This ‘brandheart’ – the definition of the driving campaignable idea – was then rolled out to packaging design, in-store promotions, and even leveraged in above-the-line advertising, creating a truly integrated campaign, but driven from the shelf-out.
This brand position has continued to influence purchase behaviour, seen today with ‘Grow Your Own’ on the bottle and seeds that can be bought online. Success has many fathers as they say, but this positioning was created during the packaging conception and not from an advertising campaign.
Another brand that has successfully developed its brand assets with the shelf in mind has been Innocent. They understood what people loved about their product (what their strongest brand assets were) and ensured that all their in-store messaging conformed to this ideal. By doing so, they’re able to ensure that people see Innocent as a quirky, healthy, natural British firm that makes simple and tasty drinks, not as a large Coca-Cola-owned business.
Innocent investigated how they could make the most of their brand assets to be expressed from the shelf out, to reflect their spirit of generosity, and now that this positive conversation has been started, it’s difficult to stop. Who can forget their ‘woolly hat’ on-shelf campaign?
Branding has always been a Darwinian process that requires not only for business to be clear on what they stand for and who they are appealing to, but also to regularly evolve, adapting their message accordingly to ensure they are continually relevant and, more importantly, continually persuasive.
A successful brand will tailor its in-store presence to reflect different seasons, different events and different shopper missions. By doing so, they’re able to ensure that they maximise the work done by their brand assets to drive consumers to purchase, remaining continually persuasive.
Significant influence is given to many above-the-line forms of marketing such as advertising, but what we believe is that while it’s important to raise awareness of a product or service, the real influence happens much nearer to the point of purchase: on the shelf.
P&G have pioneered this belief, or as they call it The first moment of truth (FMOT). The FMOT represents one of the greatest opportunities a brand has to influence consumers in that critical moment when they encounter your product on the shelf in the supermarket. Literally, it’s a moment that will tell you if all the marketing dollars have been successful, resulting either in your product being picked up and put in the basket, or a missed opportunity to convert into sales.
So why is it more important than ever before for firms to use creativity to drive purchases in-store? There are a number of reasons.
Firstly, as consumers are bombarded with advertising messages outside of the store, by bringing focus to influencing them in-store, where their brand’s gravitational pull is at its strongest, businesses can tap into the mindset of a consumer who has already cut through the noise and made a conscious decision to buy a specific type of product. This allows the business to focus their attentions on those more likely to buy.
Interestingly, retail commentators estimate that pack sizes will shrink in future by between 20-30%, as firms look to cut costs and improve their green credentials. The logical knock-on effect of this is that there will be between a 20-30% reduction in standout – the Holy Grail when it comes to getting shoppers’ attention.
The additional space created should afford companies greater flexibility with how to generate interest around their brands in-store, further substantiating the need for shelf-out brand development.
Grab consumers’ attention, communicate and influence through clear definition of their brand assets, persuade them to purchase and in the long-term buy into their ever-evolving, yet continually persuasive, brand messaging.
Consumers have never been more demanding, and businesses need to continually evaluate new ways in which they can provide ‘entertainment’; making a trip to buy something an enjoyable, engaging experience, rather than a function blighted by promotions and BOGOF offers.
By changing the way consumers views their shopping missions, transforming them from acts of function into enjoyable acts of leisure, they will be able to comprehensively alter the view of their brand for the better.
If brands can identify their assets, communicate them clearly through their brandheart, evolve and choreograph the message and reach shoppers in an interesting way, where their influence is strongest, they will cut through the competition and will find they are able to turn purchasing behaviour into ritualistic behaviour. This will create repeat customers happy to return time and again due to their clear understanding and enjoyment of the brand that is consumer-centric in its approach.
Mark Artus is the CEO of one of Europe’s leading branding agencies, 1HQ, and has more than 20 years’ experience in the UK and US.
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