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The power
of the pack
BrandWorld’s masthead formats
Family Health Diary (left) and The Mix
(right) give centre stage to informative
messages and packaging so shoppers
instantly recall the product and
reasons to buy when instore
Despite research showing most buying decisions are now made long before a product hits the shelves,
many FMCG marketers are still concentrating their efforts instore, with little thought to what’s gone before
In 2011 Google and international shopper marketing consultancy Shopper
Sciences released their Zero Moment
of Truth (ZMOT) research busting the
myth that more than 70% of brand
decisions are made instore.
In fact 70% of women said they
researched products before going to
store; 83% consulted review sites and
user ratings before making a purchase;
83% searched products after being exposed to them through television; and
most used several sources to research
and process information about the
products they were interested in.
Yet despite endorsement from
several international marketing gurus,
the research made little difference
to most FMCG marketers, says Mike
O’Sullivan, managing director and
co-founder of content marketing and
branded channel advertising company
BrandWorld. “Most still think, or at
least act as though shopper marketing
starts instore. But the research proves
if you want to change a shopper’s
mindset it has to happen long before
they get to store; it has to start at the
pre-sale level and then be integrated
right through to the point of purchase.”
A key element common to all three
stages of the engagement process
“When consumers walk
through a store they are
not singing your jingle.
But on-shelf, the visual
imprint of your pack
triggers brand memories
in the subconscious.
It’s rarely a rational,
conscious decision. That’s
how consumers buy.”
Mike O’Sullivan, managing director,
BrandWorld
- pre-sale, research and instore - is a
product’s packaging. But that’s often
overlooked in pre-sales marketing,
while it’s agonised over instore.
“When consumers walk through a
store they are not singing your jingle.
But on-shelf, the visual imprint of
your pack triggers brand memories
in the subconscious. It’s rarely a
rational, conscious decision. That’s
how consumers buy.” says O’Sullivan.
“Yet in pre-sales advertising most
marketers don’t even use a pack shot
until the last five seconds of an ad. The
human mind doesn’t rewind all the
entertainment stuff that ran before
and attach it to your brand: we’re just
not wired that way.”
But it’s not just recognition
marketers have to worry about when
consumers get to store; it’s what that
recognition triggers.
“You have to give people a reason
to buy or to remain loyal to the
product,” says O’Sullivan. That’s why
content marketing is so powerful; it
gives consumers a reason to buy by
showing them why that product is
relevant or useful to them. It’s about
being consumer-centric.”
Couple this with the powerful
delivery duo of television and digital
– television because it’s still the most
cost effective method of reaching a
mass audience and audio-visual is by
far the most powerful way of implanting ideas; and digital because it’s so
personal – and you’ve got a winning
formula, he says.
“People turn to online to look
for proof that what they heard on
television is correct. Today’s media
all interconnect, so your messages
have to be consistent because the
better everything interconnects the
more chance you have of changing
consumers’ behaviour and retaining
their loyalty in the future.”
A classic example of a successful
shopper marketing programme
is Food in a Minute, conceived by
O’Sullivan more than 15 years ago. It
gave consumers easy recipe ideas on
television; they went online to find
more recipes or ideas; they joined a
loyalty club where they could receive
regular recipe ideas and news; and
everything was linked to instore by
printed recipe cards reflecting that
week’s Food in a Minute focus.
Another example is The Mix – a
late night advertising slot showing
people how to make cocktails - made
for drinks company Lion, showing
consumers how to transfer their bar
experience to the home. Again it’s
supported by online recipes, a loyalty
club and instore displays mirroring
the television adverts. Michael
Morton, Lion’s former marketing
manager for its spirits brands,
publicly stated the Mix was simply
the most successful thing Lion had
ever done in this category.
BrandWorld’s other mastheads
or brand channels Family Health
Diary, Discover, Eating Well, Smart
Choices and The Extra Mile, as
well as its bespoke offerings, also
satisfy consumers’ insatiable need
for information that’s new, helpful or
informative and marketers’ need for
effective content that can span a host
of different media, says O’Sullivan.
“With a loyalty following of more
than 100,000 people, brands like
Food in a Minute aren’t just a brand
anymore they are their own media.
Everything Food in a Minute does is a
touchpoint to tell consumers what to
do; where to go for more information;
or how to buy the products. It’s hard
to engage people, but once you
have you shouldn’t let them go until
they’ve actually consummated the
purchase and are part of your loyalty
programme.
“The new digital technologies allow brands to act as media so FMCG
marketers have to start thinking like
media owners; they have to start
looking at the total consumer experience and ensuring their messages are
consistent and their information is
valuable to consumers from pre-sale
right through to instore and after.
“Basically the more pre-store
activity a marketer does; the more
chance they have of eliminating deal
hunting instore.”
To find out more check out
www.brandworld.co.nz
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