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Keep it simple At a time when consumers are hit hard by multichannel campaigns, it’s important to keep the message simple, argues Mark McKeown of Impulse POP It is widely accepted that the retail buying culture is changing. In our industry, this is what differentiates the good and the great, whether it be the brands themselves or the experts advising them. What is so intriguing about our industry is the necessity to evolve. When we started Impulse, the criteria for success was simpler. We could get away with relying on good looking displays located well within the store, to achieve its intended ROI. We are now in a world where most purchases are researched and the main problem for brands is keeping engagement of clients in store, to the point of purchase. Consumers are now hit by multichannel campaigns as they enter a store, so brands have a harder time engaging and keeping interest to the point of purchase. I think we, as a society, run the risk of over complicating the process, and regardless of the target market or cost of the product, just keep it simple. Our business operates at both ends of the spectrum regarding product, and whereas the premium brands may inspire more exciting creative, employing a good mix of digital and physical assets in store, it is also as demanding and potentially rewarding to be given briefs for some of the more budget FMCG brands. Our shopper research still maintains that you must keep the message simple. It’s refreshing to see a shift in consumer loyalty. Where the likes of Tesco were monopolising grocery, we have realised we can get better ‘value’ by looking at alternatives. A large extent of our volume work now goes into emerging budget stores, including The Range, B&M Stores and Poundland. It appears from our own research that the buying process is more old fashioned here. Dwell times are longer in store, and due to out-of-town location, easy parking promotes visits to these stores being more of a planned outing rather than an impulse visit. So consumers will be expected to make the purchase in one visit – display mechanics are designed around this principle. This ‘value’ may not always be price driven. John Lewis has proven this, and although its mantra about price is accepted, I think we also accept that we will end up spending more in a John Lewis store, and are happy to, based on the trust the brand exudes. This requires a different approach in store. My point in all of this is that the best success still comes from keeping it simple. By all means spend money on shopper marketing (it’s important to know your customers), and employ multichannel resources, but don’t lose sight of the fundamentals. When screens were first used in store, a lot of the messaging was lost as customers were completely swamped by digital
content on entering a store. We now run the risk of doing this in the newly evolved digital marketplace, and how this is used will determine the next generation of shopper.
www.impulsepop.co.uk
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