Cartifacts fourth Edition

Cartology is two!

Welcome to Cartifacts Edition 4, our first edition of 2023 where celebration is the key theme.

It’s almost hard to believe that we are already in April of 2023. Despite the dismal summer (if you can call it that), I hope that you have all had a really great start to the year so far. I also hope that you all had a lovely time celebrating Easter with your families and that you are feeling well rested after a short break, ready to tackle the second quarter of the year with loads of energy and positivity.

Cartology recently celebrated turning two and what an incredible two years it has been. We have achieved so much in the past 24 months and I am extremely proud when looking back at those achievements. It goes without saying that none of that could have been without the support we get from you, our clients. Thank you for being on this journey with us. It was also great to catch up with those of you who made it to our birthday celebration event.

Speaking of achievements, it has also been a busy couple of months of growing our talented team. Over the past 6 months we have added 11 new Cartologists to the team and each of them have written a short bio on themselves so you can get to know them a little better.

We were also fortunate enough to recently chat with Mark Wolfenden, Director of Digital & Loyalty at CDX. Mark shares his thoughts on the digital transformation we have seen over the past 18 months and what he believes the future holds for

online shopping. We also delve into Google Merchant Hosted Storefront which Countdown launched towards the back end of last year. Our product team have been beavering away on developing new products, one of which is Deal of the Week. Only launched a few weeks ago, we have already seen some phenomenal results from our first few campaigns using this channel.

Retail Media is still very much in its infancy in NZ. We share some insights and tips on the key things to consider when it comes to using Retail media effectively. A brand that has done that extremely well is Mccain, who were the winners of our inaugural Cartology Campaign of the Year. We showcase that campaign and once again, celebrate the incredible success that they achieved as a brand with market leading results.

Looking forward, we have been doing a lot of work to understand how the current economic climate which is being massively impacted by inflation, is affecting shopper behaviour. We will very soon be sharing all those insights we have uncovered along with all the recommendations of how to approach your Retail Media strategy to get your brand in the basket, so keep an eye out for that over the next few weeks.

I hope you get a lot out of this edition and enjoy the read.

Samantha Osborne General Manager - Cartology NZ

Cartology has been on an incredible journey over the past two years as a team of Retail Media pioneers who are creating, shaping and leading a new industry that connects brands to Countdown customers in exciting and innovative ways.

Last month Cartology celebrated turning two at the stunning Park Hyatt hotel on Auckland's Wynyard Quarter waterfront. Thanks to all who celebrated with us in what was a fantastic afternoon.

We heard from Countdown's Managing Director, Spencer Sonn, about the rapid growth that Retail Media has seen and will continue to see according to forecasters and Cartology's importance within the Woolworths ecosystem.

We also heard from Cartology’s General Manager, Samantha Osborne with a reflection on the key achievements over the last two years as well as a peek into what is on the horizon for Cartology.

to Cartology Welcome

Annabel Goodwin

Client Partnerships Manager

Annabel has six years experience in media strategy, sales and client service between New Zealand and London markets.

"I love working closely with clients to develop creative solutions that deliver great results. Outside of work, I love to travel, spend time with family and try out new restaurants and cafes."

Chelsea Jones

Client Partnerships Manager

Chelsea has come to us after five years at MediaWorks, with her most recent role as an Account Manager in the Agency Sales team. Chelsea is passionate about media and is always looking to deliver the best possible bespoke solutions for her clients. She is excited to start in the world of retail media, working with some of New Zealand's biggest brands.

Matt Ward

Client Partnerships Manager

Matt brings with him 10 years of media experience in both radio and public relations. He joins us after 1.5 years as a PR Senior Account Manager where he worked across various FMCG and alcohol brands, before which he spent 7 years in radio, most recently at NZME hosting Radio Hauraki’s drive show ‘Bhuja’ alongside Leigh Hart and Jason Hoyte.

Blake Taylor

Campaign Delivery SpecialistDigital & Mailer

Blake has come from a role as Assistant Marketing Manager in the Countdown Marketing team. He has been with Countdown since April 2021 and brings with him really great knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm for the business. Prior to joining Countdown Blake spent 2 years at Foodstuffs as a Category Assistant.

Matt Hailes

Product Manager - Instore Media

Matt has an established background in FMCG having previously worked for Shopper Marketing specialist agency Raydar in the local market, his most recent role being Planning Director. Prior to that, Matt worked in planning & strategy at a creative consultancy in the UK, helping develop creative campaigns and promotions for leading FMCG clients.

Max Bellotto

eCommerce Manager

"I was the head of eCommerce for HP Store in South Africa for 3 years and previously had the same role for a Digital Agency called Digital Planet for a period of 7 years. I look forward to integrating with the various teams to learn, grow and add value in the products and services we provide."

Clara Sathio

Client Partnerships Executive

Clara has a background in FMCG having previously worked for Arnotts NZ with her most recent role being Account Executive. Prior to that Clara worked in a sales support role for KimberlyClark.

Taine Box

Admin & Campaign Support

"I gained FMCG experience whilst doing my studies in Dunedin, where I worked towards my thesis focused on online shopping behaviour. My previous role was as a Category (or "Buyers'') assistant. Prior to entering the world of retail, I worked as a tutor in Otago. When I'm not in the office you'll find me playing sports or firing up the BBQ. I am excited to join this dynamic industry and learn more about the world of FMCG".

Sarah McTeigue

Digital Content Coordinator

Having graduated from Auckland University with a Commerce degree majoring in International business and Marketing, Sarah previously worked in a small business working as a Marketing coordinator.

Krish Bhavnani

Digital Content Coordinator

Krish has spent the last 4 years working in various roles within the Countdown store environment before taking an internship opportunity with Countdown X as a content Coordinator. Now joining Cartology as a Digital Content Coordinator, Krish is looking forward to collaborating with the wider Cartology team, building and executing content for some of New Zealand's largest FMCG brands.

Google Merchant Hosted Storefront

Countdown launched Google Merchant Hosted Storefront in November last year with immediate impact on search performance.

What is MHSF? It is an evolution of Google Shopping paid advertising that reduces the number of click throughs required before landing on Countdown.co.nz, creating a Countdown branded and integrated experience for our customers while giving visibility of stock availability at a store level.

It is just one of the things Countdown is doing to increase product and ranging visibility for our customers.

Countdown's solution provides customers with valuable stock availability indicators of a product in a store near them, with either In Stock, Low Stock or No Stock indicated to allow customers to browse stock levels for a specific

product at nearby stores. Countdown was first to market with local inventory advertising product via Google back in September 2019 so it is great to see the evolution of the product to continue to support instore shoppers researching online before shopping instore.

The primary use case for MHSF is to drive foot traffic to stores, however our customer journey also allows them to complete their shop online.

So what can you do to ensure your products are part of Countdown's digital marketing through Google and email? Ensure all of your products have images associated with them, if there is no image they cannot be featured.

Showcase your product on the Specials Hub on countdown.co.nz and get more eyes on your product with increased ATCs.

Together with CDX, Cartology has launched the new 'Deal of the Week' to elevate the digital value experience for Countdown customers. Deal of the week works in conjunction with the Broadsheet mailer

to bring further traffic to a specific product SKU or range such as different flavours of the same product. Deal of the Week features on the Specials Hub on countdown.co.nz with its own tile, running for one week. Extensive testing has ensured that an increase of add to carts is significant and that overall customer experience is optimal. Deal of the week is easy to implement with product SKU(s) and no artwork required. Chat to your Client Partner for more information.

Getting to know Mark Wolfenden

Cartology chats to Mark Wolfenden, Director of Digital & Loyalty, about his role at CDX, digital transformation over the last 18 months and what the future holds for online shopping.

QTell us about your role at CDX? What are you responsible for? How have you approached the task at hand?

I look after our eCommerce, digital & loyalty portfolio - we are lucky to have an amazingly talented team and are focused on how we enable everyone to do their best work, build careers at Countdown and help shape the future of retail in NZ. It’s been a tumultuous 3 years through a global pandemic so now is a great time to reset our ambitions and strategy for the next 3 years and ensure we’re set up for success to continue to make our customers’ lives easier in a rapidly transforming market.

QTell us how you have seen digital transformation accelerate over the past 18 months? What effects has this had on the customer journey and how have we responded to that change?

The pandemic has shifted customer behaviour significantly with huge volumes of new customers trying online shopping who hadn’t considered it before. We saw rapid growth in digital traffic, registrations and a lift in eCommerce penetration we hadn’t planned for.

As a business we truly lived our purpose through this period, adding capacity to our network, pivoting our product roadmaps towards new customer needs and ensuring we had stable platforms. Out the other side, things are starting to normalise more but we’re still seeing sustained growth in engagement with our digital channels, more online research than ever before and many of those who tried eCommerce for the first time during Covid continuing to shop that way after realising the benefits to their lives.

QWhat excites you most about what the teams are doing at CDX?

I’m truly excited about our opportunity to make our digital experiences easier to use, more relevant and personalised for our customers no matter how they choose to shop with us. It’s important that we use the data we have about our customers’ behaviour to give them value back to their lives, discover new products and save even more time.

Our opportunity to strategically partner in digital with brands via retail media is also amazingly exciting and will benefit our customers as well as suppliers, using the rich data we have to talk to the right people at the right time through various touch points and closing the loop with increasingly sophisticated reporting. The partnership between Cartology and CountdownX runs deep to bring this to life.

QWhat do you think the future holds for online shopping?

Customers’ expectations are only going to keep rising - wanting their shopping faster, expecting more relevant experiences that fit into their world, help them

Always on my shopping list

✔ Caramelised onion hummus

it’s dangerously addictive

"It’s important that we use the data we have about our customers’ behaviour to give them value back to their lives,discover new products and save even more time."

Getting started with Retail Media

Analysis from Countdown data and a recent study of over 2,300 Cartology media campaigns provides a few simple pointers for brands looking to get started with retail media:

1. The power of three - the sweet spot for campaign success:

Cartology’s most impactful campaigns of the last 12 months were multi-channel, featuring an average of three retail media touchpoints. Activating across three or more retail media touchpoints gives campaigns a stronger chance for success.

2. Omnichannel wins: One in three omnichannel customers plan their grocery shop two to three days in advance, and 70 percent of Cartology’s most impactful retail media campaigns of the last 12 months used a combination of in-store and online touchpoints. Brands have the opportunity to show up wherever and whenever customers choose to shop.

3. Digital is the access point to Countdown: Customers are exerting significant online behaviour, fuelling digital traffic, while in-store still plays a significant role throughout their journey. Wherever customers transact, be it online or in-store, digital’s influence extends well beyond the realms of eCommerce transactions.

So what does that mean for brands?

Retail media digital activation has the dual benefit of shaping customer behaviour no matter where they shop. Digital really is the front door. There is no shortage of success stories, from brands investing in the long and the short term, with new news to share or reinforcing established messages.

From health advocates to pet lovers, retail media is here to connect your brands with engaged customers.

Helping you to get the most out of retail media

Together with clients and partners, Cartology are helping to build a greater understanding of retail media while learning and evolving every day. They can work hand in hand with brands to achieve customer growth outcomes offering advanced targeting, measuring real customer impact and accountability of media spend, providing a trusted, brand safe environment, and an omnichannel ecosystem that reaches customers where and when they plan, compare and transact on the customer journey.

It is an exciting journey in retail media and one that we are equally excited to share with you.

Fabric conditioner penetration in New Zealand is relatively low compared to global shopping trends therefore a huge opportunity presented itself to educate and introduce New Zealand shoppers to this category and to the Fluffy brand.

In store a beautifully bright aisle fin stood out amongst the competition with an online combination of department banners, branded tiles and the Have you Forgotten tiles closing the loop at the purchase point for shoppers.

As fabric conditioner is a discretionary product for those shopping in the laundry category, the Have You Forgotten tile generated a huge spike in online sales demonstrating the effectiveness of this asset.

"Wewereverypleasedwiththefullomnichannelactivationthatbroughtmorecustomers totheFluffyBrand,andalsomorecustomers totheFabricConditionersegmentshaving Fluffyasabrand.Theefficienttargeteddigital communicationstrategydeliveredincreased penetrationonlinevsin-store."

Colgate - Fluffy

Just the most loved food in the world

'Nothing special' about Cartology Campaign of the year winners, McCain with the Pub Style Chips campaign.

A huge congratulations to McCain for being awarded the Cartology Campaign of the year in the annual Countdown Supplier Partnership Awards.

The Pub Style Chips campaign by McCain truly put customers at the heart, with an omnichannel execution reaching shoppers across multiple touchpoints - in-store and online. The omnichannel campaign delivery is a reflection of innovation, collaboration and a strong relationship between the parties involved, which resulted in some amazing results. Overall, the campaign delivered amazing results and 33% of shoppers were new to the Pub Style range, achieving the main campaign objective. The success that the McCain campaign has seen, truly deems it worthy of the 2022 Cartology Campaign of the Year Award.

McCain, set out to drive conversion to the McCain Pub Style range through new acquisitions and trade up of existing shoppers.

This campaign brought the McCain master-brand to life, so it was important to ensure that there was a strong synergy across all media channels being activated.

McCain collaborated with Cartology to build a successful and meaningful campaign and select the best instore and online channels based off shopper insights. We know shoppers don’t enjoy being in the freezer aisle so, it was important to not only use an in-aisle element but also traffic drivers like eDM and online channels.

Using the digital mailer, the aim was to drive education on the range. The pub style cheeseburger recipe drove a sales increase of 86%, with volume more than doubling! High- reach media channels such as floor decals, branded shop and homepage banners were also used to achieve campaign success. Overall, the campaign delivered amazing results and 33% of shoppers were new to the Pub Style range, achieving the main campaign objective.

RESULTS

86%

78% of customers like to discover new products when shopping. Watch

33% Sales uplift

New-to-product customers

127% Volume uplift

Inspire creation

Minimise wasted impressions and maximise brand engagement, transitioning consumers into the Countdown shopping ecosystem with clickable stop motions, eye-catching cinemagraph and product serving suggestions.

Tell your story or introduce a new product on Cartology's off-network inform and inspire your customers and connect them to your brand at moments of peak receptivity across Facebook and Instagram ads.

Cartology Social Menu

Inspire Creation- Clickable recipe stop motions

A compelling format that shows the versatility of your product.

Introduce new- Stop motion

Tell a short story or introduce a new product with stop motion, a high impact execution.

Build consideration- Eye catching Cinemagraph

Thumb stopping content for your brand to encourage interaction with Countdowns' engaged social community.

Win the occasion- Star product Serving Suggestion

Showcase your product as the hero of an entire meal or entertaining platter.

Cartology Placements

Ad placements on Countdowns Facebook and Instagram

Facebook in-stream video

Facebook in-stream video is an optimised ad placement that specialises in increasing your brand’s visibility, message, awareness and reach.

• In-stream advertising allows brands to deliver 15 second before, during or after video content.

• Over 70% of in-stream impressions are viewed to Completion.

Facebook & Instagram stories

Stories are an immersive creative format that enable Facebook, Instagram and Messenger users to view and share everyday moments.

Social competitions and giveaways

Competitions & giveaways are a proven way to amplify engagements, build a strong following and community and raise brand awareness for existing and new products.

Ensure trail of your new product, boost engagement with comments, shares and likes and acquire new customers. Competitions & giveaways should be incorporated into broader campaigns to boost awareness and engagement.

Arnott’s Shapes Pack-a snack campaign

Arnott's Shapes Pack-a-snack campaign utilised a 1 week stop motion creative as part of an omnichannel focused solution that included in-store POS, Countdown digital mailer, eDM's and a branded shop.

With the objective of Improving the shopping experience for customers shopping the Arnott's multipack category. Arnott's and Cartology created an online destination that utilised online shopping behaviour data and

customer journey insights to identify the way multipack customers were shopping each category. With this information a tailored Cartology online offering was developed covering the pre store purchase behaviours with social media and a personalised eDM

Contributing to a 79% sales uplift during the campaign period the Stop motion received a CTR of 1.04% driving consideration of the brand and growing top of mind awareness amongst an engaged social audience.

Impressions

23,777

1.04%

79%

266,275 Reach CTR Sales uplift

Customer transformation and the future of retail

What have we learnt through the experience of the past 12 months that can carry through and shape the future for e-commerce and shopper transactions within retail and shopping environments?

1Digital is the new front door for brands in the customer-led era. The explosion in digital engagement driven by COVID is well beyond anything brands could have anticipated just 18 months ago. Not only has the number of people online grown, but the level of deep engagement has equalled that growth. Countdown.co.nz has experienced a 55% increase in digital traffic, with around 60% of its customers who shop instore starting their shopping journey online or in apps. Two

in five customers connect with Countdown digitally every week.

2The shopping journey is no longer linear. For many customers shopping is now a hybrid, omnichannel experience based on personal preferences. For some, this means continuing to shop in-store only, but for an increasing cohort of customers, this means researching and planning their shopping experience before they go in-store. And

for others, it will be planning and buying everything online. Countdown has unearthed some important insights when it comes to how their customers shop. They are researching the latest specials in the digital catalogue, check for personalised specials in Onecard Boost emails, search recipes, and build meal plans, or navigate their local store with the sort-by-aisle shopping list feature in the Countdown app.

3Customer-centricityas change accelerates, it is the one constant. Retail is going through such incredible change as we listen to customers and the way they want to shop. Retail at its core is about getting great products to customers - but the new customer landscape is about curating the range, personalising the value, having a great store experience, or delivering direct to where customers are.

Stores will remain the cornerstone of Countdown. But the way customers

interact with them will change and the focus is on building great digital products that enhance the experience instore. Countdown believes retailers who put the digital needs of customers first and invest in truly great experiences will be rewarded for it with increased loyalty. Customers are demanding fast, safe ways to shop, with more inspiring, relevant experiences, and better value.

Convenience has become increasingly important –whether it is a short, specific window, or those who ‘want it now’. They are looking for real time anticipation of their needs to help save time.

Personalised, connected, and consistent journeys across the ecosystem are key, with an omnichannel experience based

on personal preferences. All aspects of customers’ online journeys need to be relevant –from content, like recipes and product recommendations, to value offers and rewards. Countdown draws on a rich base of insight to deeply understand how to create better experiences for customers – based on trends around where, when, and how they prefer to shop. Activating the digital ecosystem to deliver a seamless, connected customer experience and engage more effectively -in relevant ways and at appropriate times - is a huge opportunity for brands.

It’s important to be open to change and ready to adapt - if the last taught brands anything it’s that they need to be prepared to pivot based on changing environments and customer needs. The pace of

change may not be the same, but it is crucial brands continue to tailor digital experiences to put customers first. The customer is in control. They call the shots over what they see, where they see it and how they buy it.