Retail News|June 2015|www.retailnews.ie|59
Shopping Behaviour About engage Ireland
Karen Healy, Trading Manager, Freshways Food Co., with Michael Cullen, Commercial Director, Kerry Foods.
ENGAGE Ireland, run by CEO Stephen Rust (pictured), works with clients to create insights and identify growth opportunities, develop shopper marketing strategies that will deliver growth, efficiencies and greater profitability and develop marketing and sales team effectiveness through the utilisation of organisational development and training programmes. engage Worldwide was founded a decade ago by Mike Anthony and Toby Desforges, co-authors of The Shopper Marketing Revolution, and together they have worked with over 20% of the top 250 consumer goods companies across three continents. As well as the Irish operation, the company has offices in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and South Africa and further expansion in Europe and Australasia is planned for later this year. For Further information visit: www.engageconsultants.com
Kathryn Dodd and Aisling Kelliher, Shopper Marketing, Unilever Ireland.
were redesigned, point of sale and brochures were re-written, and in-store sales teams were re-trained. By understanding the shopper journey better and focusing their investment on the key purchase trigger points, Sony was able to actually save just under US$2m in total marketing spend, while achieving $30m additional revenue through this channel. Test and Learn for Improvement As more money is invested into shopper marketing, testing and learning is becoming more essential to ensure a good return is achieved. While sales uplift is the ultimate measure, it is through additional in-depth analysis, shopper research and compliance tracking that we are able to understand how to make our activity more effective. At times, double-digit increases in the rate of sale can be achieved just by refining fixture layouts and communications based on in-store analysis and research. For instance, in a recent category research project, we found the eye level for the average man was a shelf higher than the average woman. This obvious but practical insight helped ensure we
Maresa Cagney, Marketing Manager – Ireland, Birds Eye, with Ciaran Gilsenan, Assiatant Brand Manager, Birds Eye.
laid out our a category range based on having products that were slightly more relevant to males on the higher shelf, and the female relevant products below to optimise shelf-space, thus ensuring the best chance of a sale at each shopper interaction. Adding Shopper Engagement Skillsets The skillsets needed to make ‘engaging the shopper’ happen are also evolving. Robust sales and marketing skills are still as necessary as before. However, the teams who make it happen must also implicitly understand the path and shopping environment of their target shoppers, be strategic in where they focus to win, analytical in understanding how to win and creative in engaging the shopper in the relevant environments. We find more companies are building these competencies into their team development plans. To sum up, based on the degree of change in shopper behaviour today, companies are having to reassess parts of their marketing and sales approach. Prioritisation of key channels, developing three-way insight, testing and learning in-store, and adding shopper engagement skillsets are becoming all the more essential for succeeding in the new era of ‘engaging the shopper’.
Ruth Hankin, Channel Marketing Manager – On The Go, Britvic Ireland, with Brian Greer, Britvic Ireland.