»  Birdsong Gregory

The recently concluded FMI2012 in Dallas this month highlighted a number of troubling data points for supermarkets. Among the items presented by the association's president and CEO, Leslie Sarasin:

• Only 64% of shoppers choose conventional supermarkets as their primary shopping venue. This is the lowest percentage in years.
• In 2010, online sales accounted for $12 billion of sales of consumer packaged goods.
• Traditional grocery stores have not been adding square footage, while supercenters, dollar stores, convenience stores, and clubs have added 150 million square feet since 2005.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that grocers have been issued a wakeup call. The strongest among them will survive and thrive, while weaker retailers may find their doors shuttered. Need some help? No one knows grocery like birdsong gregory. Contact our shopper marketing agency to learn more.

You can't always believe what you read...no bg is not going bi-coastal, but I (Tabbetha Powers) however am. I'm re-locating to the West Coast, San Francisco to be exact, so I thought before I say "sayonara" to Charlotte and the team I would write one last blog post.

birdsong gregory, a boutique shopper marketing agency in Charlotte has become a place of true inspiration for me. The team here at this powerhouse shop has grown over the last 10 years from a partnership of Leslie (Birdsong) and Jim (Gregory) to a dynamic group with a plethora of talents, experience and knowledge. From the account team with shopper insights and a roll-up-your-sleeves mentality to the creative group of passionate, "burn the box" results-driven people, bg delivers it all. Over the past year and a half I have learned from the best of the best and am armed and ready to take on SF with a wealth of knowledge and experience. From working on the launches of eco-friendly paper and riding lawnmowers to creating in-store signage, mailers and grassroots campaigns for a niche grocery store to promoting family-friendly communities and Greek yogurt, I have really expanded my vision and experience.

It's going to be tough to leave the bg team, my clients, and the amazing city of Charlotte, but I know it's going to be a cherished chapter in my life. Thanks birdsong gregory for everything!

From the bg team:
Thank you Tabbetha, for your awesome dedication and talents. We will miss you and butt rubbing Miller. When can we come vist you in San Fran?? Jealous!

The Alphabet 2 from n9ve on Vimeo.

Hello all! Here's an awesome stop motion alphabet for all the type enthusiasts out there. Directed by Alessandro Novelli, and produced by Italian agency n9ve, this is one for your inspiration archive. Enjoy! Stay in tune with birdsong gregory, your favorite shopper marketing agency, and check out some of our own video work at our bg youtube page!

This infographic from Lemon, a mobile expense tracking app, highlights some interesting insights about what data shoppers are willing to share. Based on an IBM survey of more than 28,000 respondents, the findings indicate that shoppers are quite willing to share certain levels of personal data in exchange for offers that are unique to them. Ultimately what shoppers crave most is a genuinely personalized shopping experience and often times a release of personal information is required to deliver that experience. Find out more about engaging with your shoppers by visiting birdsong gregory, the leading independent shopper marketing agency in the southeast.

Maybe it was my recent trip to the public library seeking out the next literature adventure, but the concept of physical and digital collisions has recently been on my mind. Allow me to explain:

Without any specific book or author in mind, I spent a good 30 minutes scanning aisles upon aisles, rows upon rows, books upon books. In such an analog environment, there was nothing except vertical book bindings to aid my selection. In other words, I was left to figure it out myself.  

Except I wasn't.

As a sign of the times, amidst paperbacks and hardcovers, I stood motionless. Looking down. At my shining iPhone. To illuminate my decision, I used Amazon's algorithm to make recommendations based on past browsing and buying behavior. I used Esquire's list of recommended reads to curate my selection. In order to deselect from the thousands of options lined up in front of me, I used technology to enable my selection.

As a consumer, I am not alone in my use of technology as an aid and influencer of decision. If you really want to see how shopper behavior is evolving, watch people in a new environment where they have to make decisions - in a new store or new category where they have to deselect and then select. In order to create order from the chaos of modern choice, information is required. And increasingly, this information is sourced online.

The collision of physical and digital takes place at the point of choice.

Shopper technology is not the solution, it is the reality. If your shopper engagement strategy does not include or recognize this collision, you may be missing the complete picture. Technology delivers information. If you don't provide that information physically, shoppers will find it digitally and will make decisions based on the information they find.

A self-initiated typographic experiment by designer Tien-Min Liao, Handmade Type explores the relationships between upper-case letters and lower-case letters, recording the transformation between them.

"In this experiment, I drew shapes with ink on one or both of my hands, manipulating my gestures into the corresponding shape to signify an upper-case letter. Then, using the same shape on my hands, I manipulated my gesture or changed the perspective through which the shape is viewed in order to transform the upper-case letter to a lower-case of the same letter. Removing or redrawing the darkened shape on my hands is not allowed in the experiment. The only way to make the model transform from an upper-case to a lower-case (or vice versa) is changing the gestures or the perspectives."

I was immediately excited to share this, not only for the awesome type, but for the beautiful illustrative animations as well. Now that's hands on design! Find more great work and cool inspiration from your favorite shopper marketing agency at birdsonggregory.com.

These days you can find bg'ers hitting the books, well one book in particular that is: Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon.  We have scoured the pages looking for inspiration, tips and advice for pushing the creative envelope. Reading new books with unique insights really opens new windows to think outside the box. Most of the time people get caught up in the day to day routine without reflecting on what they are actually doing. This book is the gateway to thinking more creatively and still being who you are. There's no secret formula or science to it, just 10 themes that come together to help you mold your creative persona.

Do yourself a favor, read the book and find something new to inspire you everyday.

I'm headed to Chicago April 17th to represent birdsong gregory at the annual Path to Purchase Institute Shopper Marketing Summit. This is an industry conference where experts share knowledge and best practices to help brands and retailers achieve success along the path to purchase. The keynote this year will be delivered by Mike Rowe. You may know him from his popular Dirty Jobs series on the Discovery Channel or his commercials for Ford.  But in Chicago he'll be talking about a line of cleaning products also named Dirty Jobs. The products, all labeled “heavy duty,” include a stain remover, carpet cleaners, a spot and stain remover, a degreaser and hand sanitizers. The Dirty Jobs products are being marketed by a new company, called My Dirty Jobs, that is licensing the “Dirty Jobs” name from the Discovery Channel parent, Discovery Communications.

Being a car guy, I found PSFK's article on how Rolls Royce uses customer experience to differentiate themselves interesting. Naturally, selling 3,600 cars a year allows an increased level of service that millions of shoppers a week doesn't. But, in this age of increased competition, a focus on shopping experience is critical.

Differentiation within product selection and in-store environment is a challenge for retailers across all channels. And yet, I am amazed at how many retailers ignore the first and last touchpoints with customers. These arrival and departure moments are key opportunities to set expectations and end on a positive note experience.

A Rolls Royce owner doesn't buy a Rolls for driving pleasure. It is a symbol of status and stature. As one RR executive explained in the article, "that feeling an owner has when they turn up somewhere...and also when they leave, is a critical differentiator of the brand."

How are you leveraging arrival and departure moments to enhance your shopper engagement? These are bookend opportunities to reinforce a return. And really, is there a better way to influence shopper behavior than providing a positive end to their shopping experience?

While doing some research, I stumbled across this incredibly beautiful advertising campaign (mostly print advertising) for the Chamber ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The idea, by German art director Bjoern Ewers and copywriter Mona Sibia, is to bring viewers as close as possible to the music; visually representing its alluring drama through a brilliant, but unexpected perspective. Photographer Mierswa Kluska produced macro photographs taken inside the cramped spaces of instruments making their inner workings appear vast and spacious, almost as if you could walk around inside them. A violin, a cello, a flute, a guitar, and a pipe organ were some of the instruments used for this inspiring project. Check more of them out here. 

To get more inspiration and to learn more about our Charlotte Advertising Agency, stay tuned here each week, and check us out online at birdsonggregory.com.

birdsong gregory recently linked up with Tibor Nemeth Photography to document the tough people and tough environments in which GUNK products have been used for years and years. We captured some inspiring content, made some good friendships, and saw an alarming amount of Volvos in almost every garage we visited over the course of a week. We also noticed that something strange happens to a man after hanging out with greasy vehicles for a while. You somehow start to believe that perhaps you've got what it takes to do things like build a car from scratch, replace your alternator or do a break job yourself. Side effects include posing like a fool in front of machines you know nothing about.

The process of finding, selecting and purchasing a product continues to evolve. For the one or two regular readers of this blog (thanks Dad!), this should not be a new idea. What is new are the different technologies that lead this purchase evolution.

Because we live in the age that birthed Facebook and Twitter, it is easy to be skeptical when people talk about the "next big thing". And while VC's spend their days trying to find and fund the next, technology ultimately has its future determined by consumers wielding the power to select which of the many new innovations available will become adopted. 

Pinterest is emerging as one such technology.

On the surface, it is a pretty simple concept - this technology lets consumers create online boards, allowing the curation and sharing of different "pinned" inspirations, passions and products across the interwebs. What makes Pinterest a relevant technology for marketers and shopper marketers specifically is its ability to connect pinned interests to a purchase. According to a recent article, 21% of Pinterest account holders have made a purchase after seeing a product pictured on the site.

That is a pretty staggering fact - 1 in 5 users have purchased a product based on seeing it pinned somewhere by someone. This is the kind of organic word of mouth and authentic influence that is starting to build bottom lines. Forget point of sale, Pinterest is monitizing the point of interest. 

What does all this mean? A couple quick thoughts:

1. All technology is becoming shopper technology. The power is found in its ability to connect, inform and influence -- and like Pinterest, ultimately lead to a purchase (or Pinterest purchase, a pinchase?!)

2. Shopper behavior continues to move upstream. The most pinned items on Pinterest? 70% cite recipes and cooking. The impact of this will be felt downstream at your local grocery store.

3. Be authentic in your engagement. Brands are still figuring out how best to use Pinterest. What Pinterest forces brands to do is find their voice and curate the world based on values, perspective, or a point of view. If you don't have any of these established for your brand, start with your brand essence before you add in technology. 

Whether path of purchase or pin to purchase, your consumer continues to evolve their approach to purchase. How are you evolving your approach to understand and connect? We can help.

At birdsong gregory, we've never been overly concerned about winning awards. We figure the best demonstration of our success is keeping clients and earning new ones. So each year when the deadline nears for ADDY Awards submissions (the Oscars of the ad world), we carefully select only a few pieces of our more interesting work to enter. This past year we submitted five entries and it's rewarding to see that three of the pieces were selected - and all of them were awarded Gold (see our team celebrating above). The winning entries included trade show support for Bloom, a video animation for Resolute Forest Product and our own holiday card. Great clients let you create award-winning work, and we've got some of the best.

Chobani, the best selling yogurt in America and a new client of birdsong gregory, served up its delicious Greek yogurt at the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim last month. The trade show, attended by almost 60,000 industry professionals, provided a showcase for Chobani to unveil its new campaign, "It's crazy to love a yogurt this much" from Leo Burnett New York. Our team developed all the retail-facing sales materials and designed the Champions banners pictured above.

Our engagement with Chobani illustrates a great example of how birdsong gregory applies our specialized shopper marketing expertise to complement a national campaign. Find out more about our services at www.birdsonggregory.com

Just last week I started my classes at the Innovation Institue at the McColl Center here in downtown Charlotte. In just six days, this artist-lead program will "help unleash your imagination with a unique curriculum emphasizing creativity and innovation... using creativity as the catalyst for personal growth."

So far, after 2 classes I have realized 2 main things: ONE: Being artistic and being creative are two different things. Some people have both, and some people have one or the other or neither. TWO: Often times the way we think people "see" us individually is less based on reality and more based on a reflection of our own fears.... Deep thoughts by Leslie. Stay tuned to see where the next 4 classes take me.

In honor of Charlotte's Craft Beer Week this week, and based on my love of infographics and beer (not necessarily in priority order), I wanted to share the above. If this inspires you, feel free to check out the full documentary dedicated to this topic (also available for free on Netflix). So grab a pint of craft goodness - it does the world good.

Cheers!

Jeet Kune Do, or "style without style", was Bruce Lee’s very different way to approach martial arts. Boiled down to its essence, instead of approaching a conflict with an established set of tools, great martial artists should take on the attributes of water: fluid, flexible and adaptable.

Sounds pretty simple, right? And yet years after this philosophy was created, I am still amazed at how counter-intuitive it is - especially in business. By nature, our temptation is to try and apply past successes to future projects, as if we have the ability to create a framework for replicating greatness over and over. Yet regardless of how many times we try, this approach doesn’t work.

Why?

Because applying repetition to a process can cause situational blindness. It fails to recognize that every circumstance is different. Every project is different. Every team is different. Every shopper is different.

And these differences make all the difference.

This is especially true with shopper behavior. If you have been doing shopper marketing for any length of time, you find yourself leaning on previous experiences to contextualize current situations. It is too easy to quickly assess certain behaviors based on previously identified notions. This is especially true when you begin working in new categories with new shopper behaviors.

Yet I would challenge you to begin applying Jeet Kune Do to how you approach shoppers. Recognize the dynamic forces of retail, culture and economics at play in varying degrees in each situation. Jeet Kune Do calls us to begin with a willingness to learn, to view similar things in dissimilar ways.

As Lee put it, “I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds.” In other words, start looking for the differences that make all the difference. 

I had the privilege to be part of the round 2 judging panel in Chicago for the soon to be announced Shopper Marketing Effies. It was a nice opportunity to step away from daily work and not only review some great case studies, but dialog with fellow SM'ers about the work and the industry.

After investing a good amount of time reviewing a diverse group of case studies, I came away from the experience with four thoughts:

1. No one has the corner on the insights.

Insights aren't exclusive to one organization, category or brand. Insights don't have a preference towards organizational size or scale. While these may seems obvious, reviewing cases from both large and small companies was a refreshing reinforcement. I know this first hand, having moved from a large international ad agency in Chicago to a small agency in Charlotte two years ago. And I've loved the change, as I still deal in the currency of actionable insights. In fact, insights are even more valuable and critical here, as our work speaks louder than our brand.

2. A great insight doesn't need explanation.

While there were specific regulations as to what each case study should or shouldn't include, it was amazing how easy it was to pick out the great projects. They had the great insights and told a coherent story that was almost intuitive to arrive at. They didn't need a lot of further explanation or selling - their story wrapped up insights into powerful explanations of shopper behavior. Meanwhile, other cases used statistics, strategy or story to overcome their insight gap. 

3. Relevant Insights + Powerful Activation = Great Shopper Marketing.

SM has expanded beyond the four walls of retail. It is physical, it is digital, and it is experiential. And because of this, the litmus test of a great SM campaign is the combination of insights + activation. Too little of one of these causes the campaign to crumble. The work that ends up delivering the results we promise finds the perfect marriage of a relevant insight and powerful activation. Both have to hit the mark.

4. It is an awesome time to be a Shopper Marketer!

If you are looking for the ability to do the same thing continuously for the same result, a career in shopper marketing is not for you. Shopper Marketing is a career in constant evolution: the retailer pendulum continues to swing back and forth, economic pressures continue to shift shopper behaviors, and evolving technologies continue to change the path to purchase. All of this adds on layers of challenge and opportunity - it is truly a great time to be part of this industry! 

If you have been driving around South Charlotte recently you may have noticed a change in the scenery. Thanks to our client, Crescent Resources, our North Carolina ad agency has had the chance to go big & bold with an advertising campaign featuring some of their prime real estate properties around the greater Charlotte area. In addition to the billboards, we are also connecting with Crescent's target audience through targeted digital ads, websites, print advertising, direct mail, realtor events, social media and sponsorships. To check out a few of the properties and to see the new website, visit: chapelcove.com and springfield-crescent.com.

I stumbled across this beautiful piece while doing some research the other day, and I just had to share it. Peter and the Starcatcher, the story of Peter Pan before he became Peter Pan, is a new show coming to Broadway in March. Theatrical ad agency, Serino Coyne, was inspired by the set design, which is entirely crafted from recycled and rustic materials, and designed this identity with the help of artist, John W. Long (whose medium of choice is weathered wood). John built this piece by hand so that it would truly reflect the whimsy and craftsmanship of the set. It caught the attention of The New York Times, who posted this interview with John. For those of you who are regular readers, you know how much we at birdsong gregory appreciate good ideas and good craftsmanship, so this is a perfect example of the amazing things that can happen when creative people go back to the roots of good design, our minds and our hands. Check out the video of John in his studio in the hills of Vermont. So inspiring.