Point Of Sale

There was an interesting article in the NY Times the other day about how luxury brands that formerly eschewed the the online retail world are now flocking to it in droves. it seems that before the Great Recession of 2009, retail brands like Hugo Boss or Marc Jacobs felt the proletarian warrens of the Web was no place to sell very expensive, very exclusive products like a $500 shirt or a $3000 handbag. In 2009, as the worldwide luxury-goods industry fell 8%, online sales were forecast to grow 20%.

But now, these ritzy brands are taking the plunge, and enjoying the benefits of a clickable environment: low overhead, no middleman, social networking opportunities, etc. And although I don't buy clothes that cost more than a week at the beach, if I won the lottery tomorrow, I think I'd prefer to shop for pricey labels online in my ratty pj's rather than have to endure the snooty atmosphere of a high-end bricks-and-mortar boutique. 

Shopper Marketing tends to focus on using shopper insights to enable selection at the point of sale. However, in categories that are complex, overwhelming or otherwise hard to navigate, enabling deselection is just as important. You have to enable your shoppers to deselect what they don't want before they are able to select what they want. I learned this lesson while working on Millstone, at the time a P&G premium coffee brand. In an intimidating category like premium coffee, we found that organizing the shelf based on shopper insights gained from research brought about more clarity and ultimately, more sales.

The above picture is a fun way to approach another category that can be intimidating - wine. Press in Charlotte, NC chose not to take the typical approach to categorizing wines by regions or varietals, instead creating fun categories based on what the shopper will experience. Deselection ultimately should enable better and faster selection and in this example, narrow down a large wine list into a smaller set of relevant options.

 

 

A recent study of over 1500 consumers by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies found that if a brand has a social media presence, then 60% of its Facebook fans and 79% of its Twitter followers are more likely to recommend that brand since becoming a fan or follower. Considering Facebook’s over 400 million users, the opportunity is great for social media marketers.

 

While social media is not the shopper marketing silver bullet that some pundits claim it to be, it is an extremely important and relatively low cost touch point that has a direct impact on sales and positive word of mouth. In fact, companies not actively engaging are missing a huge opportunity and are saying something to consumers – intentionally or unintentionally- about how willing they are to engage on consumers’ terms.

 

The study also uncovered perceptions among consumers that those brands not engaging in social media are out of touch. Below are some answers to the question “What does it say about a brand if they are not involved with sites like Facebook or Twitter?”

• “It’s EXPECTED that a company have some digital face – whether it’s on FB or Twitter I don’t know – but they need a strong electronic presence or you doubt their relevance in today’s marketplace.” Female 50-54
   
• “Either they are not interested in the demographic that frequents Facebook and Twitter or they are unaware of the opportunity to get more exposure in a more interactive method.” Male 35-39
   
• “It shows they are not really with it or in tune with the new ways to communicate with customers.” Female 18-24.
   
• “If they’re not on Facebook or Twitter, then they aren’t in touch with the “electronic” people.” Female 55-59

One of our favorite advertising clients is Bloom, a different kind of grocery store. On March 17th they will open a new flagship store in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood. There is a lot of excitement around this opening because Bloom is introducing novel shopping conveniences that are new to the brand. This store will have one of the largest selections of Gluten free products anywhere, a convenient drive through pharmacy and eventually "pick and click" online shopping. Bloom is all about providing Guests a convenient shopping experience, and we play a significant role in communicating these features to shoppers in the store environment through point of sale materials and consumer promotions. As you can see from the picture above, with less than 5 days to opening, there's a lot of work to be done. Stay tuned....

Eat the one you're with! That’s the plan for the state of Louisiana anyway.

The Silver Carp has become a big issue here in the US. These fish were originally brought over to the United States to help control algae growth in wastewater treatment facilities but escaped into the wild pretty quickly. These fish grow and reproduce rapidly and have taken over many bodies of water and they frequently starve other species by eating all of the plankton in the water. Not only that, they tend to jump out of the water when disturbed presently a pretty nasty safety issue for people travelling in open boats or on tubes. While I've never experienced it, I can't imagine anything much worse than a high velocity fish to the face.

How does this have anything to do with Shopper Marketing, POS Design or anything else we do here? Well instead of trying to poison the fish or block their movement- they're going to eat them! Described as a taste combining Scallops and Crab Meat, the goal is to get people to like, and subsequently eat more of, this fish. That means there will be naming (Silver fin is what they are calling it), point of sale displays, advertising and all the other good stuff that comes along with selling a new product. When the fate of a body of water is resting on how well a product is recieved, the message and the method become even more important.

We applaud the novel (private) approach to a big problem.  Speaking of which- anyone in Charlotte want to start selling those pesky Cankerworms as snacks? Anyone?

birdsong gregory announces the opening of a new Shopper Marketing division focused on helping retailers and brands influence shopper behavior at the store level. With nearly 70% of consumer purchase decisions made at the point of sale, retailers, manufacturers, and brands need creative, effective ways to enhance the shopping experience and lift sales. Our deep expertise in retail communications and in-store branding will help clients tackle these challenges and create shopper-centric solutions that drive trips, grow basket size, and build brand loyalty. See the complete details here http://bit.ly/5cHliD

Social media marketing has officially become a business. Many in the industry would argue that it’s been a business for years, but until recently it has been a little hush-hush. If you were to count the number of people claiming to be social media gurus, experts, marketers, or strategists a year ago, it would have probably been in the hundreds.

Today, it’s in the tens of thousands, including Charlotte ad agencies and marketing groups.

So if your company is considering moving a few marketing dollars online (where you get a lot more bang for your marketing buck), you need to decide whether to do it yourself, hire someone to do it in-house, or outsource it to a branding agency that can create and execute an effective social media marketing strategy.

Rather than go into a long description of each option, here is a simple “pros and cons” analysis. And here’s a disclaimer, as a member of a Charlotte branding and marketing agency, I am biased towards outsourcing. Our company is scalable to the point that we can handle any client’s online marketing needs however basic or complex. However, this post is intended to be informative – not a sales pitch – so here are some points to consider:

Option 1: Hire Someone to Work Exclusively for Your Company

PROS

• Direct control over the messages, branding, and promotions
• Dedication – an employee with one company in mind will be more interested in the success of that company than a social media firm with many clients
• An ability to keep a finger on the pulse of employees themselves and turn company anecdotes and internal debate into viral content

CONS

• Expense to search for, hire, train, and pay a full-time employee
• Sick days? Vacations? Accidents? Resignation?
• Lack of expertise – while there are exceptions, those who are good enough to truly understand and utilize the power of social media marketing are not going to take a “job” when they know they can make more money as part of a team working with multiple companies and consolidating the efforts whenever appropriate.
• In the viral marketing aspect of social media, one person is not able to create the level or volume of branded online marketing content that an experienced branding and marketing agency can

Option 2: Hire an Agency That Does Social Media Marketing

PROS

• Leaving it to the experts – a few social media strategy firms really know what they’re doing. They’ve accumulated the resources, accounts, profiles and contacts to take campaigns to the top, to properly build company-related social media assets, and to get the buzz heading in the right direction.
• Cost – It’s normally less expensive to hire a firm to do social media marketing compared to hiring an individual or team to work exclusively for a company.
• Set goals and monitor result  – for most companies, the convenience of being able to set the direction, sit back, and wait for results is extremely appealing.
• Changing landscape – social media sites change their procedures regularly. What works today to get a front page story on Digg or massive “retweets” on Twitter may not work tomorrow. A company who is deeply embedded, who breaths social media every day, can be a tremendous benefit.

CONS

• There are thousands of companies and individuals offering social media marketing services who can’t spell “Digg” or “Flickr”.
• Trying to distinguish between the handful of talented, results-focused firms and the thousands of ad agencies that have simply added the words “social media marketing” to their list of services.

Option 3: Do It Yourself of Add it to the Workload of a Current Employee

PROS

• Cheap – all it takes is time

CONS

• Cheap – all it takes is time, a LOT of time.
• Lack of experience – there are guides, ebooks, and blogs on how to implement proper social media strategies. Some work – most don’t.
• Poor execution – having a poorly run social media strategy is worse than not having one at all.
• Regardless of what you choose, try to stay flexible. It’s important to know when something isn’t working as well as it should be.

To learn more about the branding, marketing, advertising, and design services our agency offers, please visit birdsong gregory online, contact Jim Cusson at 704-332-2299, or stop by the next time you’re in downtown Charlotte.

Facing paper-thin profit margins on a lot of what they sell, grocery stores rely on private label brands to drive revenue and provide customers with a lower cost, same-quality alternative to big national brands. So to improve margins and raise customer perception, Food Lion, the internationally-owned grocery store company headquartered outside of Charlotte, asked birdsong gregory to create a comprehensive promotion for its new private label brands, including their in-store line of household items. The result? The rebranded “Home 360º” launched with a POS advertising campaign to tout the benefits of  “cool products with hot prices.”

To learn more about the branding, marketing, advertising, and design services our agency offers, please visit birdsong gregory online, contact Jim Cusson at 704-332-2299, or stop by the next time you’re in downtown Charlotte.

Facing paper-thin profit margins on a lot of what they sell, grocery stores rely on private label brands to drive revenue and provide customers with a lower cost, same-quality alternative to big national brands. So to improve margins and raise customer perception, Food Lion, the internationally-owned grocery store company headquartered in North Carolina, asked our branding agency to create a comprehensive promotion of its new private label brands, including health and beauty. To competitively position these products above national brands in the minds of consumers, birdsong gregory developed more sophisticated, female friendly POS advertising campaign built around a “good for body, good for your bottom line” theme.

To learn more about the branding, marketing, advertising, and design services our agency offers, please visit birdsong gregory online, contact me at 704-332-2299, or stop by the next time you’re in downtown Charlotte.