FM 2023 complete (1) - Flipbook - Page 29
Sampling: Five Fulfil years
Back in March, FMBE ran a piece on Link
Communication and Fulfil Nutriton’s 5
years of sampling together. Sampling has
been a core part of the strategy for Fulfil
through a time that has seen the company
move from new listings aspirant to Ferrero
acquisition. Here’s another look at the
article.
shows to reach buyers. The truck has
formed a visual centrepiece of many
exhibitions and trade event days. This was
further enhanced with a giant Fulfil bar
permanently mounted to its roof acting as a
navigational beacon, towering over the
maze of other exhibition stands.
In addition, rather than wait for retail
buyers to visit the brand at trade shows,
sampling has enabled the trade show to
come to the head offices of grocery
multiples, convenience retailers and
wholesalers. Buyer engagement event days
Throughout this time, Fulfil has been using were used to attract interest outside of
prospective stockist HQs; and also to
sampling to achieve its rapid growth. From
further develop relationships within
the very start of this strategy, the brand
invested in the purchase of an eye catching existing stockists too.
sampling truck that has been with them
Driving Sales
every mile of their journey.
The truck has enabled sampling to drive
From launching into the UK five years ago,
Fulfil Nutrition has grown to be the fastest
selling healthy snack bar, selling over 200
million units and achieving acquistion by
confectionary giants Ferrero.
Getting Listed
To begin with, new listings were helped on
to shelf by activating at targeted trade
engage shoppers to prompt both trial
and purchases.
It’s been effectively utilised around
many Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Marks
& Spencer, Boots, WHSmith, Waitrose,
Welcome Break and independents
too.
Consumer Engagement
As a healthier snacking brand, Fulfil
has been able to sample to targeted
audiences across a wide range of
consumer events and aligned lifestyle
locations. Urban area parks, tough
mudders, half marathons, gyms,
sports events, music festivals,
university campuses, city centres and
fashionable suburbs have all been
reached across the UK.
direct sales and social media
amplification opportunities has helped
the brand experience live beyond the
event day itself.
Taken in sustained combination, the
above sampling strategies have played a
significant role to the brand’s success.
As Fulfil enters its new phase of
ownership under Ferrero, it will be
interesting to see how and where their
new owners will take the brand and the
truck, next.
Expending the event area beyond the
measurable rate of sales growth too. When truck with fun participatory games,
located around stores, its bold colours and
size pique curiosity of passing shoppers;
and the enthusiastic brand ambassadors
Sense launches Sense Retail
Sense, the brand experience agency has
announced the launch of a new retail
division, designed to help clients respond
to the ever-evolving retail landscape. A
highly experienced team with unique
insight into consumer shopping behaviour
based on decades of sector knowledge
has been appointed to run the division.
To help FMCG retail brands navigate an
increasingly complex and pressurised
environment, the new division offers a
range of services covering prize
promotions, shopper toolkits, key visual
creation, path-to-purchase comms,
category strategy, B2B campaigns and
Amazon optimisation – all designed to
convert sales through tried and tested
tools and techniques.
The move ramps up Sense’s already
strong brand offering and brings another
skillset for clients to lean on. Paul MillsHicks joins as Chairman with the former
Sainsbury’s Commercial Director saying;
“I wanted to work alongside a leadership
team with real ambition, dedicated to
pushing industry boundaries and helping
brands create richer, more personal and
more valuable consumer experiences.
Sense’s highly creative, innovative and
rigorous approach to marketing, where
the consumer takes centre stage and ROI
is king is really exciting.”
Mills-Hicks is joined by James Willoughby
who arrives at Sense from Initials to take
up the role of Head of Retail. Willoughby
spent over a decade leading the PepsiCo
shopper marketing account and helping to
develop many creative and strategic
campaigns for the FMCG powerhouse.
Willoughby summarises: “With many
clients now focused on activating in
channels more closely associated with a
sale, we saw an opportunity to provide a
more comprehensive solution for
brands that encompasses the moment
of truth at fixture. Our goal is to create
forward-thinking retail experiences that
deliver demonstrable brand value and
this is helped by having Paul’s vast
experience on tap. He, more than most,
has seen the good and bad from brands
attempting to activate in retail and can
quickly short cut to what retailers and
consumers want and demand. We will
be aiming to make ‘retail fail’ a thing of
the past for ambitious brands looking to
thrive in an ever-competitive landscape
and believe our streamlined team is
perfectly placed to do this”.
James will report into Nick Adams, CEO
of Sense, and will work closely with
Managing Director Sally McLaren. The
Division will also count on an
accomplished Account Director in Chris
MacRae.
To round things off, Sense have
consolidated a handful of strategic
relationships to build out their new
offering including one with Jeremy Garlick
and the team at Insight Traction. The
ex-Head of Insights for Sainsbury’s,
Waitrose and Premier Foods. has already
been working alongside Sense to provide
Category, Customer and Consumer
insights for some of their clients.
From left to right: Paul Mills-Hicks, Sally McLaren,
Chris MacRae, James Willoughby and Nick Adams
Summer 2023
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