FM 2023 complete (1) - Flipbook - Page 9
Creating engagement at
retail
As an agency with high profile retail clients including
TescoandSuperdrug,weoftengetaskedwhatN2Ois
doingthatmakesitstandoutforretailexperiencesand
what we can learn from them. So FMBE put the questions
to Julia Collis, Head of Client Services at creative brand
experienceagency,N2O.
What can a grocery brand do to make sure
that a sampled product creates purchases
for its brand and not for a competitor?
Most people in society seek convenience
and instant gratification. With the advent
of technology, especially the iPhone and
Amazon, where convenience and instant
gratification is the norm, our consumers
expect immediate payback too.
Tapping into this with brand experiences
allows sampled products to drive impulse
purchases as opposed to reaching for a
competitor on the shelf behind. Use
these experiences to highlight the
product’s USPs by showcasing quality,
health benefits or ethical practices, if
appropriate. In addition, gifts with
purchases are a great incentive to drive
sales for the brand rather than the
category.
What are the advantages of retail
experiences with nationwide reach?
Retail experiences create brand
awareness which goes beyond brand
recognition. You’ll develop relationships
and authentic connections with
consumers by getting boots on the
ground. Activations in-store drive wordof-mouth, spreading your brand’s
message beyond one singular
experience.
They also help you connect nonintrusively with consumers in the right
place at the right time – where they
shop, work, live and play. Engaging
customers in their comfort zone and on
their terms makes them more likely to
respond, resulting in more impressions
and increased ROI. Plus, allowing
shoppers to “try before they buy” can
significantly impact sales. For example,
80% of people say that live
demonstrations and free samples
significantly help define their purchasing
decision.*
and you’re broadening your reach to an
even wider audience and generating
unique consumer content.
What are the key triggers of shopper
engagement and excitement?
Creating a solid brand presence in-store
is equally important. Eye-catching
campaign elements throughout the store
will outshine competitor brands,
increasing the chance of being the go-to
choice for shoppers.
Keeping those connections formed
in-store alive post-campaign helps brands
to maintain the top spot. For example,
nurturing shopper relationships with a
follow-up thank you, a NOMP coupon or
extra information about the product
sampled keeps brands fresh in
customers’ minds when considering
future purchases.
Interactivity is crucial. Unique
experiences with elements of play that
create a buzz and draw a crowd naturally
breed excitement and engagement.
Using creative innovation to whip up outHowever, category growth (including
of-the-box activations gives customers
competitors) does have its advantages.
brand experiences they can’t miss out
First, it draws consumers to the category
on.
in the first place. Our job (on behalf of
Personalisation is a fantastic way to
the brand) is to find ways to engage and
excite shoppers. It helps them feel
excite the audience to stand out.
valued by the brand, driving long-term
loyalty. Then rewarding that loyalty within How does N2O help brands maximise
results and report benefits post-event?
the community – giving something for
nothing – helps to draw people back time
and again.
Of course, these points are all well and
good, but only if the experience
is relevant to them. Use insights to
pinpoint your audience and understand
their needs, fears and motivators, and
As a bonus – retail experiences play well
you’ll see higher engagement and
with other forms of marketing. Pair a
excitement as your activations feel
highly shareable in-store activation with
personal to them.
a social media campaign, for example,
Incentivising shoppers alongside a
fantastic experience helps to maximise
measurable results. For example, giftwith-purchase mechanics often see sales
increases of at least 20%. Instant win
games with a desirable headline prize
also see this growth too.
Face-to-face experiences, which allow
customers to try brands for free when
they’re ready to shop, see purchases
boosted to upwards of 40%.
N2O acts as the go-between for brands
and retailers, sharing and interpreting
retailer sales data to track post-campaign
effectiveness. Alongside leveraging hard
sales data, we’ve developed a data
collection process to gather on-theground anecdotal consumer feedback
with real-time insights, which is like gold
dust and is hugely informative for brandbuilding development.
Our sales data is highly detailed, from
demographics to average transaction
value. Plus, we tap into loyalty card data to
garner insight into repeat purchasing
habits. Finally, looking at the sample
conversion rate metric lets us evaluate
the effectiveness of how the experiences
drive sales for our clients.
We measure the cost of acquiring a new
customer through each sampling
campaign. This data allows us to evaluate
the overall ROI to guide brands’ future
budget decisions.
Our data process and insights reporting
always include a learnings section that
captures key findings about the
effectiveness of each experience and
recommendations for next time, thereby
refining and enhancing future campaigns
for that brand.
*EventTrack
Tesco Coronation
Team N2O were responsible for a large
multibrand nationwide tour for Tesco in
the run up the King’s Coronation. FMBE’s
Victoria Lloyd made it to the tour on the
day it reached Swindon reporting that the
shoppers of Swindon had blitzed the
cake stands by the time she got there.
Here are some photographs from an
experience that was easy to engage with
and made simple no fuss connections
that created a bit of extra pizzazz and
theatre for shoppers nationwide. Use the
search function at fieldmarketing.com
for the full story!
Summer 2023
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