Transcript Here
Harvesting <<Fields of Gold>> for Presented by David O’Sullivan, Director, Ignition – integrated ideas people Sean Collins, Head of CRM, Musgrave MRPI 2010 - Blood in the Emerald Aisles… For FMCG brands the ‘how much?’ question meant immediately that price was the weapon of choice and brand position were up for grabs... When everyone competed on Price, this made inroads into the Brand... Bye-bye brand equity The consumer, whilst in the market for VALUE, was faced on occasion with choice paralysis. If seduced by price alone this sometimes meant that what they opted for in the end wasn’t quality and was neither locally or nationally sourced. There was a need for an emotional differential based on genuine and trustworthy ‘shared value motives’ which SuperValu developed through Real Rewards... Whilst brands are not in a position to change the country, there was a vacuum of sorts that they could fill, which was perhaps be to their long-term advantage in making themselves ‘at home’ with Irish families and develop and bed-down future post-crash Loyalty So what is Loyalty? Loyalty by its nature is a higher human emotion and is more complex than is given credited for by marketers. The word itself in a marketing context is invested with meaning, but in all but a few cases is lost in translation and should be called what it actually is: a Retention or Reward program, where a financially based benefit is linked to customer purchase. Real life long loyalty to a brand is based not just on money, or reward, but where shared values exist between the customer and the fundamentals of what a brand is offering and promising. It is fundamental and personal Shared values could be anything from; technical excellence, peerless customer service, in-depth customer knowledge, altruistic or ethical product support or community based initiatives. 21st Century Loyalty... Cupboard Love? In the relationship between retailer and customer, the honeymoon is over and the relationship has been clearly defined for both parties. They each know their roles and they both know what’s expected of them. Whether it’s an equal relationship is questionable, but it’s definitely an open relationship as far as consumers are concerned. Within the grocery retail market, shoppers are increasingly promiscuous and it is now commonplace for people to have at least two reward/loyalty or maybe more. << Pushing the Envelope to share the values >> Loving Data from the 1st Date, means loving the customer for ever Addressing the quality of your Data isn’t exactly up there with swimming with Dolphins... It’s is the marketing equivalent of joining a gym, starting a diet and giving up cigarettes ...All at once Direct Mail… SuperValu’s Stealth Weapon In the best sense of Direct Marketing, Real Rewards direct mail campaigns were Accountable Measurable Trackable Traceable Key to their role was to be an effective marketing stealth weapon that maintained the strategic initiative with SuperValu at a time of intense market competition and intense consumer expectation. Those consumers were targeted and the offers developed from data-mining and analysis of previous and projected purchase behaviour and current competitor activity. This resulted in highly personalised, data segmented and targeted campaigns that delivered 2D (now 19 digit) barcoded spend-related Vouchers, with money off Coupons. This was sent directly to the consumer in an uncompetitive environment (their homes), where engaging copy could do the talking and close the sale. This was achieved without Competing Retailer Brands having any knowledge of The Volume of people mailed The Target profile(s) of the consumers The level of money off values in the Voucher offering The spend required to use the Vouchers Competitors could only react late and not with the full picture about the size of the activity and what financial or marketing resources they should use to counter it. They were therefore reactive rather than strategic Data + Marketing = Database Marketing If marketers continue to let IT manage the data, long-term this is a flawed strategy because it ignores one key truth which is that data is, of itself, a creative element, beginning with the developing multi-dimensional profile of customers we can select to target, right through to the translation of this information into a direct and believable communication with an engaged audience. This isn’t junk mail, or junk anything, but the way products or brands can talk to consumers through a channel that has been specifically tailored to the customer and to address their needs, personally. Data should be at the creative centre of a DM campaign and if properly developed, maintained and analysed, can be a treasure trove of potent ideas that bring brands closer to customers as individuals for a more long term, profitable relationship. The key creative enhancement of data lies in the endless possibilities for personalisation and the developing rapport and brand loyalty it builds with customers. Using Data as a Creative Element If we think of design as a static visual creative element, the combination of data, copy and personalisation are the active creative elements that change for each individual, delivering the brand’s overall message and tone of voice, but tweaked with different customer specific information held in data fields. Letter to ‘do all the talking’ as a vehicle to connect and involve Real Reward shoppers in value voucher offerings through a high degree of variable alphanumeric data, within a simply tailored and highly personalised letter format. Letters harnessed the potent and powerful impact of conversational copy with the data, in a template format originating from each Local Store/Manager, that welcomed, engaged & incentivized each type of Real Rewards shopper. So what does this active creative say about a brand? It’s real impact is how it conveys a brand’s unspoken expertise, the knowledge it has about the consumer when high level personalisation dovetails with copy and the manner in which an offer or promotion is delivered in a conversational tone to each person, that makes them want to buy. Managing the Superquinn changeover Showing the Love...personally Welcome Back to better shopping! A Big THANK YOU Offer & Competition in mailing insert Why Direct Mail as a medium? If we were to invent Direct Mail as a medium today that could… Communicate directly with a pre-selected target audience Deliver an individually tailored, personalised sales message to them At a time of your choosing, Without competitor knowledge At a place where the consumer is at their most receptive In an environment without distractions …The question is whether people on LinkedIn would start asking if this medium was dead or suggest it was no longer relevant?... No Junk Mail… More Direct Mail, More Loyalty! Over the last few years direct mail has really got its house in order and become more streamlined in its approach. Campaigns are now more strategic, more focused and are more integrated with other channels. The reason people are receiving less mail is not because this is a less effective medium, but paradoxically because it has reacted to what he market needs. It is now much better at targeting potential customers because of an increased emphasis on data and the ability to segment different layers of shopper types. Consequently, there’s less junk, more sales, more loyalty and even better ROI. It’s the brand delivering its C.V., and highlighting its understanding of the customers’ needs in a manner and tone that suggests something more solid, trustworthy and less fleeting than other channels... It is the segmentation provided by customer insights, targeted within regular value lead, personalised and relevant communication, that engenders Loyalty over time. Thank you for listening!