Turns out there are a lot of marketing dollars
being spent talking to the wrong person. There are millions of dollars targeted
to a consumer, who has been dutifully segmented by bank account, offspring, zip
code and degree level. But there hasn't been nearly enough time (or money)
spent on the shopper. This is a problem, especially when you consider the
shopper is the one who actually buys the product.
This was the first aha moment of many during
the recent Moosylvania Shopper Marketing training, energetically presented by
Hoyt & Company. Leading the field of shopper marketing, Hoyt & Co has
an all-star roster of CPG brands they've consulted over the past five years and
are the go-to experts for industry and national publications such as AdAge, BrandWeek and USA
Today. Probably their most noteworthy accomplishment is the fact that
consultants Chris Hoyt and Nancy Swift kept a room full of iphone/blackberry
junkies engaged and participating during an intensive two-day session.
Each and every Moosylvanian, along with a group
of special guests, learned the heart of
shopper marketing is achieving more than just the brand's goals. Flying in the
face of the old saying, "you can't please everybody," shopper
marketing aims to find the sweet spot for the three stakeholders in the retail
transaction: the retailer, the brand and the shopper. The right shopper
marketing activation will be a concept that benefits all.
It starts with understanding the consumer,
through all research avenues available (shop alongs, data, retailer insights)
and includes an understanding of their need state. After identifying the mutual
shopper (the brand's target consumer and the shopper loyal to retailer) and
their barriers to purchase, messaging is developed that leverages all the
intelligence gathered.
Like any good training, we got a heavy dose of
practical application under pressure. Bolstered by the compliments of Mr. Hoyt
and Ms. Swift, Moosylvania sets out to usher in a new era and a new way of
thinking for the benefit of our clients.
