Wake up your shoppers

Janet Oak
May 1, 2015
Daymon Worldwide
Daymon Worldwide recently funded a private brand inundation study to survey a demographically diverse and nationally representative group of consumers and track and record their experiences after two weeks of existing only on private brand products. Store Brands invited Daymon to share the key findings of the study with e-newsletter readers in several installments. This article is part one of Daymon’s findings.
Despite desires for “more” from the products and brands they choose, including authenticity, transparency and innovation, today’s time-starved consumers are often forced to relegate grocery shopping to a long list of to-dos. The result is that shoppers frequently walk the aisles on auto-pilot, habitually grabbing their usual basket items and, in some cases, missing opportunities to stop and engage with the new products and services being offered by retailers’ private brands.
In fact, grocery shoppers in our recent private brand inundation study admitted that grocery shopping has become so mind-numbingly routine, they hadn’t noticed the most of the private brands they were asked to purchase for the study, particularly in categories they’d never shopped before. This means that they’ve missed opportunities to engage with private brands and enjoy new experiences that could have been driving their loyalty in ways that go far beyond price.
A call for ‘positive disruption’
As private brand offerings continue to evolve and, in some cases, become even better options than national brand products, retailers have unique opportunities to create meaningful connections with key customers by offering “can’t get anywhere else” experiences that are particularly relevant to their particular lifestyle needs and desires.
What does this mean for retailers working hard to leverage their private brands as a means to drive long-term loyalty and sales? To wake up shoppers and increase their awareness about private brand advantages, retailers must find ways to positively disrupt their normal shopping routines.
Despite what many retailers have been groomed to believe, this disruption doesn’t necessarily require a marketing budget increase. Rather, it’s more important to strategically leverage the existing investment in private brands to create a more relevant, engaging presence.
For example, if a retailer is sampling a national brand salsa, it could pair it with organic private brand tortillas or showcase an exciting new savory flavor of private brand chips for dipping. It’s also useful to elevate the promotion across store communication platforms, including in-store circulars, merchandising, coupons and in store POS and signage, as well as website and social media outreach. By elevating the offering to the growing snacking occasion in a more compellingly consistent way, retailers give private brands a valuable plug.
Additionally, retailers could leverage nontraditional guerilla marketing efforts outside of what’s traditional or expected to create a “wow” effect that stops shoppers in their tracks. Examples include delivering surprising social media posts, displaying boldly designed floor stickers and graphics and hanging unusual in-store violators that call out interest pairings.
Another consideration is to tailor promotions that are especially interesting to specific store shoppers. For example, in 2014, Ahold ran the highly successful Stop & Shop “Buy Theirs, Get Ours Free Challenge,” enticing customers to give their private brands a try by offering them a free private label product with the purchase of its national brand equivalent. In fact, according to a proprietary study conducted by Daymon on behalf of one of our retailer partners, 83 percent of consumers who try a private brand will recommend it to friends and family. In many cases, they will also be more likely to try private brands in new categories, uncovering opportunities for retailers to connect with them to solve for more everyday needs.

Packaging counts, too
Private brand packaging provides another opportunity to turn shopper heads. Traditionally, private brands have purposefully downplayed their packaging graphics to communicate that they offer a better value than national brands. All of that is changing, however, as many private brands are now leading packaging innovation with break-through graphics, see-through and/or more sustainable packaging and personalized sizing options (single versus multi-pack serving). Again, it’s about grabbing consumer attention with something they can’t help but notice and will most definitely appreciate from their private brand choices.