Whose brand works best when it comes to attracting customers?

Jane Harper
January 09, 2014
Herald Sun

GLOSSY campaigns or word of mouth marketing? In-your-face audacity or gentle persuasion? When it comes to convincing still-cautious consumers to part with their hard-earned dollars, which retailers’ ad campaigns are opening wallets and which are getting lost in the noise?
The most fiercely fought battleground is arguably in the grocery aisles, as determinedly disloyal customers wait to be wooed by the best offer of the day.
But as supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths go head-to-head for the right to fill customers’ trolleys, branding experts say one clearly has the other on the ropes.
“Coles has made some very forward overtures to consumers, but it seems to have hit the Australian psyche,” Deakin University retail expert Steve Ogden-Barnes says.
“You can sum up Coles in two words, and those are: ‘Down Down’.
“What Woolworths is lacking in its marketing is personality.
“It has dabbled with a few different things but hasn’t really hit on a simple marketing message.
“It has played around the fringes but never actually stuck a flag in the sand and said: ‘This is what we are about’.”
Woolworths itself has admitted as much with chief executive Grant O’Brien in August conceding the group needed to rethink its marketing strategy.
Mr O’Brien said that while Woolworths’ prices were as low or lower than those offered by Coles, that was not necessarily reflected in the minds of shoppers.
“We have to do better in that respect,” Mr O’Brien said at the time.
It was not the first time the group found itself floundering in the wake of Coles’ relentless Down Down campaign, which was launched in June 2010.
Despite being the market leader, Woolworths appeared to be playing catch-up when a large green ‘Price Knockdown’ boxing glove appeared in 2011 in response to Down Down’s big red hand.
‘Honest to goodness family meals’ were launched the same year to counteract Coles’ ‘Feed the family for $10’ campaign, followed by a short-lived ‘My Family’ series of commercials.
Despite pledging not to follow Coles’ use of celebrity chefs, Woolworths soon had Margaret Fulton, Tobie Puttock and Guy Grossi on board as ambassadors.
It remains to be seen whether Woolworths’s latest ‘More Savings Everyday’ campaign – launched in May – will do the trick, but Mr Ogden-Barnes is unconvinced.
“More Savings Everyday is like a term from the 1890s,” he says.
“It’s very old school.”
Brand Intellect managing director Simon Rowell says Woolworths needs to make a decision about its traditional stance as the Fresh Food People.
The catchphrase, which is more than 25 years old, implies quality but also hints at associated higher prices.
“Woolworths comes across as premium but for many households, price trumps premium,” Mr Rowell says.
“Woolworths needs to look at the differentiation of offering value and quality for money. Value for money isn’t the same as being cheap.
“It needs to hold on to the fresh food positioning and maybe even strengthen that.
“But going head-to-head with Coles on price position probably won’t do it much good because Coles has got such a leader advantage.”
But rebranding a major retailer is easier said than done when the name is already firmly in the public consciousness.
Just ask Frank Morabito, founder of Spinach Advertising, which was tasked with putting a positive spin on the word ‘reject’ when it landed The Reject Shop rebranding account.
“The thing about The Reject Shop is if you were starting a business today, you probably wouldn’t put the word reject in the name,” Mr Morabito says.
“Everything has to stand for something but many people thought it stood for reject goods and that’s not the case.
“We took that as a starting point and tried to position it is as a place that allows you to reject what competitors do and reject traditional shopping ways and prices.”
Mr Morabito says the resulting ‘The savvy way to shop’ campaign was aimed at surprising potential new shoppers without alienating the existing customer base.
He adds that no rebranding could be successful without being able to deliver on its promise once shoppers set foot in the store.
“It’s critical to be able to back it up,” he says.
“You have to live it and you have to be evangelical about it.
“The product must meet the claims, otherwise it all falls over.”
IN CRACKING FORM: THE EXPERTS’ PICKS:
Myer: Its buttoned-down approach to marketing is trumping David Jones’ slightly stuffy image.
Aldi: Quiet achievers. The discount supermarket gets its message out quickly and people know what it stands for.
Cotton On: A beacon of corporate social responsibility through its ethical commitments and charity fundraising.
Zara: The international fashion powerhouse relies on its reputation. It has a marketing budget of virtually nothing and enjoys strong word-of-mouth promotion.
Bunnings: Its familiar jingle translates to longevity and trust in customers’ minds.
Apple: The omnipresent tech giant does very little advertising relative to its size, relying on customers to propel the hype.