A study launched by Gekko titled ‘Service not Sci-fi’, reveals that UK shoppers would rather deal with real people not robots or artificial intelligence when it comes to shopping.

The study found that 81% of UK shoppers claim the personal touch has disappeared from retail customer service in modern Britain, with almost a third (32 percent) blaming an over reliance on technology for this decline. Half of those polled think that companies in the UK are using technology to save money, rather than improve customer experience.

Despite living in a world driven by technology, most people don’t want technology at the sacrifice of humans’ opinions and experience.  Only 30 percent said they would like to see ‘smart pricing’ initiatives adopted by retailers, where prices change in real time depending on demand, 22 percent smart mirrors that show a 360 view of themselves, 16 percent a virtual reality changing room, 14 percent augmented reality to help visualise products in the home and 9 percent a talking robot assistant.

When it comes to buying online, 43 percent of UK shoppers have had their screen freeze while trying to make a purchase, so when asked what makes a great bricks and mortar shopping experience, 49 percent of those polled said it was down to having good staff on the shop floor, staff that know the products (49 percent) and staff that go the extra mile (47 percent). Coupled with this, 61 percent of the nation would prefer to deal face to face when complaining, 59 percent when enquiring or trying to find out more about a product and 73 percent when getting a refund.
And businesses take heed – a third of Brits say that the personal touch is more likely to make a repeat purchase, and more than a fifth (22 percent) claim they always spend more money in a shop if they are served by a good assistant, incrementally adding to sales. Over a third (34 percent) of shoppers stated that a poor experience has driven them to buy from another retailer.

The research also highlights the impact of the decline of the local shop, with a quarter of Brits saying they miss shopping somewhere where people recognise them, 16 per cent confessing they preferred the days when they could talk through a purchase with a someone in-store, and a quarter saying online shopping is less fun than buying something in a real shop.  The convenience of a store’s location is also stated as important by 43 per cent of respondents which means that as retailers consolidate their estates, many will notice the effects, further emphasising the need to carefully consider the experience being provided in-store and the staff needed to deliver the experience.

According to the research, we waste almost an hour and a half a month – which is 17 hours a year, the equivalent of more than two days at work – interacting with automated technology, only for a human to have to step in and help.

Bug bears include getting someone to rectify a problem with the self-service checkout, and ringing customer services and dealing with a recorded voice, only to repeat the details to the person you end up talking to.

It’s little wonder, then, that 51 percent of Brits have slammed the phone down during an automated call, as the system didn’t recognise what they were saying.  And 47 percent of shoppers have experienced self-service checkout failure that’s had to be rectified by a shop assistant.

In fact, more than three quarters (77 percent) of UK shoppers admit they’d much rather use a checkout with a person on it, rather than taking the self-service option.  More than 4 in ten (43 percent) British shoppers would rather speak to a person than an automated system when making a phone enquiry, with almost a quarter (23 percent) ending up having to complain on social media when their query hasn’t been responded to via the automated service.

Daniel Todaro, MD of Gekko said: “Everyone is talking about technology and innovation within retail, but our research clearly shows that what consumers really want is the human touch.  With traditional retail under more pressure than ever and an astonishing 81% of people feeling that the personal touch has disappeared from shopping, businesses need to focus on the customer experience in these tough trading times to help keep the high street alive.”

By understanding your brand, its target audience and your channel, Gekko Field Marketing are able to create campaigns and strategic teams that actively enhance the shopper journey and increase profitability within crowded categories.

The omni-channel continues to drive change within traditional retail, and through our research and understanding of high ticket, considered purchases, we help brands complete the customer journey from ATL to purchase. Gekko deliver insightful and effective Field Marketing solutions, converting shoppers into customers of your brand.

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Travel can help engage consumers by putting unusual and unexpected incentives at the heart of marketing campaigns, says Amy Nield, Head of Prize at Sodexo

The world’s a crowded place, isn’t it?

Think about it. What was your last trip really like? What really stood out for you? It may have been the giant cruise ship that suddenly sailed into town, emptying its hold of minions armed with selfie sticks, cluttering up cafés and restaurants in their wake.

It may have been the daily fight for a sunbed by the pool.

Or it may have been a seemingly endless traffic jam to nowhere. Too much? Well, it seems UK holidaymakers are putting busy touristy destinations behind them and looking closer to home for more bespoke travel experiences. And they’ve got one thing in common: they want a great experience.

We’ve just published a report –  our ‘2018 Sodexo UK Exploring Travel’ e-book – which reveals that promotional marketing expectations are at an all-time high and the competition for consumer attention is fiercer than ever before. It’s up to marketers to deliver on these expectations to create maximum stand out.

If you put experiences at the heart of your campaign, you can engage consumers and truly take your brand places.

In fact, ‘experience’ is driving customer engagement in brand marketing like never before. For this reason, travel promotions can give marketers the edge they need to help their offering stand out in an increasingly noisy and saturated world. But they need to be unique and they need to be immersive.

So how can you beat the crowds and take your consumers on a brand journey they’re unlikely to forget in a hurry?

Unexpected experiences a marketing necessity

According to the British Tourism and Travel Show, not only do “33% of consumers put ‘exploring new places’ as their main motivator for travelling,” but “93% of Destination Marketing Officers consider experiences ‘important’ or ‘vital’ to consumer decisions.”

It’s not enough for UK travellers to want to go to see a new city. They want to book an experience to shout about while they’re there, too.

For marketers who wish to influence behaviour change, it means looking beyond the obvious. If you’re thinking about a standard giveaway that on paper seems reasonable enough, you need to look again.

It’s about doing something different, creating a promotion that reaches the right audience, at the right time, and stopping consumers in their tracks.

If you’re beginning to perspire with anticipation, please don’t fret.

An ‘unexpected’ travel prize incentive doesn’t have to break the bank. Long gone are the days when only a beautiful Caribbean beach would cut the billboard. Today’s holidaymakers are a more varied bunch.

Now it’s all about what you do, not where you do it.

The West Country – but not as you know it

Perhaps it’s down to the fact that many of us have long been accustomed to making the most of cheap no-frills air carriers, but domestic tourism is facing somewhat of a renaissance. ABTA is even reporting that UK demand is set to grow even more this year.

In fact, as Sodexo’s research reveals, “84% of people are considering, planning or have already taken a UK overnight break outside of their home county in 2018.”

Smart marketers can use this thinking to create an affordable and impactful promotional campaign that taps into our love of experiences and a desire to stay closer to home. So, where to next? Now that’s a question.

Our research reveals that while “London may be the number one UK destination for International visitors… it’s the South West of England that ranks highest for domestic tourists (Barclays).” Ah, we can almost smell the pasties.

The off-season is now the on-season, promising quieter towns, villages and roads, along with a less stressful experience for those seeking to get away from it all.

So-called summer destinations such as St Ives boasts indoor cultural treats such as The Tate St Ives; Penzance offers the all year round wild cookery school ‘Fat Hen’ and vibrant arts city Falmouth offers fantastic festivals every month of the year.

UK consumers may love the West Country, but if you can tie your travel prize incentives into latest trends coming from that part of the world, you’ll turn heads more than, say, offering a singular surfing trip in Newquay might do.

And on that note, is now a good time to mention targeting? Think about who you want to impress and you’ll find there’s a whole world of possibilities available.

All about the bragging rights

Whatever it is, it seems consumers are looking for something a bit different. They’re looking at new destinations, perhaps to beat the crowds and find their own way when it comes to holiday planning.

There’s big head-turning kudos for brands who actively engage consumers by helping them to boost those all-important bragging rights.

If you can create the feeling that your promotion is something new, something unheard of, you’ll do well to create maximum stand out.

Our report says ABTA nods to several major cultural anniversaries and events which are set to help cement the UK as the most popular destination [for Brits] overall for holidays in 2018:

• Bristol hosts the 40th anniversary of its world-famous Balloon Fiesta.
• Liverpool will mark 10 years since its successful bid to become European Capital of Culture.
• Several cities including Manchester, Oxford, London and Leeds have gallery take overs and other cultural events to mark the centenary of the Women’s Vote.

By building travel incentives in around events such as these, brands can find ways to tie their marketing ideas in via timely, eye-catching creative and thoughtful messaging.

Five go mad off the beaten track

Here are five more off-the-beaten-track UK travel ideas for weird, wacky and wonderful weekend breaks that may whet even the most seasoned traveller’s appetite and won’t burn the promotional budget – but don’t try them all at once, kids:

• Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire

Who wouldn’t want to chase a rolling cheese wheel down a hill for a laugh? Well, maybe not all of us, but adrenaline junkies will love it. And for spectators, the event is guaranteed to be a memorable one. Just imagine the cheesy craic in the local taverns and inns afterwards.

• Oyster Festival in Whitstable

A foodie break to the seaside town of Whitstable is a mouth-watering delight. Throw in a quirky overnight stay in alternative accommodation such as the Fisherman’s Huts, and you’ve got a veritable feast for the senses.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/whitstable/news/oyster-festival-dates-revealed-157394/

• The Highland Games, Braemar

If you can’t wait for Tokyo 2020, how about the UK’s answer to the Olympics instead? The Highland Games take place every summer – think kilts, cabers and ceilidhs. Add in a trip to a whisky distillery or see where all the action from James Bond’s Skyfall took place.

• The Night Carnival, Glastonbury

Somerset plays host to a wonderful and wacky night carnival every November. Like something out of a picture book, this type of event will seriously capture your audience’s imaginations. Attract customers with a night at nearby hot spot, Babington House, or a hotel and spa in beautiful Bath.

• The Green Man Festival, Brecon

Nothing says fun like a fabulous festival, but with so many out there, it’s important you align your brand with a high-quality, absorbing experience. The Green Man is Times’ columnist Caitlin Moran’s festival of choice and one that boasts something for everyone. Dial up the experience with a bell tent and hot tub and you’ll have instant promotional success.

The best incentive for social media marketing

We could go on. We won’t. The point is, if you take your brand promotion to the lesser known parts of well-loved locations, you’ll not only surprise and inspire your audience, but you’ll start some fantastic conversations – which hopefully will be shared on social media.

Travel incentives, such as an unusual, fun-filled weekend away, are perfect for social media, and your bespoke travel prize draw could be the perfect complement to fast-moving promotional platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest.

Ultimately, wherever you decide to take your consumer campaigns, the ‘experience economy’ is where it’s at. Take it out of the mundane and into the wild, unexpected, authentic and unusual, and you’ll entice customers by the bucket and spadeful.

After all, it’s the road less travelled that’s leading to travel promotion gold. Keep that front of mind and you’ll soon be creating customer engagement that’s well and truly worth the ride.

Amy Nield, Head of Prize at Sodexo. Part of Sodexo Employee and Consumer Engagement, Sodexo’s Neon solutions drive consumers to your brand – and keep them coming back. As consumer engagement specialists, we know how to influence behaviour. From building brand awareness to driving consumer loyalty, our unique mix of expertise means we can transform the way people interact with your brand.

The ‘2018 Sodexo UK Exploring Travel’ report can be downloaded for free from the Sodexo site.

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We are seeing a resurgence of on-pack offers, says Paul McGann of marketing agency Brass

From movie downloads to cuddly toys, family holidays to festivals, it seems to me more and more packs have added a ‘Win’, ‘FREE’ or ‘Collect’ message on them. It’s about time!

For years, many food and drink brands have been in a race to the bottom, repeatedly slashing prices to justify a space on shelf and generate any sales growth at all. It wasn’t sustainable and it is increasingly ineffective. In some FMCG categories, over 75% of volume is now sold at a discounted price and shoppers are being trained to only buy when there’s a deal.

Meeting demand for ever lower price points against rising ingredient and production costs means something has to give, and in many cases it’s food quality, or marketing, or both. In doing so, brands sign their own death warrant and fall victims of Project Reset or the latest retailer range rationalisation. Who needs a brand when some own label is perceived to be lower price and better taste?

I think it’s time for brands to fight back. Add value, don’t erode it. Justify your superiority and price premium in the category. Your packaging is one area of shopper marketing activation you can actually control consistently. It is your best salesperson.

Brands can leverage this direct-to-shopper channel with promotional propositions on-pack that really help them stand out in a sea of sameness. Deliver messaging beyond the functional that engages and excites shoppers browsing the fixture. The best on-pack activations mean we throw rational thinking out of the trolley in a desperate attempt to ‘win a Disneyland holiday’ or ‘get tickets to that exclusive gig’.

And they grow sales. Well executed, you can expect sales uplifts in excess of 20%.

In fact on-pack activity can deliver a number of your marketing and sales objectives cost effectively. They help you reinvigorate tired impulse brands. For under a penny a pack, you can attract new buyers and grow household penetration. Build purchase frequency and rate of sale. Secure extra display. Encourage cross sell. Even reward loyalty. They are the perfect communication platform to build a deeper conversation with your shoppers and consumers.

Of course there are plenty of on-pack campaigns that miss the mark. Shoppers are savvy these days and wary of activations offering just a few top prizes with a one in a million chance of winning! Similarly, technology for technology’s sake can sometimes get in the way of a great promotion – be sure your audience will bother to download the App to enter using that clever Augmented Reality experience you spent most of the budget on.

If you are thinking about going on-pack in 2019, here are some things to think about:

1.     Theme – use shopper insight to find the most motivating promotional messages

2.     Awareness – consider the path to purchase, how will a shopper see the activity?

3.     Stand-out, not standard – be creative with the on-pack design to maximise impact

4.     User Experience – make the entry mechanic simple and appealing for the target audience

5.     Reward the many, not the few – think how you can add value for as many shoppers as possible

6.     Amplify – use all your brand channels to bring the activation to life

With many of the big retailers and brands back in growth, I sense optimism slowly returning to the UK grocery market. I hope this observation inspires you to give on-pack activations a go in 2019 and I look forward to seeing you ‘on shelf!’

Paul McGann is Managing Partner at Brass Agency. Brass is a multi-award-winning full-service marketing agency with expertise in strategic thinking and delivery and specialist skills in digital, advertising, design, PR, SEO, media, shopper, consumer insights, brand engagement and promotional marketing. Clients include Coty, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Perrigo and Burton’s Biscuits. This comment originally appeared on the Brass website.

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Agile start-ups are subverting the grocery aisles – older brands must learn their tricks to stay ahead of them, says Sam Bannister of Brass Agency

You only have to explore a few aisles of a supermarket to see that we’re in a golden age for ‘challenger brands’ – the fast-moving, agile start-up brands that are changing the norms of grocery shopping. From Fever Tree in drinks, passing by Propercorn in snacking, Freaks of Nature in chilled and Halo Top in frozen.

Even the trip to the supermarket itself is being challenged, if we think about brands like HelloFresh and Gousto.

But how is this possible? How can these young companies, often crowd-funded and with limited budget, take on the might of established FMCG companies? We believe three factors play a key role in this disruption:

An intuitive sense of consumer needs and trends.

These new challenger brands are often created in response to a specific gap in the market and, as such, often exploit a new and burgeoning demand from consumers. Be that healthy, local, artisan, or free from, they find a void and fill it quickly, benefiting from being first to market. Part of the joy of shopping is discovering a new brand that better meets your needs. Sainsbury’s are playing back this sentiment with news that more help will be given to help incubate start-ups, including listings, mentoring, free Nectar data, and even equity for exclusivity.

The ability to be agile.

Not constrained by large estates, legacy systems and (dare we say it) bureaucracy, challenger brands have the ability to be much more flexible and entrepreneurial in the way they operate. Whether this is product innovation or packaging design, they implement change in a fraction of the time that a more established brand may be able to.

A mastery of marketing direct to consumer.

Quick to embrace digital-first, challengers are often bold and creative in their marketing. Not afraid to experiment with guerrilla tactics and social media channels to shout about how well they understand consumers and, in turn, build a strong connection.

So that’s it, then? If your brand has been around a while, it’s doomed? Well, we’d argue that this is very much not the case. All of this artisanal craftsmanship and soy-replacement has to be balanced out with something else, right? Heritage brands possess attributes that don’t come easily to challenger brands:

Familiarity

Status to a large audience – heritage brands often have latent awareness, and media spend may be more effectively deployed to reach a mass audience

Inherited affinity

Whether it is inherited from parents or siblings, or recommended by friends and colleagues, heritage brands that consumers ‘grow up’ with are very often adopted into their adult households

Emotional attachment

It might be the jingle. Maybe it’s the smell. It might even just be that you’ve seen the brand on almost every single trip to a supermarket. Heritage brands have the ability to stir powerful consumer emotion through nostalgia.

The goodwill of heritage itself

Being around for a long time can carry weight. It suggests a brand has stood the test of time, consistently delivering quality and consistency… an elevated status. This can be very powerful if used correctly, particularly in categories where purchase frequency is low.

So what does this mean for heritage brands?

In short, there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ solution for a heritage brand to remain contemporary and relevant. But it’s imperative that they are dynamic in their marketing, and here are some pointers for thought:

• Don’t disregard what your brand has done well for so long; but at the same time learn from what the challengers are doing well
• Place the consumer at the heart of your brand. Gain insight from them, and use it to your advantage
• Understand not just current trends in the marketplace, but also what the future might look like – where next?
• Innovate, innovate, innovate. In product, flavour, packaging and marketing.
• Reflect the excitement that consumers have been trained to expect, but do it in your own way
• Be bold, and challenge the norms. In outward communication with consumer, but also through internal practices
• Innovate some more!

Sam Bannister is Head of Insight at Brass Agency. Brass is a multi-award-winning full-service marketing agency with expertise in strategic thinking and delivery and specialist skills in digital, advertising, design, PR, SEO, media, shopper, consumer insights and promotional marketing. Clients include Coty, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, Perrigo and Burton’s Biscuits. This comment originally appeared on Brass’ website.

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Brand experience agency ignis has launched the first product from its new tech venture, ignovation labs.

Ignis claims its new Retailemetry is “a unique data capture, reporting and insights system that delivers live audience and activity analysis, when activated in a retail promotional environment.”

The launch took place at the recent Tax Free World Association Exhibition & Congress in Cannes, as part of the TFWA Digital Village. TFWA attracts the world’s leading travel retail operators and the brands which sell through the travel retail channel.

Ignis says Retailemetry collects data at point of purchase and allows it to be assessed in real-time to instantly measure how campaigns are performing. Data is automatically uploaded to the cloud with a web app front end meaning that data collection can be made across multiple devices at the same time.

That data, such as demographic, attitudinal and purchase insights, can then be accessed in real-time to monitor, measure and report on the success of each event activation.

An API means Retailemetry can be deployed to work with other tech-driven applications and products. For example, it can be used with intelligent flooring to record footfall in store and produce heat maps of shopper movements in real-time, or it can be used with local weather data to analyse the impact of changes in the weather.

Ignis announced the launch of ignovation labs in September. It is a new in-house department tasked with identifying and developing pioneering technologies and reinforcing a culture of innovation within the agency.

The department is headed up by ignis’ Oliver Carew. Carew says: “Innovation has always been an integral part of ignis’ DNA, and the ignovation labs are an extension of that philosophy. The labs exist to develop several new proprietary technologies each year that solve big problems for existing and new clients. At times parties may feel uncomfortable in the ideas we put forward, but ultimately we hope to inspire them to push boundaries further then they have ever done before.”

As part of ignis’ commitment to innovation, the agency has also invested in DRNK?, a spontaneous socialising app that helps users meet new individuals and groups when they’re out and about.

Stephanie Whitaker, Managing Director of ignis, observes: “Incubating and accelerating growth in tech start-ups allows the agency to operate on the cutting edge. DRNK? has significant potential in its own right, and also provides an interesting opportunity for our current roster of drinks brands to advertise on the platform.”

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