So as the world looks to accelerate the post-peak recovery, it seems the ever-changing world of retail must change again. Inevitably, customer confidence has taken something of a battering. Shopping visits are taking longer and queuing has become the norm. Grocery shelves have been spartan in certain departments. One way systems, social distancing, no assisted packing, the demise of cash; the list goes on. For many of us, shopping has become less of a pleasure and more of a chore. And in my household at least, the weekly spend on food has markedly increased as the price-led offers have diminished.

When you put aside the necessity of keeping the household stocked with the weekly essentials, there is clear evidence that shopping also has a valuable social function in our lives. The chance to interact with others. To seek ideas and inspiration. I never forget the focus group attendee from my days in Research. When I asked a focus group about their shopping habits, one lady casually mentioned that she loved visiting M&S. She only rarely bought anything, but she loved to see what recipe ideas she could ‘borrow’ from their pre-prepared meals.

Retail brands have long been under pressure to provide their customers with unique experiences. Experiential events like in-store sampling for example. Fashion shows in shopping centres. The need for social distancing may make some of these tactics challenging to implement. So how can brands express their personality and engage with their customers? The local farm shop near to MRM HQ has utilised that old technique of lining its now ubiquitous pre-shop queue with set displays of bedding plants and seeds. Sensibly priced, they make for easy impulse purchases. Sainsbury has been handing out umbrellas to give their shoppers some protection from the elements. The good weather has helped but it boosts customer confidence to engage with something that isn’t just humourless diktats on how you have to undertake your shop.

Technology has an important role to play. I’ve seen a number of supermarkets urging me to download their app to enable me to self-scan and pay using my own mobile device. Loyalty schemes too. My barber has utilised the power of his social media and app to implore customers to pre-purchase gift vouchers; providing him with some welcome income and giving purchasers first dibs on booking a haircut when they eventually open up again. And who doesn’t like a bit of ‘surprise and delight’ from brands who recognise your loyalty. Managing such campaigns has certainly kept us busy at MRM over the past 3 months.

The public is beginning to demand greater sustainability from brands. Quite a challenge at a time when people are sensitive to consumables being appropriately packaged to protect them from the virus. And supply chain transparency has never felt more relevant than now, enabling brands and retailers to provide reassurance on compliance.

Marketing spend has historically been one of the first things to get cut in recessionary times. Yet the reality of now is the opportunity it offers brands to refocus spend and demonstrate brand purpose and personality through their tactical agility in using all channels, particularly social media. Our household engaged with a Brewdog tweet & signed up to order some Barnard Castle Eye Test – a new topical brew named after consulting with social media followers, with sales proceeds going to the NHS.

Integration of the physical and the digital will be key for bricks and mortar models. The age of showrooming has never been more important. I love the example seen in a Lithuanian café of clothed mannequins placed on chairs to not only maintain social distance but promote the wares of local clothing retailers. Undoubtedly one of the potentially longer lasting strategic impacts of Covid will be the move to embrace e-commerce. Data from ChannelAdvisor and Dynata suggests 2 in 5 UK shoppers will make more online purchases post lockdown. As part of the many marketing services we offer here at MRM, we are increasingly providing our clients with front end capability in e-commerce (both in off the shelf packages and our own bespoke scalable platform) alongside integration with our order management and despatch system.

We are always delighted to advise any clients on their next steps in leveraging online sales and how we can best integrate with the systems you already have (or new ones you wish to develop). Do drop us a line at sales@mrm.co.uk or give us a call on 01858 414777. Happy shopping.

This article is written by Marc Rigby, Managing Director at Multi Resource Marketing Ltd (MRM)

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Marc Rigby of MRM looks at the relevance of Promotional Marketing to today’s marketing industry

Part of my misspent youth was dedicated to undertaking a degree in Marketing. How shiny and new it all felt back then in the 1980s, with brand spend all hovering above and below some imaginary line.

I chose below the line. Cash, holidays and cars. Neck labels, fix-a-forms and scratch panels. Free flights, treasure hunts and soft toy Labradors. Activity so impactful in its imagination and creativity that sometimes it didn’t even need a press release to make the national news.

Fast forward 18 years into the new millennium and the chance to assess where the trends of integration, omnichannel and the like have taken the old trouper that is Promotional Marketing. And no better place to do that than at the 2018 IPM awards, particularly as MRM was a sponsor this year.

But first, some context. To paraphrase Lord Black of Brentwood in his excellent introductory speech at the Awards, “I have never known such a time of change and flux.”

An economy showing marginal growth with Brexit concerns and growing inflationary pressures, dictatorial government legislation and public health concerns.

After a decade of dominant price promotion activity there is evidence of the usurping impact that EDLP pricing is having in the shape of the sales strategies of German retailers Aldi and Lidl.

And look at the fact that retailers such as Asda, Ikea, Next et al chose to step away from the bun fight that is Black Friday. It is low prices not short term price offers that is winning the promotional day.

So, can added value promotions still have a role to play in building the all-too-important brand equity?

Promotional Marketing as a marketing multiplier

What this year’s entrants consistently demonstrated is that their campaigns defined promotion as less about a proven collection of techniques to drive sales and more about the role Promotional Marketing can play when it has the chance to contribute to the marketing multiplier effect that boosts a campaign’s impact and how its customers really begin to engage with it.

What do I mean by that last statement? That campaigns truly reach another level when a great idea is founded in a brand truth and delivered to a consumer as a total brand experience.

Take the immense piece of work that is Lucozade Energy and TBK Group’s ‘Unstoppable Bottle’ – a multi award winner at the 2018 IPM Awards (see the picture above). Product packaging uniquely adapted to the activity. Check. Product sampling. Check. Relevance of activity to brand proposition. Check. Amplification of activity with advertising and social media. Check. Tangible motivating reward. Check. Add the fact that the activation was the first of its kind and it was delivered flawlessly achieving outstanding results, and you have a deserved winner. And, in striking a sensory, emotional, relevant and behavioural chord with the audience, it truly delivered a brand experience.

Clearly, promotional success need not be as reliant on retail presence as it once was. Packaging still remains a primary medium to communicate through, even if the power of the retailer’s own brand limits the opportunities to stand out in store. Getting listings and facings is a hard and often expensive challenge for any underperforming brand. Today’s marketer has a number of channels to drive communication of a promotion. Digital activity can undoubtedly help to build your story and promote the activity to a targeted audience. Hell, it even serves as an ideal place to store your terms and conditions. But it can also very quickly undermine your best efforts if your activity doesn’t pass the scrutiny of your consumers.

Not that this was a problem for another award winner. Nestlé KitKat and ZEAL Creative’s personalised KitKat packs proved how the public’s appetite for personalisation can be integrated into an established brand’s packaging.

So I hope I am not alone in concluding from this year’s crop of winners that, within the armoury of marketers, Promotional Marketing remains a trusted and effective weapon. And whilst the idea at the heart of any marketing campaign should be embedded in the brand proposition, creativity can only truly thrive with the support and expertise of practitioners who understand the importance of planning, insight and how best to manipulate the Promotional tools; not to merely drive sales but also deliver brand experiences that challenge and engage the audiences they seek to reach.

At MRM, we like to think we are defined by our services but measured by our results.  That is a statement that should be a maxim for our whole industry.

Marc Rigby is Managing Director of Multi Resource Marketing Ltd (MRM), a marketing services agency celebrating its 25^th anniversary this summer. MRM is a sponsor of the IPM Awards 2018.

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Marketing services experts Multi Resource Marketing (MRM) is working with the world’s second biggest selling candy brand, Mentos, on its Me&You on-pack loyalty programme in the UK. Me&You gives Mentos fans access to a unique code which unlocks a series of special offers on must-have experiences which they can share with friends and family.

Mentos, the UK’s fastest growing mint brand, is owned by international confectionery company Perfetti Van Melle Corporation. Mentos now has four million UK consumers, selling close to 100 million rolls a year.

MRM fully developed and manages the Mentos Me&You online loyalty platform and sources a selection of money off discounts, ‘2 for 1’ deals and prize draws from selected partners. Offers change monthly and can include: 25% off a Vineyard tour for two people; 15% off a bouquet from Flying Flowers; 20% off at ecommerce site Boohoo; and free fitness classes with Move GB.

To claim these rewards, consumers need to buy a pack of Mentos, go to www.mentosmeandyou.co.uk and enter the unique code which can be found inside the packaging.

Mentos candy is the number two candy brand in the world. First produced in the Netherlands in 1948, it is currently sold in more than 130 countries worldwide. Perfetti Van Melle is an Italian-Dutch global manufacturer of confectionery and gum, created in 2001 following the acquisition of Van Melle of the Netherlands by the Italian Perfetti Group.

Established in 1993, MRM is an independently owned multi-award winning marketing services provider based in Leicestershire, England. A member of trade body the Institute of Promotional Marketing, the company provides both digital and physical fulfilment marketing campaign support to some of the UK’s best-known brands, companies and organisations.

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Energy drinks brand Boost Drinks has launched a new on-pack campaign, Release the Boost, which offers consumers the chance to win a range of prizes. The competition includes three stages; an instant win offering a mix of cash, cinema vouchers and amazon vouchers, a prize draw of a £2,500 Virgin Gift Card and a final chance draw of a Zip-line experience in Snowdonia with a Go-Pro to give the winners life-long memories.

The promotion was created for Boost by Leicestershire-based Multi Resource Marketing (MRM), which was responsible for all aspect of the activity except for the printing of the unique codes on pack. MRM even worked with the Boost Drinks team to source the most appropriate prizes for Boost’s target audience, which the brand says are “fun-loving, savvy millennials, always looking for an experience.”

To enter, consumers have to purchase a promotional bottle of 500ml Original Boost Energy, visit the microsite, www.releasetheboost.com, and enter their details and the unique code from the bottle. They will find out instantly if they have won a pair of cinema tickets, a £100 Amazon gift voucher or £50 in cash. They will also be entered into the relevant prize draw for the time period.

The instant win promotion runs until January 30^th, 2018. Entries received before December 14^th 2017 will also be entered into the Grand prize draw. Entries received up to January 30^th, 2018 will also be entered into the secondary prize draw.

There is a No Purchase Necessary route for Northern Irish consumers.

The Grand Prize draw winner will win a £2,500 Virgin Gift Card. The secondary prize draw winner will win a zip lining experience for themselves plus three friends to ride the Velocity zip line in Snowdonia, Europe’s longest and fastest.

There are 1,065 Instant Win prizes available – 900 pairs of ODEON tickets (or participating independent cinema, 15 £100 Amazon vouchers and 150 £50 cheques.

Established in 1993, MRM is an independently-owned marketing services provider based in Leicestershire, England. A member of industry body the Institute of Promotional Marketing, the company provides both digital and physical marketing campaign support to some of the UK’s best-known brands.

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Award-winning marketing services business MRM (Multi Resource Marketing Ltd) has launched a new brand identity following the company’s management buy-back from French group HighCo last year.

The new identity has been chosen following a full review of its previous branding overseen by Managing Director Marc Rigby, who was appointed in February 2017. The business undertook a number of internal workshops to help understand the critical components of its operation and define how it wants to be seen in the market.

Marc Rigby says: “We are proud to be able to announce the launch of our brand new logo. We’d like to think this identity captures some of the core elements that make up our business – process, digital, flexibility – as well as using a colour pallet that conveys energy, purpose and a greater sense of modernity. With the logo now in place alongside a revised mission and vision, our next task is an overhaul of our website which we hope to complete before the summer’s end.”

Rigby joined from shopper marketing agency Howell Penny, where he had been Client Director. Rigby has also worked at Interfocus, IMP and Saatchi & Saatchi. Founding partner Peter Kerr took on the new role of Executive Chairman following Rigby’s appointment, while former Chairman Mike Wood became Strategic Director.

Established in 1993, MRM was acquired by the French-based HighCo Group in 2011 but established its independence following a Management Buy-Out in 2016. Now again independently-owned, it is based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire and has strong industry links via the Institute of Promotional Marketing. MRM provides both digital and physical (fulfilment) marketing campaign support to some of the UK’s best-known brands. It numbers the Department of Health, The Co-operative Group and British Gas amongst its 70-strong client-base across a wide range of industry sectors.

In the 2016 IPM COGS Awards for marketing services providers, MRM won the Grand Prix for its work on the 2016 Sport Relief campaign on behalf of Comic Relief. It also won Gold for the same campaign in both the Handling & Fulfilment and Direct Marketing categories.

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Award winning marketing services, handling and fulfilment business MRM has named ex-Howell Penny Client Director Marc Rigby as Managing Director.

Founding partner Peter Kerr had become Executive Chairman, while Chairman Mike Wood has now taken on the role of Strategic Director.

Before working for brand strategy and activation agency Howell Penny, Marc Rigby worked at agencies including Interfocus, IMP and Saatchi & Saatchi.

The management changes cap a successful 12 months for the business in which MRM were recognised with four IPM COGS Awards, including the prestigious Grand Prix for their work on the 2016 Sport Relief Campaign.

The Market Harborough business – now in its 24th year of trading – concluded an MBO last year following five years as part of the French based HighCo Group. It numbers the Department of Health, The Co-operative Group and British Gas amongst its 70-strong client base across a wide range of industry sectors.

Peter Kerr says: “Whilst last year was hugely exciting for the business, that success needs to be the platform for accelerated growth; the marketing environment in which we operate is evolving. We are no longer just a service company – we are a service agency offering a wide range of marketing solutions. And to ensure our business model is in line with the needs of the market, I wanted to bring some fresh skills into the company from the world of agency and brand marketing. Marc’s background will help us augment our delivery capability and build the breadth of service we can offer to our clients. Along with Mike Wood, our former Chairman and M&A specialist, I will be devoting more time to exploiting some key strategic opportunities that we have identified in the market.”

Marc Rigby comments: “I was astounded not only by the core traditional skill sets here but by the levels of digital expertise inherent within MRM. We are well positioned to deliver a wide range of marketing service solutions as both a strategic and tactical partner. I am looking forward to the challenge of blending our processes, data and people to help our clients connect their brands, products and services with their audiences.”

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Xbox ran a unique experiential challenge last week, to mark the UK launch of “Rise of the Tomb Raider” – expected to be one of the biggest selling video games of 2015.

The Microsoft-owned games console brand challenged eight Lara Croft fans to survive 24 hours on a billboard, while being subjected to the harshest weather conditions as voted for by the public.

Staring at 1.00pm last Thursday, viewers were able to watch the contestants fight against the elements, inspired by the critically-acclaimed latest installment of the Tomb Raider franchise, “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” which is set in Siberia.

Part advertising hoarding, part live experiment, the experience was a unique one, both for contestants and viewers. The contestants, standing on tiny ledges in the air, formed part of the billboard’s artwork and headline “Survival of the Grittiest”. They had to endure arctic cold, strong winds, wild snowstorms and intense heat, with the last fan standing winning a trip inspired by Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Viewers were also able to vote on the weather conditions which the competitors were subjected to – including arctic cold, intense wind, wild snowstorms and sudden heat. Survival Billboard was streamed on survivalbillboard.com.

Xbox selected the eight from thousands of applicants from across the UK, alongside ultimate Tomb Raider fan, Jade Jolie.

The campaign was created by m:united and McCann London, with the live event put together by m:united and Momentum London. Production is by m:united and CRAFT London, website by m:united and MRM, the media agency EMT and consumer PR by Edelman. m:united is the agency created by marketing services group IPG to handle its Microsoft account just over a year ago.

The ‘Tomb Raider’ franchise has sold over 45 million copies worldwide and inspired one of the most successful video game film adaptations in history, grossing over $300 million at the global box office, with protagonist Lara Croft becoming a global icon.

Exclusive to Xbox in 2015, “Rise of the Tomb Raider” launched in the UK on November 13^th 2015.

The Survival Billboard campaign kicked off in October with call-for-entries ads that focused on its “Terms & Horrible, Horrible Conditions”, which explained every painful facet of the challenge, from hypothermia to hallucinations. Just as intended, the ads discouraged most people, but attracted over a thousand applicants.

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