Leading retail and shopper marketing agency, Savvy, have created and executed the first augmented reality (AR) game for a convenience retailer. The AR Christmas Elf experience was the first project for Savvy, following a successful tender win.

Launched at the end of October, One Stop shoppers both in-store and at home have been invited to download the ‘Find Eddy the Elf’ app, visit the store, and join the search to find the hidden One Stop ‘Helfers’! By seeking out the characters, shoppers play to unlock tiered prizes and the opportunity to enter into prize draws. Throughout the campaign, bonus brand elves are also released weekly to provide further opportunity to win and support partner brands during the festive season. Prizes have ranged from a Malteser chocolate Reindeer or a box of Matchmakers Orange, to entry to One Stop’s weekly £1000 prize draw, or an all-inclusive holiday to Lapland for four people.

To date (the campaign runs until December 25^th), a total of 50,515 elves have been ‘caught’ by 39.6 percent of players across 425 stores and via the app.

Eddy the Elf – a little character with a big personality – has also been popping up in One Stop stores since 1^st November, ably assisted by his family of elves – Eve, Eric, Auntie Elsie and Baby Elfy!

Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO of Savvy, said: “After months of development and fun creating the elves, it’s been great to see the app go live and that it’s being enjoyed by shoppers. We look forward to continuing to work with One Stop and seeing the relationship grow from strength to strength.”

Nigel Prendergast, Head of Marketing at One Stop Stores, said: “Savvy’s understanding of our brand, and their creative and innovative approach to our brief immediately stood out during the pitch process, and has continued throughout the development of the app. We wanted something interactive for the Christmas period that our customers would enjoy playing, so we were delighted to be able to share with our shoppers, Eddy the Elf and his family. The campaign runs through to Christmas, but early indications show that our shoppers are really enjoying the app and continue to play each time they visit one of our stores, to unlock new elves and prize tiers.”

Visit www.onestop.co.uk/findeddy  or search on Facebook at @OneStopConvenienceStores for further details. #FindEddy

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Leading retail and shopper marketing agency, Savvy, are excited to announce that it has been appointed to carry out a festive integrated, campaign for NEXT – bringing Christmas jumpers and jammies to the UK workforce.

As part of the campaign Savvy have created a pop-up experiential experience to entice Christmas shoppers and office workers. This will hit the road from Saturday 30th November, travelling on to 13 locations – from Edinburgh to London and cities in-between – spreading festive cheer. The tour will culminate at Kings Cross station on Friday 13th December – Save The Children’s national Christmas Jumper Day. All locations on the tour will be collecting for the charity, with 100 percent of donations going directly to them.

The highlight of the #foreverykindofchristmas experience will be the gigantic bauble car which everyone will have their chance to have their picture taken with. Consumers purchasing jumpers or jammies on the day will get the opportunity to decide if they have been ‘naughty’ or ‘nice’ this season, and have the chance to win a range of NEXT goodies including gift cards, Hotel Chocolat goodies, tote bags, cosmetics and chocolate coins.

A spokesperson from NEXT said: “It has been great to work so closely with the Savvy team – to see initial ideas on paper come to life over the past few months. I can’t wait to see the Bauble car on the road and bring our festive jumpers and jammies to the whole of the UK, all whilst supporting a fantastic charity.”

“Shoppers are increasingly time poor especially at Christmas,” said Catherine Shuttleworth, CEO at Savvy. “This activation is designed to make some of your Xmas shopping simple, easy and fun with support for Save the Children’s Christmas jumper day campaign. Taking the next retail experience to locations across the UK will create fun seasonal experiences for shoppers.”

The tour plan for the NEXT Bauble Car is as follows:

• Saturday 30th November: Next store Liverpool, Racecourse Retail Park, Liverpool L9 5AN (just bauble car)
• Sunday 1st December: Next Store Edinburgh, Unit 10 Pentlands Retail Park, Straiton Mains Road, Edinburgh EH20 9PW
• Monday 2nd December: Edinburgh Castle Street (first full retail set up)
• Tuesday 3rd December: High Bridge Business Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE27 0QJ
• Wednesday 4th December: Central Square Leeds, LS1 4DL
• Thursday 5th December: Towers Business Park, Manchester M20 2YY
• Friday 6th December: Solihull Parkway, Birmingham Business Park, B37 7YN
• Saturday 7th December: Next Store Leicester Fosse Park LE19 1HX
• Sunday 8th December: Next store Nottingham Giltbrook, Ikea Way, Giltbrook, NG16 2RP
• Monday 9th December: Volkswagen Group UK, Yeomans Drive, Milton Keynes MK14 5AN
• Tuesday 10th December: Exchange Tower, Harbour Exchange Square, Canary Wharf E14 9GE
• Wednesday 11th December: Merchants Square, Paddington W2 1AS
• Thursday 12th & Friday 13th December London Kings Cross Station, Euston Road, N1C 4TB

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New research investigating UK household shoppers’ plans for Halloween has been launched today by leading retail and shopper marketing agency, Savvy. The findings indicate that UK shoppers’ interest in getting involved stands at 45 percent, with total expenditure on the event forecast to reach £387m this year, up 5.5 percent against 2018.

Alastair Lockhart, Insight Director at Savvy, commented: “Spending on Halloween is set to hit £387m this year as the popularity of the event with young adults continues to rise. Spending on food, drink and costumes for parties are all expected to increase. Of those planning to celebrate Halloween, our research indicated that 80 percent will be buying confectionery to handout, while 37 percent say they will stay in to watch a spooky film.”

Key research findings from the shoppers who do plan to celebrate Halloween (45 percent of UK shoppers) include:

Attitudes towards the event:

• Fewer men will be getting involved in celebrating Halloween than women – 40 compared with 49 percent respectively.
• 18-34 year olds are most likely to get involved, with 57 percent celebrating. This compares to only 25 percent of 55-74 year olds.

How they plan on getting involved:

• Amongst those planning to get involved, the vast majority (80 percent) plan to buy sweets, treats and chocolates.
• Among this group 43 percent plan to decorate their homes – the same proportion plan to buy Halloween outfits.
• 37 percent will watch Halloween films.
• 32 percent will go out ‘trick or treating’.
• Only six percent said they would celebrate with colleagues at work.

How they’ll be spending:

• The vast majority (88 percent) of shoppers start planning for Halloween a couple of weeks before the 31st. However, retailers left with stock to clear in the final hours will be pleased to see that 10 percent say that they plan to leave it to the last minute.

Where they’re looking for inspiration this year:

• In keeping with previous years, supermarkets are the most popular place for shoppers searching for ideas – with 73 percent of Halloween shoppers on the hunt for inspiration here.
• The importance of social media as a source of inspiration continues to increase with 33 percent looking to Facebook and 32 percent Google.
• The 18-34 age group are substantially more likely use social media for inspiration. 44 percent plan to use Google, 44 percent Facebook, 39 percent Instagram and 37 percent YouTube.

Lockhart concludes: “While some retailers have increased the size of their ranges, our retail audit this year uncovered little in the way of real innovation, with most retailers focusing on the core areas of price promotions, themed merchandise and POS materials. Other than a few notable digital initiatives, there is little in the way new inspiration compared to 2018. With Halloween maturing as an event, we suggest levels of innovation and creativity will need to be ramped up if retailers and brands want to see the market continue to grow at the same rate as recent years.”

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Packaging is a valuable media channel which brands should be using to communicate added-value messaging and promotions, argues Alastair Lockhart of Savvy

As retailers seek more ways to differentiate from each other, we have seen the leading grocers take more control of their store environments. POS is highly templated, and even promotional mechanics are often under the control of retailers. At the same time, in-store compliance too often remains a source of frustration.

For brands – many already under price pressure and the threat of range rationalisation – this has made it increasingly difficult to activate effectively in-store. Granted there are exceptions where brands do create massive impact in-store, but these are typically isolated and are usually backed by substantial budgets.

With this in mind, the onus is firmly on brands to make their own media and assets work as hard as possible and to take control of the shopper journey wherever they can. There is no question that the proliferation of digital touchpoints has created new opportunities, but marketers need to take time to re-evaluate the potential of more traditional activity, in particular on-pack promotions. Indeed, I believe that the potential of on-pack promotions has never been greater.

Providing an added value on-pack is one of the most effective ways of standing out and creating an emotional connection at the point of purchase amongst a sea of price promotion offers. From the shoppers’ perspective, over half (57%) of UK them claim they are more likely to buy a particular product if it offers an added value on-pack.

From the brand’s perspective, compliance is guaranteed, brand equity creation can be placed at the centre of the campaign strategy and, crucially, on-packs create a direct relationship with the shopper and the consumer.

A skilfully crafted on-pack also has substantial potential to drive category sales and to engage shoppers at the point of purchase. And, with an insight-led customer overlay, the retailer wins too.

At its most basic level, product packaging is a brand’s primary interaction with shoppers in the store environment and can be used as a powerful means to communicate with shoppers. Consider the way that Mars has changed its brand flag to activate its sponsorship of the FA and its sister brand Snickers has altered its brand flag to reinforce its brand campaign and drive a link with the product’s target need state.

The best on-pack promotions do not sit in isolation but play an important role in a connected shopper journey.

Thanks to the application of technology, never has there been a better time for brands to make a stronger connection with consumers. On-pack campaigns can now extend beyond simple win and free gift with purchase mechanics. By using technology like Augmented Reality, brands can drive deeper engagement activating brand content on-pack and creating an on-going dialogue with consumers over a sustained period of time.

Use of digital touchpoints to enhance an on-pack and manage the shopper/consumer journey also provides a means to collect data, and subsequently measurement and valuable engagement insights.

Despite the potential of connected shopper campaigns that link on-pack promotions with digital touchpoints, it is rare that we see really good examples of this type of activity landing. In part this is because of a lack of true strategic planning by agencies, but in larger part it is a result of the way FMCG businesses are structured. Brand teams look after the brand, shopper teams look after shopper marketing and digital teams look after social channels. All too often, the communication between these teams is poor, or worse non-existent.

More and more shoppers expect a seamless, joined up journey – brands and agencies need to work more closely to make sure that experience is delivered.

Alastair Lockhart is Insight Director at creative, digital and retail marketing agency Savvy. Savvy is focused on shopper, retail and brand insight and has won multiple awards for its work. Clients include AB InBev, Mars, adidas, Pernod Ricard, Britvic and many other household names.

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Creative, digital and retail marketing agency Savvy has launched a brand experience division, ‘Savvy Live’.

The new division is a response to increasing demand for live brand experiences from Savvy’s roster of global brands, including adidas, Britvic and Diesel.

“The way shoppers consume media and interact with brands has changed considerably due to advancements in technology,” says Taj Sur, Business Director at Savvy. “Consumers are seeking deeper brand experiences and opportunities to generate social media currency. At the same time retailing is evolving at a rapid pace with smart devices now able to engage and direct shoppers from points of influence to points of purchase. This means we need to look beyond traditional channels to influence shoppers. In short, consumers are no longer satisfied with just hearing or seeing a brand’s message. Today, it’s the actual experiences we have with a brand that define whether we connect with it or not.”

Savvy believes that experiential activations have become an integral touchpoint in the connected shopper path to purchase that can create memorable live experiences to drive emotional connections, shape behaviour and influence purchase while delivering on scale.

Sur concludes: “At Savvy we have over 10 years’ experience in providing excellence in execution in live brand experiences delivering varying scales of activation from instore events and sampling through to retail pop-ups, brand installation and large scale public events/festivals and roadshows. Our Savvy Live team are execution experts who take away the complexity of the process for clients to achieve scale and sustainable results that live beyond the live activation and deliver maximum ROI. For us, it’s all about making sure that our campaigns deliver results that resonate with our clients’ audiences, bringing their brands to life.”

Savvy is a leading creative, digital and retail marketing agency focused on shopper, retail and brand insight. At the IPM Awards ceremony last week, the agency won Golds in five categories, including Experiential Activation away from the Point of Purchase, which went to its work for the Britvic Robinsons and KFC Wimbledon Partnership (pictured).

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Lucozade and TBK Group collected the trophies for Brand Owner of the Year, Agency of the Year and the coveted Grand Prix Award at The IPM Awards 2018 last night, the biggest networking event of the promotional marketing industry year.

This year’s winners, which were announced at the IPM’s black-tie Awards Gala on Thursday 14th June at the London Hilton Park Lane, showcased and celebrated the very best in creativity and effectiveness in the promotional marketing industry.

The evening commenced with opening addresses from Lord Black of Brentwood, President of the IPM, and John Sylvester, the IPM’s Chairman and Chairman of Sodexo Benefits & Reward Services UK, while the host for the event was comedy superstar, Russell Kane.

Lucozade was named as Brand Owner of the Year, after campaigns for sub-brands Lucozade Sport, Lucozade Energy and Lucozade Zero collected five Gold awards, three Silvers and the Grand Prix (for Lucozade Energy’s ‘Unstoppable Bottle’ campaign).

The Grand Prix is chosen from all of the Gold winners in the IPM Awards 2018 by a Final Judging Panel. The winner is selected by anonymous vote, and this year the vote went to the ‘Unstoppable Bottle’ campaign.

All of the Lucozade trophies were for campaigns created by agency TBK Group, which also took two more Silver trophies for the ‘£10 million Giveaway for Carphone Warehouse – this haul cemented the title of Agency of the Year 2018.

Other agencies taking away multiple trophies from the IPM Awards 2018 include Savvy Marketing (five Golds and three Bronzes), ZEAL Creative (five Golds, two Silvers and four Bronzes), Leith Links (three Golds and two Silvers) and Brass (two Golds and a Bronze).

The full list of winners is on the IPM website, and you can click here to download the Winners’ Book for the IPM Awards 2018.

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Telefónica, Leo Burnett/Arc and Space were crowned the big winners at The IPM Awards 2016, taking home the trophies for Brand Owner of the Year, Agency of the Year and the coveted Grand Prix Award respectively.

This year’s winners, which were announced at the IPM’s black-tie Awards Gala on Tuesday 14th June at the London Hilton Park Lane, showcased and celebrated the very best in creativity and effectiveness in the promotional marketing industry.

With an opening address from Lord Guy Black of Brentwood, President of the IPM, the evening included creative highlights from the past year in promotional marketing.

Telefónica was named as Brand Owner of the Year, after collecting a series of awards during the night.

Leo Burnett/Arc, which took the Agency of the Year accolade for the second year running and which also shared it two years ago, were presented with their Award by Greg Mulholland MP, who started his professional life in marketing agencies BD Network and The Marketing Store.

Integrated agency Space proudly took home the Grand Prix Award for its #CheltenHAM campaign for Gala Coral, featuring a festival of micro-pig racing, after collecting a series of trophies for the campaign during the night. The picture above shows Space collecting their award from Lord Black (left) with the evening’s host, Bill Bailey, third from left.

Other agencies celebrating multiple trophies included Savvy, iD, P&MM, Haygarth and whynot!

Graham Temple, Chairman of the IPM, said: “The IPM Awards celebrate outstanding promotional marketing from the very best UK agencies. Each year, we continue to be wowed by creativity, innovation and effectiveness in the campaigns that are entered. Our Awards are open to everyone in the industry and we were delighted to see both old friends and newcomers to the IPM collecting Awards last night.”

Temple added that this year, winners of Gold, Silver and Bronze IPM Awards all qualify for entry into the IMC European Awards. “If last year’s UK success in Europe is repeated, then last night we were seeing not just the best campaigns in the UK, but also Europe and possibly the world.”

Sponsors for the IPM Awards 2016 included The Lettershop Group, Snipp!, POD Staffing, i-movo, The Black Tomato Agency, Selby Marketing, SVS, Limelight PR and Pictures Experience.

A full list of this year’s winner can be found on the IPM website.

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Shoppers expect to see retailers putting on a show over Easter, with in-store egg hunts, recipe ideas, sampling and activities for kids, according to new research from leading retail and shopper marketing agency Savvy.

Easter has become a major shopping occasion for UK shoppers, the survey of 1,000 household shopping decision makers found, meaning spending around the occasion is expected to reach £775m, with the dicounters likely to get a significant share of the spend.

Alastair Lockhart, insight director at Savvy Marketing, comments: “Sales of chocolate eggs are set to outperform this year, contributing to overall Easter market growth. While the core mid-market for eggs remains incredibly competitive on price, especially as value retailers continue to scale up their Easter offers, demand for premium eggs looks set to build on the momentum set by the likes of Marks and Spencer and Hotel Chocolat last year.”

Lockhart also points out that shoppers are planning specific visits to the discounters this Easter. Lockhart says: “Aldi in particular is delivering bigger events, supported by growing ranges and stronger in-store execution.” Aldi has just launched a special Easter TV ad, featuring a child going on a magical journey through an edible world made of Aldi Easter treats to a soundtrack of ‘My Favourite Things’ (see picture).

Key research findings:

What do shoppers expect from retailers?

• Topping the wish lists this Easter with 47%, was instore food sampling.
• New ideas to try (recipes etc) came in second place with 44%.
• In third and fourth place respectively were instore egg hunts (29%) and inspiration for things to do with kids (26%).

Who will be celebrating the event?

• 66% of UK shoppers will be getting involved in the event (72% of women versus 57% of men) – up one percentage point on 2015 figures.
• 69% of shoppers agree that Easter is a special day and 72% say that they are looking forward to spending time with their families.
• 54% of shoppers don’t mind spending more to make the Easter weekend more special.

How will shoppers who are planning to celebrate Easter be spending?

• 68% say that they know where they can find the best value eggs.
• 51% of shoppers typically plan in advance what they’ll be buying for the Easter weekend.
• 34% said they’d be trading up to purchase more expensive food and drinks for the Easter weekend.
• 42% said they would be shopping at a discounter for Easter eggs and dinner ingredients.
• 32% are planning to purchase Easter products and cards at the last minute.
• 29% are planning on spending more on Easter goods this year.

What will Easter shoppers be buying?

• 79% of shoppers planning to purchase Easter eggs this year.
• 28% will be buying the ingredients for a roast dinner.
• 27% will be buying chocolate and 18% will be purchasing an Easter cake.
• On the non-food front, 13% of shoppers will buy Easter cards, 13% will buy flowers and six% will purchase a cuddly toy.
• Games, making kits and baking kits also featured on shoppers lists, although less frequently.

Savvy is a leading creative, retail and shopper marketing agency that places shopper, retail and brand insight at the centre of everything they do.

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