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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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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McDonald’s has signed a deal with The Smiley Company, master licensee for the Rubik’s Cube, for the iconic 1980s puzzle toy to feature in McDonald’s Happy Meal offers in multiple countries.

In a deal brokered by global customer engagement agency The Marketing Store, which has worked closely with McDonald’s for many years, the multi-territory promotion will appear in McDonald’s restaurants across various European countries, the Middle East, Africa and North America.

The campaign launches in France this month (July 2018) and will then roll out across other territories from August through November 2018, including Italy, Spain, Austria, UAE and Canada, amongst many others.

It is not clear yet whether it will be running in the UK, where restrictions are in force on the use of toys and licensed characters to promote food and drink products. Promomarketing has asked McDonald’s for clarification on this point.

Unusually, the Happy Meal Box will be transformed from its traditional tented ‘house’ design into a Cube shape to mirror the Rubik’s Cube for the duration of the campaign.

Children enjoying a Happy Meal at participating McDonald’s will have a choice of four different bespoke Rubik’s Cube toys; including square 2×2 cubes and rectangular 3×2 cubes as well as rounded versions of these, with a total of 12 different toys to choose from.

The unique promotion will also feature a product mash-up between Rubik’s and a major Hollywood animation film studio’s properties appearing on the toys alongside the iconic Rubik’s Cube colours and trademark twist and turn mechanism.

Nicolas Loufrani, CEO at The Smiley Company, says: “We have worked closely with The Marketing Store and the whole team at McDonald’s and are really pleased with the innovative and high quality content of this campaign. From the robust mini Cubes and the unique Rubik’s Cube shaped Happy Meal box to the TV ads and bespoke games created for the Happy Studio app, every aspect of the promotion has been crafted to perfectly leverage the Rubik’s brand mission of encouraging children to PLAY SMART and further our goal of bringing intelligent play to kids of all ages.”

The Smiley Company will be leveraging the partnership with McDonald’s to drive the ongoing Rubik’s brand extension program and “to realise our plans to take the brand to new consumers, with particular emphasis on engaging the brand with children aged from 3-8 years old, as our brand mission continues to focus on creating new toy partnerships for this age group,” Loufrani adds.

To support the promotion’s launch in the markets where it will be appearing, there will be a 360° marketing campaign, supported by a TV advertising featuring the Happy Meal mascot ‘HAPPY’ playing with a Rubik’s Cube in a 26 and 13 second spots. There will also be series of ‘How to Solve’ short video tutorials launched on social channels to help kids solve the bespoke Happy Meal Rubik’s Cubes, and a McDonald’s Happy Studio app takeover.

Additional marketing materials will include in-store POS, branded balloons, colouring sheets, wall stickers and window decals which will help amplify the Rubik’s brand identity throughout the promotion.

The launch of the activation in France is being supported with an influencers’ campaign while other national markets will also see major marketing initiatives.

The Smiley Company is a brand licensing company which originated in France and which holds the intellectual property rights to the classic smiley face symbol face symbol in more than 100 countries (although not the United States, where the symbol originated).

In addition to the smiley symbol, it also holds licensing rights for Rubik’s Cube and related properties, and recently launched a major brand extension program for Rubik’s. This draws on Rubik’s iconicity, rich heritage and archive and the resurgence of retro gaming and geek culture, while utilising Smiley’s own industry leading design studio and world class distribution channels.

The company says global demand for Rubik’s is now at the highest levels since its launch in 1980 and a number of industry leading partners have already signed up across categories including apparel, back to school, gift, live events and attractions, partworks, promotions and publishing.

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