April 2020, ZEAL Creative, the UK’s most effective brand activation agency, has launched a new strategic white paper exploring how the Coronavirus pandemic has affected UK grocery shoppers.

‘Brand activation in the Age of COVID-19’ identifies how lockdown has already affected shopper behaviour and the impact it is having on food brands. The white paper also offers strategies for grocery brands to implement to meet shoppers’ needs in this new retail environment.

Key findings from the report include:

• Shopper decisions are influenced by completely new factors
• Value vs. indulgence – economic uncertainty means shoppers seek value for essentials but everyday treats and luxuries have replaced cinema trips and dining out
• When choosing which store to visit, the range has become a key driver, alongside the price
• Grocery shopping is emotional therapy and the ‘value’ of food changes for shoppers

With limited availability already encouraging shoppers to try different products, brands have greater responsibility and are presented with more opportunities to engage new customers. As well as supporting shoppers, ZEAL explores how brands can convert consumers or drive existing customers to sample more products in the range and increase penetration.

Highlights for brands:

• Capture shoppers’ attention with clear product benefits that resonate with their current need states e.g. ‘Fresher for longer’, ‘Can be frozen’
• The emergence of new, and the resurgence of traditional, consumption occasions can reinvigorate brands and drive incremental growth
• Suspension of in-store POS and promotional media makes at-home engagement critical
• Supporting citizens including key workers and food banks is prized, as sustainability becomes less of a priority for now
• Recipe support and creative inspiration for new shared at-home meal occasions is a prime opportunity
• Every brand needs to think like a challenger and big brands can demonstrate true category captaincy

Callum Saunders, Head of Planning at ZEAL Creative, comments: “COVID-19 is the biggest challenge the grocery industry has faced since the Second World War. Our supermarkets have been thrust into the frontline and never before has there been more opportunity or responsibility for Britain’s grocery brands to step up and deliver for the nation.

“Our findings demonstrate how shoppers are behaving and the role retail brands can play in meeting their needs. This is time for brands to step up with deeds not just words. Get this right and not only will brands be playing their part but will be remembered by customers long after the pandemic recedes.”

For a copy of ‘Brand activation in the Age of COVID-19’ please contact ZEAL’s founder and Creative Director, Stewart Hilton: Stewart@zealcreative.com

For further information and media enquiries, contact Westgate Communications on zealcreativepr@westgatecomms.com or call 01732 779 087.

About ZEAL Creative

As the UK’s most effective brand activation marketing agency, ZEAL Creative delivers multi award winning campaigns for brands including Kellogg’s, Pringles, KitKat, McCain and Warburtons.

With unrivalled insight and expertise, ZEAL Creative helps bring brands to life, with campaigns that engage, inspire and motivate consumers into action at key moments on the Path to Purchase.

ZEAL ranked 40^th overall in The Drum’s Top 100 Independent Agencies 2019 and scooped seven awards at the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) 2019 Awards in Europe. The agency has also been ranked 47^th in Campaign’s annual list of the ‘Best UK Agencies to Work for 2020’.

Specialising in FMCG, ZEAL Creative consistently enables its clients to increase penetration, rate of sale and market share. www.zealcreative.com

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ZEAL Creative, the UK’s most effective brand activation specialist, has been ranked in the Top 50 of Campaign’s annual list of the ‘Best UK Agencies to Work For’ in ZEAL’s first year of entry.

Campaign’s ‘Best Places to Work’ celebrates employers who have proved they know what it takes to create environments where people love to come to work.

The assessment included a two-part survey process that was managed by Best Companies Group (BCG), an independent workplace excellence research firm. Based on employer and employee feedback, it identified 79 agencies worthy of the title ‘Best Place to Work’ in 2020 and ZEAL ranks 47^th in the list. Having grown to more than 50 employees since their entry, ZEAL has been considered in the mid-sized category.

Stewart Hilton, Co-Founder and Creative Partner at ZEAL Creative, said: “As well as the recognition that goes with this coveted award, the real benefit ZEAL gets from the process is a wealth of feedback and insights into how to get even better. Needless to say, our Head of Talent and HR will be using this goldmine to take us to the next level in both our Manchester and London offices. The final and most important thanks, of course, has to go to our amazing team of superstars who bring their ZEAL to work every day to change the game for our clients.”

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Callum Saunders, Head of Planning at ZEAL Creative, shares how brands must cater their products and services to the shopper demand of permissible pleasure.

The world of retail is facing unprecedented challenges.  Fuelled by the growth of online pure-players and accelerated by the influx of discounters, never before have shoppers expected so much more for so less.  Some of our biggest supermarkets reinforce this overtly: Asda’s ‘Save Money. Live Better.’ positioning, and Sainsbury’s ‘Live well for less’ mantra, just two cases in point.

Is this mentality engrained into every facet of collective shopper behaviour, or are there areas where less is actually becoming more?  The rise of conscientious consumption is certainly one area, with shoppers actively looking to reduce their impact on the planet and demanding the change from their retailers.

But it’s in the area of health and wellness where recent attitudinal and behavioural changes suggest that shoppers are inverting this principle.  In a world where shoppers are more conscious about what they consume (but want to retain the principles of pleasure), less is most definitely more – and shoppers are willing to pay a premium.

The ‘uncompromising shopper’ in the age of regulated pleasure

We’re making more health-conscious decisions and more informed product choices than we’ve ever done before: given the unparalleled digital content and information we all now have access to, this is hardly surprising.  Our society is shifting towards a collective consciousness (if not quite yet responsibility) to take better care not only of the planet, but also ourselves.

The recent government consultation on advertising and promotion of products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) also look set to have a significant impact.  And only last year, the government introduced the ‘Sugar Tax’ as part of its childhood obesity strategy.

When it comes to food and wellness, the onus to make better choices is louder than ever before and indeed, any initiative that improves the general health of the nation is to be lauded.  But it’s also important to note that responsible – and therein lies the key word – pleasure should not be demonised through a blanket ‘scattergun approach’ to complex issues.

The soft drinks brand Cawston Press offers an interesting counter-viewpoint in “a world that has gone ‘zero’ mad’”, stating that calories are ‘maligned and misunderstood’.  It frames the natural nature of its own calories as an example of what I like to label the ‘positive permissive’ – a positioning that is at once interesting and insightful.

And of course, there’s the oft-quoted insight that when times are down, sales of confectionery go up.  Given the turbulent political times in which we live, one could be forgiven for assuming that confectionery sales are at an all-time high.  But the increasing regulation of pleasure should not mean the restriction of choice.

We’re entering the era of the ‘uncompromising shopper’: shoppers who want to make better, positive choices for themselves, but without feeling as if they are compromising on convenience, health, taste or enjoyment.

Less really is more: winning with shoppers (and paying a premium for the pleasure)

We’re now seeing an influx of brands and products that cater to the shopper need for ‘permissible pleasure’.

Ever self-regulating, the soft drinks industry has been ahead of this curve for quite some time now.  In the German market, Coca Cola offers ‘Mini-Dosen’ cans.  At only 150ml, these are regular Coke drinks, but in a size that offers a mini size, but maximum refreshment.’  A permissive way for more health-conscious consumers to enjoy a Coca Cola, without feeling as if they have had to compromise.

Think about ‘Pret Slim’, the unique format that literally offers shoppers half the sandwich.  Or products such as Magnum Mini, marketed as ‘full Magnum pleasure in a smaller size’.  These are not positioned as ‘health’ products, yet they inherently allow shoppers to buy into more health-conscious occasions.

We’re even seeing this in the beers, wine and spirits category.  Like many wines, New Zealand brand ‘Mud House’ has recently introduced new 50cl bottles alongside its standard 75cl format.

Accompanying shopper communications on neck collars directly call out the benefit, ‘perfect for occasions when you just want to share two large glasses of wine and no more’.  By no means is this a ‘healthy wine’: but it’s a smart product format and clever piece of communications that gives shoppers an option of more permissible pleasure.

And from a commercial perspective, it appears that shoppers are willing to pay more for the privilege.  Think about the miniature chocolates on the counter of every coffee shop in the land: a permissive way to enjoy a chocolate hit, at a premium price point.

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Enjoying something pleasurable is not a negative thing.  After all, human beings are neurologically wired to both seek out pleasure (releasing dopamine) and, subsequently, enjoy it (opiates).

But in this new age of the uncompromising shopper, pleasure needs to be permissible: FMCG brands that can provide this sweet spot stand to make significant penetration gains with those who share this emerging shopper attitude.

Less certainly is more, both in terms of what it offers shoppers, and the price that they are willing to pay.  In a world where many categories are experiencing a growth in volume but a decline in value, permissible pleasure could be a very welcome commercial strategy indeed.

To find out more about ZEAL Creative, get in touch with Callum Saunders at callum@zealcreative.com

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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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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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McCain has launched an on-pack promotion offering consumers free tickets to participating attractions across Britain.

The activities on offer include tree top adventures, go-karting, Segway tours, scuba diving and trampolining, at more than 1,000 locations including large venues and companies, such as Thorpe Park, Legoland, Awesome Walls and Team Sport, and small ones, such as the Bath Postal Museum or the Pencil Museum.

McCain says it wants to encourage families to “participate in activities they might not normally consider at the weekend”, and the promotion will run from April 1^st for 12 weeks. Promotional packs will be available across variants and pack formats within McCain’s frozen French Fries range.

To enter, customers need to purchase a promotional pack in-store and enter their quality code on the competition website www.mccainfreeticket.co.uk. They will then get a voucher which entitles them to claim a second ticket of equal or lower value when they purchase one (so if they buy an adult ticket, they can claim either an adult or child ticket for free; if they buy a child ticket, they can claim another child ticket).

Entry is only open to residents of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and excludes residents of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as McCain employees and their immediate families of McCain Foods Ltd and anyone professionally connected to the promotion. Consumers can only claim once per promotional pack bought.

The promotion has been put together for McCain by Manchester-based marketing agency ZEAL Creative, with input from fixed fee company Umbrella and Cheshire-based digital agency DX Digital.

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Snack brand Pringles has launched a nationwide Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) campaign to encourage participation in its Easter on-pack promotion, “Take a Bite and Win a Flight”.

Players are being invited to snap and share a picture of themselves enjoying their favourite Pringles on social media for the chance to win a trip to a European destination every hour throughout every day of the month-long promotion.  The DOOH campaign has been designed to amplify the social media campaign and will harness the real-time capabilities of the medium by featuring the social photos of each hourly winner in real-time on panels close to point of purchase.

The campaign runs until 16th April on six-sheet digital panels outside key Tesco and Asda stores nationwide.

OOH campaign planning is by location marketing specialist Posterscope and Carat, with creative produced by promotional marketing agency ZEAL.

Emily Dutton, Assistant Brand Manager, UK & I Pringles, says: ”Easter is a time for friends and family to get together and celebrate, and Pringles plays a big part in this sharing occasion.  Our ‘Take a Bite and Win a Flight’ adds another sharing opportunity into the holiday, and with our winners celebrated on advertising panels close to purchase points, we want to encourage shoppers to grab a tube and get involved.”

Lee Mabey, Agency Strategy Director at Posterscope, adds: ”Research has shown that people are more likely to enter a competition if they feel that they have a real chance of winning.  Our ability to feature real-time, user-generated content from our competition winners on panels right next to purchase points, taps directly into this and will help to drive interest and desire for this fantastic Pringles promotional.”

Posterscope is the world’s leading out-of-home and location marketing specialist with billings in excess of $3 billion and over 1,000 staff in 57 offices in 34 countries worldwide.

The Pringles brand is now owned by Kellogg’s, which bought it for $2.7 billion in May 2012 from Procter & Gamble. It is one of the world’s most popular snacks,

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Iconic cleaning brand Marigold, which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary, launched a new nationwide ‘Try Me Free’ campaign from September 1st, 2017.

The on-pack campaign, which is designed to drive trial of its 11-strong range of cloths and scourers, will see almost 250,000 packs stickered with the ‘Try Me Free’ campaign and will offer consumers the opportunity to try one of the Marigold cloths or scourers for free, in exchange for submitting a 15+ word review.

Laura Marsden, Shopper Product Manager for Marigold, comments “Marigold products are renowned for their quality, reliability and durability. Our cloths and scourers have strong USPs and we are confident that when consumers try our products, they will love them as much as we do. Try Me Free is a great way to drive trial of the extended range while attracting new shoppers to the brand.”

Robert White, Planning Director at ZEAL Creative, the agency which created the campaign for Marigold, adds: “Marigold’s range of products perform really well in the hands of consumers, so a confident mechanic to drive mass trial is perfect for the launch. A Try Me Free is a powerful statement on-shelf that can help a leading brand to underline its premium positioning; and the one we have created for Marigold has real standout.”

The Marigold Try Me Free on-pack promotion will run until December 31st, 2017. Promotional packs will be available across Tesco, ASDA, Wilko, Ocado, The Range and Homebase, subject to availability.

ZEAL Creative has put together and run a number of award-winning campaigns for Freudenberg UK, which owns Marigold and also other cleaning brands, including Vileda. A ZEAL campaign for Vileda, Kids Go Free, won Gold in the Consumer Products – Household & Pet Care category at the 2017 IPM Awards, while ZEAL’s Magical Mops promotion won Gold in the same category in 2016.

Freudenberg is a German-owned global company founded in 1849 and still run by descendants of the original founder. Sectors it currently operates in include housewares and cleaning products, automobile parts, textiles, building materials and telecommunications.

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LSI Netherlands BV – owner of the Peperami brand – and agencies TLC Marketing and Sense were crowned the big winners at The IPM Awards 2017, 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 Wednesday June 7 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 Strictly Come Dancing star, Claudia Winkleman.

LSI was named as Brand Owner of the Year, after collecting two Gold and two Silver trophies for its campaign linking Peperami mascot, the Animal, with the Angry Birds movie.

TLC took the Agency of the Year accolade, having picked up four Gold awards and a Silver for a range of different campaigns.

The Grand Prix went to ‘real world’ agency Sense for its #H2O activation, part of the ‘Discomfort Future’ campaign on behalf of The Economist. This saw potential subscribers offered free coffee apparently made from recycled water from a portable toilet, to highlight the issue of water scarcity around the world. It won two Golds and was selected by the IPM awards judges as the best of the best.

The picture above shows Sense collecting their award from Lord Black (left) and the evening’s host, Claudia Winkleman (right).

Other agencies celebrating multiple trophies at the IPM Awards 2017 included The Circle Agency, ZEAL Creative, Toucan and Brand & Deliver. Behaviour change experts 23red managed to pick up Gold, Silver and Bronze in the Not for Profit, Charities and Public Sector category, the second time the agency has achieved this impressive feat.

John Sylvester, Chairman of the IPM, said: “The IPM Awards celebrate outstanding promotional marketing from the very best UK agencies and underscore our commitment to supporting best practice, creativity, effectiveness and innovation. Our Awards are open to everyone in the marketing industry and this year it was great to see both some familiar faces and some newcomers amongst the winners and the audience.”

This year, winners of Gold, Silver and Bronze IPM Awards all qualify for entry into the IMC European Awards, and the IPM will be contacting agencies shortly to explain how to take advantage of this. John Sylvester observes: “The UK produces world-class promotional marketing campaigns, and we want as many of our winners as possible to enter the IMCs so we can underline our leadership in this vitally important sector of the marketing and advertising industry.”

Sponsors for the IPM Awards 2017 included headline sponsor Sodexo, Westfield Shoppingtowns, Sykes, Emirat, Whistl, Granby Marketing Services, Promotional Handling, i-movo, POD Staffing, Peazie and Pictures Experience.

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

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Iconic UK rubber gloves brand Marigold is celebrating its 70th anniversary with its first-ever national on-pack promotion, offering a free gift with every promotional pack.

Every purchase of a pack of Marigold Extra Life Kitchen gloves entitles the shopper to claim a gift; to find out what they have won, they need to visit the promotional site, freegift.marigold.co.uk, and enter a unique code from the pink promotional sticker on-pack. Gifts on offer include five spa days for two, worth £400, 1,000 manicures, 43,000 Nails Inc nail polishes and just under two million three month memberships to the Fabyouless Card scheme  offering 25% or 2-for-1 discounts at salons, spas and gyms nationwide.

The promotional period opened on March 1st 2017 and claims can be made until June 30th, although Marigold is advising consumers promotional packs will be most widely available from March until May.

The promotion was created for brand owner Freudenberg HP by Manchester-based promotional marketing agency Zeal Creative. Freudenberg and Zeal won a Gold trophy in the IPM Awards 2016 for the Vileda Cinderella Magical Mops promotion.

Marigold has also commissioned a social historian, Seren Evans-Charrington, to look at how cleaning has evolved since 1947 as part of the campaign.

Marigold product manager, Laura Burrows, says: “We’re very proud of our heritage from our launch in Gloucester in 1947 with our first gloves, to where we are today with a wide-range of products used by generations, making Marigold a household name across the country. We wanted to celebrate this anniversary by looking back at how things have changed in cleaning over those 70 years. We’re rolling out the main elements of the research to media across the year and we’ve launched our first ever national on-pack promotion to celebrate the anniversary.”

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