Julian Barrans from Sales Activation Solutions spoke at the IRI Seminar in June, here we recap why POP tools should play a key role in brand activation plans.
Driven by technological advances, media inflation and increasingly wide array of media options, the role and type of brands available is changing dramatically. However, the one common driver in all of this is that the consumer is taking control. As a result, marketers are having to change the way they work to continue being successful.
Television remains the primary advertising tool but while spend is increasing, the number of viewers is not. Increasingly consumers are taking control of how they are marketed to by using their PDRs (personal digital recorders) to skip through ads. A recent study by Accenture has revealed that in the US, 8% of the population have this technology. Within this user base, 70% of advertisements are being filtered out by viewers. By 2009 it is estimated that 40% of viewing will be done by PDR.
This shift in behaviour amounts to $27bn in lost ad revenues – a figure which could be, in part at least, redirected to investment in POP.
It’s important to remember the recency effect when it comes to above the line advertising such as television. Ebbinghaus proved in 1885 that 40% of people forget advertising messages after 20 minutes and more than 50% forget them after an hour. This rises to 70% after a single day so while repeated airings can undoubtedly be impactful, there are many other areas in which investment can be made to work for your brand.
To maximise sales, brand activation work must be done both outside and inside the store. This could begin with a sampling event in the car park and external floor graphics. Once inside the store, Trolleyvision, an in-trolley advertising system can be used, more product sampling, then internal floor graphics, right up to the point of purchase.
POP products are more cost-effective than all main media, partly because it’s the only one in the transaction zone. Another advantage of POP activity is that it dovetails well with your brand and reminds shoppers of any above the line advertising such as television or radio.
For many companies, spending in-store is often a last minute thing to use up spare cash from the marketing budget. The benefits of POP tools clearly prove that this is a misguided approach.