DDi - June 2012 - (Page 16)

16 | Shopper Insights How creative design influences shopper behavior e live in a media landscape saturated with messages and stimuli. As in-store and shopper marketers, we know this truth all too well given our extensive work in the retail landscape, where the average shopper will pass 300 products per minute. It isn’t easy for an item to break through the clutter, especially when new products are launched and packaging is redesigned continually. Therefore, we devote countless hours and resources trying to distinguish our brands and encourage shoppers to put our product in the shopping cart utilizing the most effective medium available—in-store marketing. Today, so much is written about shopper research methodologies, psychologies and metrics, implying the science that resides behind successful shopper marketing. But, all the science in the world still has not given us the definitive truths on what “good” shopper marketing consistently looks like, especially when we talk about creative assets in the retail environment. W A brilliant creative idea often doesn’t cost any more than a dull one, and it can bring in considerably more return for your money. Just as in traditional advertising, effective creative engagement draws on integration with the overall marketing objectives. A creative idea sticks out and increases the likelihood that a shopper will recall information about your larger marketing campaign, interact with your product in-store and, ultimately, put your product in his or her basket. With nearly 55 years of awards data and entries from the marketing at-retail industry’s oldest and most prestigious awards program, the Outstanding Merchandising Achievement (OMA) Awards, POPAI has observed a number of commonalities that make an effective and arguably creative display. Based upon these trends, good shopper creative has encompassed the following qualities: Education. Shoppers are constantly seeking information. The more they can learn about a product, the more they will be willing to consider purchasing it—especially for new products. Here, the creative challenge is to choose which bits of information are most relevant to the shopper’s needs and to convey them simply and effectively. A single, clear message. While shoppers are seeking information, they aren’t looking to spend a lot of time studying the products they toss into their shopping cart, so the package and in-store marketing materials need to convey a clear message. For example, adding more claims will not increase the time the shopper spends reading; it will dilute the message, exposing your brand to the risk of not making it into the shopper’s basket. 3 1 2 4 5 6 Simply inspiring. This is often the most challenging part of developing an effective and creative display. We are trying to educate the shopper in a succinct manner, so how can we keep the creative message inspiring when, in the blink of an eye, the copy has to be big, the visual impactful, the message straightforward, the branding outstanding and the message informative, engaging and relevant? Strong and visible design. This is perhaps one of the most pivotal roles of developing effective shopper marketing communications. Using contrast in packaging and in-store media design, with large blocks of color, readable font and strong branding, can maximize impact. While shelves are filled with “screaming” products that demand the shopper’s attention, what proves to be most effective is simplicity in design. Ease of shopping. We know that shoppers are seeking information, and that they often are overwhelmed by choice in any given category. By making your product easy to find and, most importantly, easy to understand, you can differentiate your product from the others on the shelf. Shopper navigation. Truly creative ideas can do more than just get a single product in the basket—they can help guide and influence the shopper’s entire path to purchase. By leveraging shopper insights and incorporating them into the creative design process, we can develop multiple touchpoints that can feed the creativity of the message throughout the store. The recency, immediacy and relevancy factors of messaging play such a huge role in the message effectiveness and the creative execution impact. Take these factors into consideration when developing creative elements to be executed in-store—you might just help trigger purchase in favor of your brand. —Richard Winter is the president of POPAI, The Global Association for Marketing at Retail, an information source for brand marketers, retailers, producers and suppliers. Find out more at www.popai.com. | June 2012 www.ddionline.com http://www.popai.com http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - June 2012

DDi - June 2012
Table of Contents
From the Editor
From the Show Director
Newsworthy
Shopper Insights
Visual Perspectives
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot
Behind the Scenes: Anthropologie windows
Creativity Pin-Up
Channel Focus: Lifestyle Store
Right Light
Calendar
Advertisers
Classifieds
Shopping with Paco

DDi - June 2012