Hellmanns deliver an inspiring brand experience in-store

This is a really smart idea from Hellmann's.


In Brazil Hellmann's partnered with 100 stores and installed software at the check-out that provided consumers with Hellmann's recipe ideas based on the other ingredients in their shopping basket.


A neat idea that provides consumers' a great brand experience at the moment they buy.


I assume the objective was to drive usage. I guess it worked as sales increased 44%.


Check the full story at Mashable.

A man without a smiling face must not open a shop

What a great Chinese proverb.


It is spot on and a key part of delivering a great brand experience at the buy stage of the path to purchase. The first moment of truth.


We all know shops we have visited when we had a poor brand experience with the sales person (rude, poor advice, no smile, etc). As a result we may have been put off buying or at least felt less inclined to rush back to buy again.


On the other hand, we have also all had a great interaction with a salesperson. A smile was probably a key part that left you with the feeling of a good buying experience.


It does not take much but can make a big difference.


Retailers know this but don't always have clear values or training in place.


Sure, it takes time and money but if you look at the loyalty and potential advocacy it is worth it [check-out advocacy drives growth paper from LSE].

Three Top Packaging Tips

Brand organisations know that delivering a fabulous in-store brand experience is critical to ensure consumers buy their brand.

Packaging is clearly one of the most important components, given the role it plays at the first moment of truth. I have written about this before.

Retail Customer Experience have just written a useful article covering three ways packaging can improve, impact the retail experience.

Whilst every category and brand has different strategy there are three common packaging considerations that are becoming more essential to ensure the brand deliver a positive in-store experience for consumers.

Here are the article highlights. (These tips seem obvious but I find it surprising that many brands get it wrong.)

1. It needs to stand-out and differentiate

It has to get attention and convey what the brand is all about.

2. It's secure but possible to open with too much hassle

It needs to keep the content secure but not be a nightmare to open.

3. It's sustainable

Consumers care about the environment and don't like it when brands are wasteful.

If consumers notice and like what they see there is a far greater chance they will buy. When a consumer buys a brand and it delivers - and ideally delights - them then the brand will succeed. Packaging is an important part of that equation.

Delighting the consumer at the ‘second moment of truth’ should be the objective of all brands

I read a comment made by Nigella Lawson in a recent interview that all brands teams should take note of.

When asked whether Nigella was into gadgets, she responded by saying: “I am...I love a new toy. I read instruction manuals because I like revelling in my purchase in the same way I read the brochures that come with face creams. I like getting the full pleasure from every purchase.”

This is a clear insight – albeit from an unlikely source – into why it is so important to deliver at the ‘second moment of truth’.

I go on about how brand organisations must consider the brand experience they deliver at every stage of the path to advocacy. The buy stage is really important.

If you can deliver an experience that WOWs consumers when they first open and use a new purchase they are much more likely to become a loyalist and even an advocate.

I just don't get why so few brands get it right. [Think Apple]

P&G places greater focus on packaging and announces a ‘design thinking’ approach

Buy is a critical stage of the path to advocacy. This is when the consumer is in-store selecting which brand they want to buy – or the consumers' ‘first moment of truth, as P&G calls it.

There is an interesting article in AdAge in which P&G has announced that all marketing ideas now have to show they work at the shelf.

This is smart.

Packaging is one of the most influential touchpoints. Moreover, Nielson Bases research for P&G revealed that it is a key driver of awareness.

That is why P&G are putting design thinking at the centre of their multi-functional brand-building teams.

The challenges they face are known by all brand organisations:

• Big retailers are restricting use of displays and point-of-purchase advertising.
• Retailers and consumers are also pressuring brands to make their packages smaller and thereby more sustainable.

This means the role of the package is much more important so BIGGER ideas are critical - because when retailers see big ideas they tend to give brands more space.

P&G have asked their communications agencies to vet ideas first in store, because that often can be the most challenging environment to communicate an idea.

My advice is to follow this approach, but also make sure your packaging is informative and consistent with what the brand is all about.

Oh yes, and one last thing....don’t change it too often.

Apple and Disney deliver some in-store magic

In a recent post I talked about Disney’s plans to revamp their stores with help from Steve Jobs from Apple. I have also posted before about how Apple are the masters of retail (among other things).

I guess regular readers will not be surprised given that this blog is all about celebrating brand organisations that get the importance of designing & delivering winning brand experiences that delight consumers.

Anyway, I came across a post at Retail Customer Experience that highlighted 5 lessons from the Disney/Apple story:

1. Product knowledge isn't everything. It is also about new and exciting retail experiences...be on the lookout for great ideas outside your own product category.
2. Even great companies get stuck. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, advice or coaching from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds.
3. Experiences are tough to copy: Experiences are not only difficult to replicate, but also they allow you to command a premium for that very same product or service.
4. Retail should be fun: We need to bring the joy back to shopping.
5. Innovate in downturns:

These are great tips that all retailers should consider if they are looking for ways to get customers to buy again and may be even advocate to their mates.

HMVs purchase of 11 music venues is a game changing move

HMV - a leading record store in UK - has very cleverly transformed its business model and potential fortunes overnight.

The world knows that the record business is in long term terminal decline given that digital, file sharing, etc, has changed people’s music buying behaviours forever.

HMV have moved into the live music business through the purchase of 11 live music venues.

This is a perfect business fit for them, as summed up by their CEO when he said:

‘The deal was far more than a rebranding exercise of some of the venues. Music is very much part of our DNA, and by extending the HMV brand into the growing live music and entertainment market our customers will, as never before, be able to access and experience music in all of its forms via HMV"

Put yourself in the mind of the consumer and compare these two different types of experiences.

In a store you are wandering around, looking at stuff, maybe thinking about the pleasure you'll get when you play what you buy for the first time. There may be some pain at the check out [cost, time, rude staff, whatever] but basically it's an okay brand experience.





In a gig you are with yor mates, the band is great, the music is loud, you're having a fantastic night out. What a great brand experience.





By moving into live music business HMV has, at the stroke of a pen, opened-up massive and extremely relevant brand exprience opportunity that should transform how consumers' feel about them. Not to mention the interesting merchandising, cross promotion, loyalty initiatives (tickets to gigs), etc, opportunities.

All this should help drive HMV music buyers through the path to advocacy to become fans and advocates.

Like the O2’s success with the Docklands Dome, I think this link is inspired.

Brand Delivery - the moments of truth

This stage of the PDD framework is simply about the brand delivering the (brand) promise that has been made to the consumer.

The first part of it occurs when they go into the store to buy. Ideally they buy without distractions of competitor brand offers. It is sometimes referred to as the first 'moment of truth’ because it is the first time the consumer discovers whether the brand delivers the promise.

The second part (‘second moment of truth’) is when the consumer uses the brand; not just when they unpack and use for the first time, but every time they use it.

The delivery at both these parts is vital. If the consumer intents to buy but is switched to a competitor brand, or the brand doesn’t deliver when being used, then the marketing effort is wasted.

If a brand is successfully delivering the promise then the next thing it should focus on is delighting the consumer, to cement consumer loyalty and motivate them to become advocates.

Sounds straightforward…but why do so many brands get it wrong?