World View 2013

Shopper Marketing's second annual report once again takes the “temperature” of shopper marketing around the world by querying consumer packaged goods professionals who work outside the United States about shoppers, retailer relations, path-to-purchase activity, etc., in their particular markets.Bogota, ColombiaManuel Fernandez de Castro MunozTrade Marketing Manager,Energizer ColombiaExperience in Market: 13 years.Market Nuances: “Colombia has large differences among its internal regional zones, which creates a strong competitive landscape between different cities. Implementation strategies are often customized for the needs of each market. Colombia is still very dependent on the mom-and-pop channel, [which accounts for] 52% of [sales among] all retailers, and there’s strong competition with local brands. When companies come to Colombia, they often find it very difficult to understand the market, channels and consumer variables that the locals handle in a faster and very successful way.”Shopper Marketing: “It’s not easy to find our own development concept in shopper marketing strategies. It’s more like a fast market follower of global trends. The development is more in high-consumption categories by the leaders of the categories. We haven’t gotten to the point yet of generating a complete shopping experience.”The Shopper: “The Colombian consumer is divided into two distinct groups: those with low income who have limited access to information, and those who can choose what they want in certain categories and who interact more with alternate communication means, achieving interaction with brands. At every level we’re looking for and identifying with certain brands and behaviors, and the new generations are starting to generate multiple social subcultures to determine consumption.”Working With Retailers: “It’s easier to deal with large customers and formats, which are organized and formal. But in traditional channels, it’s very different. These people search for any interaction seeking a monetary benefit and do not perceive the concepts that can generate business development.”Mobile Marketing: “Smartphones are growing in their penetration, but users see them more as social interaction tools than as tools for commercial interaction. Purchases are at a very low level. Another factor that also hinders the development is that e-commerce websites don’t have the technical capability to accommodate mobile applications.”Sao Paulo, BrazilRogerio LimaNational Trade Marketing Manager,Boehringer IngelheimMarket Nuances: “Especially in the OTC segment, Brazil has interesting nuances impacting shopper marketing strategies. In 2010, the federal medicines regulation agency imposed a regulation on pharma retailers, banning the OTC exhibition of cash-and-carry. All the OTC products had to be housed behind the counter so Brazilian ‘patients’ – not shoppers in their point of view – were well-assisted by the pharmacist in an attempt to reduce medicine contaminations. The agency recently concluded that the problem was not in the way the medicines were offered at the point-of-sale. During the ban, however, cosmetics products occupied OTC space, and many retailers don’t want to move OTC back to the shelves, despite 58% of shoppers intending to buy medicines.”Shopper Marketing: “It’s growing quickly and is being led and discussed by trade marketing departments inside the top players of the market, developing them into a strategic position at companies instead of just a tactical function. On the other hand, we don’t observe this prioritization within our retailers. The majority isn’t thinking as strategically as they could, but we’ll continue improving.”The Shopper: “Family incomes are increasing, and Brazilians are very impulsive not only at the point-of-sale, but also when buying services, etc. At the zero moment of truth, the influence of advertising is higher compared to Latin American countries. On the Web, 43% are online at the same time as watching TV, and we have 71 million Facebook users. E-commerce is also increasing dramatically.”Working With Retailers: “Retailers continue to understand that the relation with manufacturers needs to upgrade into a strategic perspective, focusing more on sell-out activities and results than on tactical and only from manufacturers’ promotional expenses. The big opportunity for retailers is to better organize shopper and category databases, providing us with the correct information that could support further and assertive investments.”Digital Marketing: “Brazilians are permanently online. The incremental sales rate of e-commerce was 14.8% in 2010 and 22.5% in 2012. We’ve seen many success stories in this space.”Mobile Marketing: “We can observe successful examples in Brazil, but they’re still rare in the total retail market.”Guangzhou, ChinaJackson WangAsia Leader – Go To Market for P&G Haircare and Skincare,Procter & GambleMarket Nuances: “We have a growing and wealthy economy, and there is more spending power. There’s a definite demand for very strong and new experiences from shoppers – and retailers. P&G has invested in brand and product innovation and retail design to drive excitement.”Shopper Marketing: “China is a hotbed for innovation. Shopper marketing is developed in some areas but still developing in others. Retailers want out-of-the-box solutions from all manufacturers, and we’re looking at new ways of selling our brands.”The Shopper: “Drivers are premium, natural and sustainable.”Working With Retailers: “Our customer demands are not surprisingly linked to shopper needs. China is incredibly fragmented – one of the most fragmented retail landscapes in the world. So unlike the U.S. or Western Europe, where we talk to maybe four to five key retailer partners, in China it’s 20 to 30.”Path-to-Purchase Activity: “How we entice the shopper is key – from beautification through to shopper engagement and ultimately sale. Our approach is to create holistic marketing programs, understanding that the path to purchase is not linear. P&G understands the importance of the shopper, adopts a store-back approach to marketing activities and is putting more focus on below the line.”Digital and Mobile Marketing: “Digital and mobile are both increasingly important. E-commerce still accounts for a small percentage of sales, but it’s growing. China is one of the most complex mobile markets in the world. It’s not unusual for consumers to have at least three phones to suit their needs. We’re also communicating to a new generation – a generation that didn’t grow up with home phones.”Specific Activity: “For our haircare ‘retail design’ initiative, we created a ‘Hairzone’ using shopper-based design to differentiate the hair-care tiers (premium, medium, base level). It was designed to guide and create an environment to aid shoppability, making it easier to navigate the category and aid purchase choice. It has been a huge success in Asia.”Guangzhou, ChinaShirley ZengSenior National Trade Marketing Manager,Wrigley Confectionary (China) Ltd.Experience in Market: 10-plus years.My Job: “I design in-store DMPP [distribution/merchandising/price/promotion] strategies and develop high-quality and innovative DMPP solutions to win at the point-of-sale.”Shopper Marketing: “Shopper marketing has become more and more important for both retailers and manufacturers to win in the market. Many top manufacturers invest resources in shopper insights and shopper conversion solutions studies.”The Shopper: “The confectionary category is an impulsive purchase category in China. We conducted a Shopper Mission Study in 2012, and the report is still a work in progress. We wanted to understand why the confectionary shopper goes shopping in the first place. From the results, we hope to understand some critical questions like shopper profiles/behaviors in different store types.”Working With Retailers: “More and more retailers are open to partnering with manufacturers on category management, customized shopper insights studies and joint in-store shopper activation initiatives. Of course, there are barriers.”Digital/Mobile Marketing: “Both are emerging. Social media has grown very quickly in the past three to five years here.”Metrics: “We measure from finance [sales/ROI], shopper [penetration/conversion], people [sales/customer feedback], and operations.”High Wycombe, EnglandTim HeydonController – Category Development for Europe, Middle East and Africa,Energizer Holdings Inc.Experience in Market: 15 years.My Job: “I’m responsible for category development vision evolution, initiative creation and execution for the EMEA area [including shopper insights-based solution creation and delivery].”Market Nuances: “The United Kingdom is the most developed market in Europe [and, we understand, one of the top three globally] in relation to the uptake of mobile digital ‘shopping.’”Shopper Marketing: “It’s an area of focus that is well-established in the UK, although it is in a state of evolution. We’re witnessing a particularly dynamic time for shopper marketing in this market, with the unprecedented economic conditions of the past five years, as well as an explosion in digital media, challenging the traditional category models of growth, changing when and where shoppers shop, and how they go about deciding and purchasing.”Path-to-Purchase Activity: “Even when the shopper and the consumer is the same person, his/her mindset and behavior along the path to purchase will differ significantly. The challenge is to deliver the right message for the ‘solution’ at each contact point in the path to purchase. Many brands are not consistently ‘here’ yet in the UK. You will still often observe a ‘copy and paste’ approach to marketing through the path, with each touchpoint message a replication of the top-line brand message.”Digital Marketing: “There’s a wealth of creative, innovative, digital marketing campaigns in the market and there is no sign of a slowdown in evolution.”Winchester, EnglandJonathan FearnMarketing Manager,Bacardi-Martini Ltd.Experience in Market: 11 years.Market Nuances: “The customer base across the on- and off-trade channels are typically very different. The on trade is very fragmented with only a handful of large retailers. The majority of business for the off-trade goes through four retailers, which leaves little margin for error when executing campaigns.”Shopper Marketing: “It has only really evolved over the past five years and still is, particularly with technology now impacting the way we shop.”The Shopper: “We’ve invested heavily in understanding the spirits shopper. We recognize that our category is all alcohol, not just spirits. The spirits shopper in the UK can be defined by demographic, life stage, age, frequency/weight of purchase amongst many others; however, ultimately consumption/purchase behavior is always linked to an occasion.”Working With Retailers: “Due to the consolidated nature of the off-trade business, it’s essential for suppliers to collaborate with retailers. A missed campaign or promotional slot with just one of the major multiples can have a significant impact on volume/value return, which makes the retailers very influential.”Mobile Marketing: “Access to the Internet via mobile devices will overtake fixed line this year in the UK. Smartphone and tablet penetration is also increasing. The real benefit for mobile marketing within a shopper environment will be the introduction of NFC, or near field communication. Not only will this allow for transactions, but the mobile device can act as the scanner and receiver, which means that ATL [advertising] campaigns can start to link direct through to purchase.”Specific Activity: “A key barrier for spirits is that they’re usually stored out of sight in a cupboard, compared to beer and wine in the refrigerator. We developed a shopper campaign in stores offering two free branded glasses with a spirits purchase. It was communicated through the path to purchase as well as digitally through Facebook and Twitter. We recruited new consumers in-store through the campaign and drove consumption frequency in homes.”Gurgaon, IndiaArghya MukherjeeManager – Shopper Insights & Category Management,PepsiCo IndiaExperience in Market: Eight years in India; two-plus years in United Arab Emirates.Market Nuances: “The Indian market is at a nascent stage as far as modern trade is concerned. Most of the volume of FMCG products still comes from the traditional trade. Multi-brand retailers with foreign investment are required to source 30% of goods from small and medium enterprises locally and invest $100 million in the first three years. The other big challenge is collecting and managing retail data. The systems are not very strong, and analytics in this space is still quite new. The market is as diverse as it is large, and the nature of the Indian shopper changes every few hundred kilometers. The Indian market may be lucrative, but it is difficult to crack.”Shopper Marketing: “It’s taking baby steps. With the emergence of modern trade, one can clearly see the growing power of shopper marketing as the stores are no longer merely a stockpiling place. Depending on the category, it is found that shoppers make up to 60% of their decisions on the floor of the store. Currently most brands use it only tactically, and generally it’s not built into the overall marketing plan.”The Shopper: “Indian shoppers are now spoiled for choice. They have started experimenting more with new formats, stores and banners within stores. High inflation is the other reason they are more discerning, and they actively seek value through promotions and sales as well as private label. The challenge for retailers and brand manufacturers will be to maintain a loyal shopper base. While this is the scenario in urban India, even rural shoppers are much more connected than they were a few years back. Better employment opportunities, more money flowing back into the villages, awareness of large-format retail, and a very high penetration of mobile phones have meant increased exposure and awareness. The line dividing the urban and the rural shopper is gradually blurring.”Working With Retailers: “The amount of data collected by retailers is extremely low. A large chunk of the data is, in fact, quite irrelevant and never updated. Most Indian retailers stop at rewards. Behavioral data is also usually not used to the fullest extent. However, a need has been felt to understand shoppers better to deliver category growth. As a result of that, some leading retailers have started partnering with leading manufacturers and retail consultancies to better understand shopper behavior.”Path-to-Purchase Activity: “The path to purchase starts a few kilometers ahead of the retail outlet, but the situation in India is somewhat different today. A consumer sits at home, searches the Internet and makes a purchasing decision. The shopper’s vision is no longer restricted by what the shopping aisle offers her. Also, the offline behavior impacts online shopping. The surge in deal-seeking behavior that has prompted and sustained a plethora of deals by offline retailers is also prompting similar shopper behavior online. Interestingly, this is no longer a metro phenomenon. Smaller towns have climbed on to the e-commerce bandwagon as well and are competing with the metros to shop or sell smart gadgets.”Digital Marketing: “India’s personal computer penetration is around 10%. In absolute numbers, however, that’s still 120 million people in India. The concentration is mostly in the major metro markets, and the affluence of the growing middle class has fueled the growth of Internet usage. On the other hand, PC Internet access is quite low in the smaller towns. In those areas, mobile phone penetration is huge compared to Internet penetration. As a result, where there is no PC access, people have leapfrogged technologies and have gone straight to mobile phones. It is predicted that investment in tier 2 and tier 3 cities will flourish in the next few years, which will lead to a big uptake of PCs and therefore more investment in digital marketing. Since India is a developing market, brand-building becomes far more important than tactical selling.”Mobile Marketing: “India accounts for approximately 12% of worldwide mobile connections, but just about 2% of worldwide mobile services revenue. Mobile advertising has not been very popular in India. Despite having huge numbers, it’s not able to attract advertisers and the main reason is the lack of understanding about user behavior on mobile. SMS as a medium still has the ‘on the face’ effect compared to other forms of mobile marketing. The biggest barrier is the adoption of smartphones. Low-end feature phones don’t give the superior user experience that smartphones can provide to the end user. The majority of users use mobile phones as the only mode of connectivity. It’s more in the urban areas that it is used in conjunction with other devices.”SingaporeRemco BolShopper and Customer Marketing Director-Asia & Africa,UnileverExperience in Market: Six months. He’s also worked in the Netherlands, China, Mexico and United Kingdom.My Job: “To raise the bar on shopper marketing and category management capabilities in Asia and Africa.”Shopper Marketing: “Some markets such as Thailand are ahead of any other market in Asia. But in Central Africa, it’s really in the early days of this concept.”The Shopper: “In Asia and Africa, people earn their salary on a weekly or daily basis. The impact of this is reflected in their shopping behaviors and the retail environments. A minority of shoppers in this part of the world does bulk shopping. The majority will do small daily shopping.”Working With Retailers: “A big part of the retail environment is what we call traditional trade. We have to tailor our shopper marketing approach to the owners of these small retail outlets. It’s a completely different approach. The main similarity is that the starting point remains the same – the shopper.”Path-to-Purchase Activity: “Retailers in Asia and Africa are far less evolved when it comes to the use of technology in shopper marketing activities. Our primary job is to get the basics right first. Of course there are exceptions: Thailand and South Africa are using state-of-the-art technology with their modern trade retailers. The activation around personal care and male grooming in some stores in Bangkok is leading edge and an example for all other markets.”Digital Marketing: “Digital marketing is ready to boom in Asia and Africa, and Unilever will be playing a leading role in this area.”Mobile Marketing: “Mobile is huge. Even in the most remote parts of some markets, the mobile phone penetration is close to 100%. In Africa, mobile is now used to transfer money, which has an enormous impact on the way we do business with our distributors. Safety is an issue in Central Africa, where carrying money is a risk. By moving to phone banking, we take away this risk. That opens many doors and increases the distribution of our brands.”Brussels, BelgiumAn MartelCustomer Marketing Director - Belgium & Netherlands,DiageoExperience in Market: 12 years.Market Nuances: “The Belgian retail market is pretty mature and stable. Shoppers have always been price-conscious and are even more so in the current economic situation; they are known to be world champions in collecting price-off coupons. Hypermarkets are in slight decline, and the smaller store formats [such as supermarkets] are growing.”The Shopper: “A typical Belgian spirits shopper goes shopping with routine stock-up as the main mission. Spirits shopping is generally combined with weekly grocery shopping. The exception to this is the convenience channel, where the main shopping mission is ‘something for tonight’ and where the average basket size is smaller and shoppers tend to be less price-sensitive than in hyper or supermarkets.”Working With Retailers: “Retailers tend to be demanding and focused on margin. However, we’ve managed to get into another mode when talking about category development and shopper marketing initiatives where we strive together for consistent category growth. By showing genuine interest in our retailers’ business and strategy, and matching this with shopper insights, we offer them tailor-made solutions with the intention of creating value for both our customers and our company.”Mobile Marketing: “There’s a clear future for mobile marketing when looking at the recent smartphone usage numbers, but only smaller producers have explored it thus far in Belgium.”Metrics: “If the main goal of the promotion is to generate short-term profitability, the most indicative metrics are the incremental revenues and profit delivered by the activity. It’s important to stress that we not only evaluate the success of an activity for Diageo, but we also consider what the benefits are for our customers. In this light, we analyze what the impact is of an activity from a category perspective and try to understand how we can create value for our customers.”Rotterdam, NetherlandsJohan Van VaerenberghTrade Marketing Director Benelux,Bacardi-MartiniExperience in Market: 15 years.My Job: “The trade marketing department’s mission is threefold, encompassing shopper marketing, commercial planning and activation, and revenue growth management.”Time in U.S.: “I studied at Darden Business School [University of Virginia] for management leadership training.”Shopper Marketing: “It is highly advanced within large FMCG companies and fairly advanced within medium-sized organizations.”The Shopper: “The shopper visits at least five different banners, and her banner choice is driven by proximity, price and habit. There is a relatively low in-store decision rate (40%), but a high per capita consumption in wine and beer.”Working With Retailers: “There is no real openness at this moment. A limited number of retailers are exploiting loyalty card data only as a promotional medium, not as an insight source for joint business plans. Selling out data via Nielsen or directly from the retailer is more common.”Path-to-Purchase Activity: “We take a 360-degree approach on our range promotions, where we try to reach consumers at all touchpoints – using Facebook, leaflets, magazines, near story boards and in-store secondary placements – on the path to purchase. We also include clear communication on drinks instead of bottles, and focus on the shopper barriers of price and [lack of] refreshment.”Digital and Mobile Marketing: “It’s still very small – the tipping point has not been reached yet.”Specific Activity: “A good example is our occasion-based range promotions. Our ‘Share it Fresh’ campaign was focused on what we call the ‘connecting with friends’ occasion. In this promotion we focused on tackling the specific shopper barriers for that occasion, using both in-store materials and path-to-purchase communication such as magazines, leaflets and/or Facebook.”SingaporePrashant AgarwalRegional Marketing Director (Consumer Business), Asia,DellExperience in Market: Three years. “Prior to that I spent 10 years in the U.S., living in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.”Shopper Marketing: “Shopper marketing is quite sophisticated across our mature and emerging economies. Shoppers have high expectations, and the digital revolution has reduced information asymmetry. As a result, brands have to innovate and be well-targeted to cut through the channels and competitive clutter to attract shoppers.”The Shopper: “Shoppers in Asia are discerning and seek high value for their money. They’re willing to spend more if they feel they’re getting a much better offering. They rely on research, as well as word-of-mouth referrals. Social media has become very prevalent and often helps create the consideration set. Shoppers in Asia place more emphasis on the relationship elements – with the brands, the retailers – than shoppers in the U.S.”Working With Retailers: “Retailers in Asia are comfortable sharing their views on the market and the needs. This is especially true of the large unorganized retail sector. The big barriers are the same everywhere: making sure the discussions don’t take away from time that could be spent generating more business.”Path-to-Purchase Activity: “It typically differs for different segments of shoppers and the nature of the product. In our business – technology – we see shoppers actively research options and specifications prior to purchase. Technology as an enabler at the point of sale has gained a lot of momentum in Asia. The use of QR codes, interactive technical merchandising and experience stations are all becoming more common. Smartphones also are becoming common and integrated tools in the retail shopper journey.”Digital and Mobile Marketing: “Digital marketing no longer is restricted to just the computer. The ‘third screen’ has evolved to be such that it’s always on, always with shoppers. With the widespread adoption of smartphones in the region, digital/mobile marketing is an important focus. This is especially true for Asia, which is very driven by aspirations.”Paris, FranceCeline BouvierNorth West Europe & Nordics – Shopper Marketing Director,The Coca-Cola Co.Experience in Market: 20 years.My Job: “I deliver shopper marketing platforms for our global brands and build capabilities across functions [marketing, operations] to increase our engagement with shoppers in-store. I also leverage emerging technologies to create more value for our customers and shoppers.Market Nuances: “Economic context is lasting and shoppers rate value higher. E-commerce is developing fast in Great Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and as a result, the shopper becomes multi-channel.”Shopper Marketing: “There’s an increasing priority given to shopper marketing in the largest FMCG companies, which translates into efforts to better understand the shoppers’ motivations and missions, prioritize opportunities and plan shopper activities as a critical and integrated part of the overall business-marketing plan.”The Shopper: “There are differences between European markets in frequency/size of baskets. In France, people tend to shop more for stock-up, and in Great Britain they shop more frequently and have smaller baskets. The commonality is the expectation of a great value for their money in the context of the economic crisis. There is clearly a great excitement to buy more and more online and get better service.”Working With Retailers: “Our retailers expect us to understand the shoppers and their strategy so we can create value.”Path-to-Purchase Activity: “It is evolving dramatically thanks to emerging technologies as technically shoppers are now able to shorten the path to purchase. Emerging technologies also allow us to connect better with the shopper at the store, as long as we bring value during his journey.”Digital and Mobile Marketing: “They are both game changers. Many players are coming to the market, and it offers amazing opportunities in terms of functionality.”Guaynabo, Puerto RicoVivian RentaCategory Management Manager,Kimberly-ClarkMarket Nuances: “Puerto Rico is a very peculiar market with a strong U.S. influence in terms of retailers and product offering. We are a hybrid market, with the American influence on retail, portfolios and even language, but we have a strong Hispanic influence culturally speaking.”Shopper Marketing: “CPG companies here have begun to understand the discipline and have put teams in place to stay up-to-date with market trends. Still, we are far behind compared to the U.S. evolution in the past couple of years.”The Shopper: “Puerto Rican shoppers are savvy. They’ll cherry-pick to get the best products at the best price possible. They’re not moved by coupons as much as shoppers in the U.S., but publications can be a way to move a shopper from one retailer to another.”Working With Retailers: “Since the scale of our businesses is much smaller, we have faster reaction times when executing initiatives. We have very strong and collaborative business relations with our top customers, and when creating win-win solutions, we openly share as many insights from both sides as possible, identifying common grounds to develop successful initiatives.”Specific Activity: “Point-of-market entry for Huggies diapers with Walmart. We created a ‘Baby Shower’ promotion that included publications that drove traffic to stores. Exclusive parking spaces for pregnant women branded with Huggies were marked, and in select Walmart stores, an alliance with the Red Cross provided CPR and basic care information for babies in case of an emergency, and also housed secondary exhibitions with exclusive items. At shelf, new items related to point-of-market entry in the super premium segment. The results showed a sales lift during the promotional period of 23% and super premium trade-up of 107%.”Bayamon, Puerto RicoRicardo IrizarryShopper Specialist,Kellogg CaribbeanExperience in Market: 13 years.Market Nuances: “Although Puerto Rico is a small island, we have 3.7 million people, and depending on the part of the island we have different shopping and shopper profiles.”Shopper Marketing: “Manufacturers have been developing shopper marketing in the last three to seven years, gaining more importance recently. We’re in the era of exploring shopper profiles, gaining shopper insights and starting to place into action shopper marketing campaigns.”The Shopper: “The typical shopper is price-driven, and the selection of retailer depends on weekly retailer circulars. Part of the market relies on government-aid programs. Our market has had a change in the way shoppers buy, moving from monthly or biweekly shopping patterns to smaller shopping trips. Drugstores have gained importance since they’re setting themselves in high-traffic locations and offering essential products such as cereal, eggs, milk, bread, etc.”Working With Retailers: “Retailers are more inclined to share insights than they were a few years ago. In the past, they thought sharing information would put them at a disadvantage with their competitors, but that has changed. There are still retailers that are not as open to sharing information.”Path-to-Purchase Activity: “Typical marketing activities include media campaigns [ads], basic digital ads, participation in retailers’ circulars, multiple in-store exhibitions and gondola communication. We’ve been able to develop plans with our retailers to communicate shopper messaging through different touchpoints where the shopper interacts.”Digital Marketing: “Digital marketing is starting to build up in our market, but approximately 50% of our population does not have access to the Internet, so we’re not aggressively using it.”Mobile Marketing: “Manufacturers are starting to develop mobile campaigns, but this is not a market where retailers frequently use mobile marketing.”Metrics: “We look at ROI, shares, distributors’ compliance metrics, and actual sales vs. budget sales.”Panama City, PanamaGaston Martinez de HozAssociate Director, Latin America Corporate Designand In-Store Marketing, Procter & GambleExperience in Market: 16 years. “I’ve had assignments in Argentina [six years], Brazil [four] and now Panama for the past five years.”Time in the U.S.: “I am the son of an expatriate who worked for S.C. Johnson in Racine, Wis., for three years when I was a child. I later did my undergraduate work at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.”Market Nuances: “The Latin American market dynamics can be challenging, and we must be very agile in response. Challenges range from economic and/or social uncertainty to how quickly competition moves and reacts in the region. For many of our global competitors, Latin America is their most important region, so this demands that we be very competitive in all aspects of our work and provide the best proposition to our retail partners.”The Shopper: “The Latin American shopper is primarily the woman in charge of the household. She’s accountable to manage her family’s money and is constantly trying to find the best deal. She’s not necessarily store loyal, and also shops across channels.”Working With Retailers: “Retailers are open to working with companies in bringing strong design and shopper concepts to their stores. In general they don’t have as much access to shopper information or key insights as in other markets. Creative design is usually welcome, since it’s an opportunity to differentiate vs. the market. The main barrier is scale and speed to market. Once we’ve proven that a particular concept works in one country, we’d like to roll it out to the rest of Latin America quickly. However, retailers aren’t usually organized in this way. Each country has much more independence on what should be done in their stores, so it’s challenging.”Mobile Marketing: “Mobile penetration is huge. However, the full mobile explosion is still to hit Latin America via smartphones. Data plans aren’t cheap enough yet to double smartphone penetration or have more people connecting to the Internet via mobile devices than desktops. We know this will happen in the not-so-distant future.”Mississauga, OntarioLaura PanettaSenior Shopper Insights and Marketing Manager,ConAgra Foods CanadaExperience in Market: 12 years.Market Nuances: “Consolidation continues to be common, as retailers look to increase scale and differentiate their market position. There’s a growing presence of specialized ethnic stores catering to the multicultural tastes of shoppers. Harder economic times have driven a shift to discount shopping channels, placing added pressure on retail prices in an already much commoditized food market.”Shopper Marketing: “It’s growing strong in Canada with great opportunity for further development. The definition and application still varies widely across the industry, but more companies are embracing this discipline to tap into the value of collaborating with retail partners. Retailers have responded with new ways to commercialize their in-store environments, private-label brands, and loyalty-card insights.”The Shopper: “Shopping behaviors can vary by category and channel. The food shopper can be quite price-driven, seeking out the best deal. Coupons are used, but to a lesser extent than in the U.S. market. Shoppers are very informed about products and are time-starved, so convenience is important.”Working With Retailers: “This varies based on a retailer’s stage of development in this discipline. There’s a strong demand for companies to deliver customized and even exclusive initiatives to help retailers build shopper loyalty. The best retail partners have worked to drive strong alignment between their own category management and marketing teams. These retail partners also understand the importance of linking shopper programs to flawless execution of in-store merchandising.”Digital and Mobile Marketing: “Digital is growing and many retailers have ramped up their sites with new advertising and partnership opportunities. Mobile is a hot trend, but still has to prove itself in Canada. Both seem to be moving from being a destination for information to a place to plan and activate purchases.”Special credit goes to the following agencies for facilitating our connections: Dialogue, London (for Jackson Wang)Fitch, Columbus, Ohio (for Prashant Agarwal)Saatchi & Saatchi X, Springdale, Ark. (for Gaston Martinez de Hoz)

World View 2013

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