You Say "Lite," We Say "Light"

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Retailers and brands spend considerable time aligning shopper segmentation models to define common objectives, but what happens when two brand titans are brought together in a merger? Pretty much the same thing, according to John Burn, director, channel strategy and field marketing, MillerCoors, during his presentation at the 2010 In-Store Marketing Summit.Burn discussed the challenges involved in building a common shopper marketing platform for MillerCoors following the 2008 merger of Miller Brewing Co. and Coors Brewing Co. When the two companies came together, the first stage was to identify gaps in knowledge and create one common language around segments and shoppers."We were talking, but we weren't understanding each other. We needed one common language, one common set of tools, one common process," Burn said. The company considered several possible segmentation methodologies -- occasion-based, trip-based, need state, etc. -- and developed a shared one that aligned with "the driver of choice at retail," said Burn.The second stage in building a common platform was to link insights to the available tools and programs in the field. Burn's channel strategy and field marketing team falls under retail marketing at MillerCoors. He described his team's relationship with the customer marketing team (which belongs to sales) as "symbiotic" and mutually beneficial.Burn's channel strategy team defines how shoppers behave across formats, and what channels, shoppers and occasions MillerCoors must target. It also defines what tools and programs are needed to drive growth. Meanwhile, the customer marketing team defines how shoppers behave under a particular store banner, drilling down to very customer-specific insights. It is responsible for understanding which products and categories are most important to each customer. Burn said his team has spent the past year working hard to ensure retail promotion managers understand how to link the insights his team provides with potential applications and activate programs in the field."You can give them insights, but they don't necessarily know what to do with them," Burn said. "It's only when they realize the potential application for that insight that they go, 'Man, I get it!'"Another task following the merger was to teach the marketing organization how to frame up briefs that focus more on retailer benefits than on the "brand-centric" approaches that have historically dominated the beer category, Burn said."It's not about grabbing whatever space on the floor we can grab. We needed a more strategic, sharp-shooting approach," he said.The last stage in building out united MillerCoors shopper marketing, still underway, is to master execution at the retail level and "hard wire" priorities across corporate headquarters, market units and distributors. Burn noted that the beer business is a three-tier system -- wholesalers, distributors and retailers -- and that "many people say we have to sell our initiatives three times" as a result.Burn provided a few examples of how MillerCoors taps both simple and deeper insights to drive sales. In the simple example, Burn noted that oranges are in 1.5% of all shopping baskets, but in 14% of all shopping baskets with Blue Moon wheat ale, which is typically served with an orange slice. By merchandising Blue Moon near the oranges in stores, sales lift jumped to 160%.In a more complex example, MillerCoors sought to match "under the skin" consumer need states and desires with the precise channel, product and tool that best fulfills the shopper need. One insight was that friends like to bond around tables at specific types of bars for "communal drinking." That insight led to the creation of the "table-top draft," a Miller Lite-branded table with a built-in tap, allowing consumers to pour their own beer. The initiative has been so successful, Burn said, that some establishments charge reservation fees for the tables or sell pizza-and-beer packages to those requesting the table."Shopper marketing is about leveraging the power of place, where your shoppers and consumers are, and bringing them a message that connects with them better than your nearest competitor," he said.

You Say "Lite," We Say "Light"

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

Related Topics

Related Images

Business Topic

Company

Market Segment