Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Best-in-Class Digital Shopper Marketing Campaigns

A look at recent programs that integrate multiple digital touchpoints with retail
According to the white paper, "Clicking Through the Path to Purchase: Best Practices in Digital Shopper Marketing,", there are 221 million Internet users in the U.S. There are 292 million television viewers, with 35% viewing some TV online, and half of consumers will have a smartphone by 2011. By 2014, more people will access the Internet via phones than desktop computers.

Suffice it to say, digital technology is ingrained in the consumer's lifestyle and marketers are reaching them on this digital path to purchase more and more. Brands and retailers are putting ads on search engines, launching brand websites, leaking viral videos on YouTube, creating Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, managing mobile phone websites and smartphone apps, employing consumer promotions online or via phone, and more.

However, the best campaigns integrate messaging on the path to purchase all the way to retail. The following are visual examples of some "best-in-class" work on the path to purchase to retail. For a complete history of digital SM, read the white paper.


For LG Electronics' test of the "LG Discovery Zone" shop-in-shop at Sears, the brand utilized (with help from agency Saatchi & Saatchi X):
  • An interactive in-store environment with informational videos, take-away brochures, real washers and dryers, and callouts to access the mobile shopping assistant.
  • A mobile app -- accessible in-store or elsewhere -- that drove users to online shopper reviews, questions to ask the sales as-sociate and comparable product specs.


Rubbermaid is using various online and in-store tools to promote its product range, including:
  • Social media content such as a photo stream on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter pages, and a YouTube channel.
  • A blog and printable e-coupons on Rubbermaid.com.
  • In-store displays like temporary endcaps and permanent fixtures in various retail channels.


Saatchi & Saatchi X, New York, created an integrated campaign for P&G's new Pantene Pro-V that included:
  • Banner ads in search results, an ad on Walmart.com and an online brand store.
  • Sending kits to in influential bloggers to generate buzz and drive followers to Walmart.com.
  • Free sample packs at Walmart checkouts -- a category first.
  • Semi-permanent endcaps -- 10 with educational audio -- and on-pack samples.
  • Co-equity print ads.


Unilever's Dove Men + Care launch hit virtually every consumer touchpoint, including:
  • A 45-second Super Bowl commercial.
  • Endcaps at Walmart, Target and Meijer, pallets at club stores, and various other in-store displays and signage.
  • The first iAd launched by a CPG company (developed by Ryan Partnership, Wilton, Conn.), which allows users to watch videos, send customized voice-mails from Andy Pettitte, and tour his and Albert Pujols' trophy rooms.
  • Print ads, promotions and digital efforts through Twitter, Facebook, etc.


J.C. Penney's back-to-school campaign integrates in-store and online promos with:
  • Videos on JCP.com of teens showing off their "hauls" (recent purchases).
  • A virtual dressing room on Seventeen.com and Kaboodle.com that leverages augmented reality from German company metaio to allow teens to "try on" clothes using their Web cams.
  • An iAd for the iPhone and iPod Touch as well as a mobile app.
  • TV and in-cinema ads, a dedicated Facebook page and action sports tour sponsorships.
  • In-store displays and messaging.


Kimberly-Clark's groundbreaking U by Kotex launch leveraged:
  • A microsite with "real" answers about periods, quotes from teens about their anxiety around men-struation, coupons, free samples, and a place to join the "Break the Cycle" campaign.
  • Paid search ads on Google for the phrase "first period."
  • Twitter, Facebook and YouTube content.
  • Black displays and packaging that stand out from the sea of pink in the "feminine hygiene" aisle, plus cross-promotions with photo, cosmetics and music.


For the Crest and Oral-B 3D White launch, Procter & Gamble tapped Arc Worldwide, Chicago, for an integrated campaign that featured:
  • Sampling offers and an online presale via e-mails from popular women's entertainment site DailyCandy.com.
  • eCommerce content on drugstore.com, Amazon.com and Yahoo!.
  • Consumer launch event in New York's Herald Square.
  • National FSI drop with coupons.
  • Pallet displays, SmartSource shelf signs, in-line displays and other merchandising made available to all national retailers.

Published: September 2010

Source: In-Store Marketing Institute