Retail News South Africa

Consumer promotions succeed by applying forward pressure

Trade promotions, especially those that rely on in-store merchandisers' efforts, are hit and miss affairs that often end with marketers pulling out their hair. This applies particularly to a commodity like fresh fruit, according to Roger Neale-May of Neale-May and Partners, which manages the Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing account.

"Experience has shown that, despite targeting incentive promotions at merchandisers directly, it is extremely difficult and costly to get buy-in from fresh produce staff. On the rare occasion when there is enthusiasm, there is little regard for the brand, and displays tend to be generic rather than brand specific," explains Neale-May.

The solution, he maintains, is applying forward pressure by getting consumers to demand the promoted produce in store.

"Our strategy is to develop promotions that entrench our positioning statement: Tru-Cape - Takeaways from Nature. Our promotions are always thematically linked to the positioning statement and have included competitions that offer exciting prizes ranging from hammocks and trailers to a holiday in Rio, for example."

Let's do Biz