Ad agencies getting closer to the coalface

It comes as even less of surprise that some agency groups are positioning themselves to be able to add weight in places where many clients are now focusing the most, such as the interface between the product and the consumer. The coalface. Instore.

Shopper marketing

Mandy Leontakianakis, strategic planning director of a new agency called Integer Johannesburg - part of the TBWA group and the Integer Group worldwide - describes it as a "retail and promotional Agency" with specific focus on the development of the newer field of shopper marketing.

The interesting thing about the shopper marketing discipline, she said, was its equal investment in the brand, the retailer and the shopper.

"Our point of difference from a traditional above the line agency would be this ‘retail forward approach' of identifying retailer specific category or business dynamics that would be best addressed through a joint marketing program with the right brand or client.

“Understanding the retail landscape”

"This works the other way around too - but for Integer, a sense of the retail landscape is pivotal in ensuring we deliver solutions that meet real business needs in the retail environment," she said.

But, like any new business, Integer Johannesburg has a number of challenges:

• establishing and participating in a South African shopper marketing conversation (education)
  
• garnering solid local shopper insights and building this proprietary resource (information integrity)
  
• building its own brand which, while well appreciated globally has yet to prove itself in the SA market (marketing)

"Integer's trademark positioning," said Leontakianakis "is that it resides at the intersection of branding and selling. The appeal of this is its grounded and measurable orientation as opposed to the sometimes vague ambitions of a pure brand-building exercise.

“Non traditional store formats”

"Where research is concerned, our quick win will be to establish a local, linear quantitative shopper tracking study. We are particularly interested in non-traditional store formats and are aggressively working to uncover valuable insights into this market.

"Equally, shopper behaviour as distinct from consumer segmentation is a unique area for discovery."

• Where does the consumer end and the shopper begin?
  
• The conflict between brand loyalty and the spontaneity of the purchase process
  
• Identifying decision influencers: experience vs value vs convenience as they pertain to different shoppers in different regions and store formats.

"Topical for us," she added, "is our mission to get to know the retailer: we are in conversations with local representatives to try and build this network and this IP."