New marketing drive targets forecourt consumers

“Until now brand owners have not been allowed to promote on the forecourts which meant they could not engage people who were in their cars to buy products from the shop and take advantage of related promotions,” says Belinda Gordon, project manager for EngenActive. “Now there is another powerful avenue for them to explore and important because brand activation is necessary to creating relevant brand experiences with targeted customers. Companies seeking to activate their brands need properly equipped and trained people to carry their message to customers to energise and create brand intimacy at the point of purchase, according to the brief, within budget, and on time.”

Smollan Group, the merchandising and sales business, specialises in field services, brand activation, market intelligence and customer contact, and services more than 22 000 outlets in South Africa alone. The new EngenActive service draws on that focus and Smollan's over 350 years of cumulative experience to ensure brands are promoted in the correct stores, in the correct regions and that they reach the best target markets to ensure maximum exposure and return.

EngenActive runs a brand's entire promotional activity, from helping brand owners draw up an ideal store list, to negotiating and booking forecourts and stores with managers, developing training materials, finding promoters, training and briefing them, ensuring that they are properly supervised, reporting stock levels, feeding back important qualitative and quantitative information to customers and tracking sales for the promotion.

“Customers of the EngenActive service will be looking to increase their brand awareness, sales volumes, trial new products, educate consumers or communicate competitions,” says Gordon.