ZaPOP to sponsor POPAI

"For POPAI, this sponsorship is a pivotal moment in our local history. It shows that we have now established ourselves as a respected and integral part of the retail marketing landscape," comments Chris de Wet, business development and membership services manager at POPAI SA.

Last year, ZaPOP sponsored the annual retail marketing POPAI Awards, which were very successful, with a large number of compelling and innovative entries. De Wet believes that the company has become more than just a sponsor - but a partner. "For the association to be able to have an organisation on board that shares our vision of improving and elevating the retail marketing industry is tremendous."

Riaan Labuschagne, MD of ZaPOP believes the association plays a critical role in the retail marketing industry. "Even though substantial focus and budget has moved into below the line marketing in the retail sector, POP media is still much too fragmented. General functions such as standardised measuring tools/criteria, central buying structures, common media types etc. are still too disjointed and we see POPAI as a great vehicle to help in not only educating the industry but also to communicate standards."

More events

The comprehensive sponsorship agreement will allow the association to improve the events already in place for the year, as well as increase the services that the organisation provides to its members.

Because of the sponsorship, the association has been able to invite international speaker, Frank Quix to share game-changing consumer trends for 2013 with the local retail marketing industry in February.

In an ever-changing retail landscape it is difficult for brands to pinpoint how best to capture the attention of today's consumers. Key is understanding how digital platforms integrate with the bricks-and-mortar store. This will ultimately dictate how marketing strategies will work in 2013 and beyond. Attending events such as this consumer trends presentation and others planned for the year should be part of every retail marketer's strategy for 2013.

"We look forward to seeing what other players in the industry, both local and globally, are doing so that we can offer our clients greater return on their investments. POPAI as an international body helps in facilitating this flow into SA," says Labuschagne.

The association will also be launching an online gallery of display images to showcase examples of point-of-sale activation at store level. "Ultimately, we hope to have the largest online gallery of South African retail displays. This sponsorship will allow us to focus on bringing more services such as these to our members," says de Wet.

Retail marketing grows in importance

Looking at the year ahead, he sees marketing at retail becoming increasingly important in a retail landscape that is focused on providing value-for-money for struggling consumers. He believes that the use of mobile - as an information, couponing and location aware device - could come to the fore in 2013. "Competition in the South African market is going to increase substantially between the major retail players in all segments. This is going to eat into trade budgets and that is going to put spare marketing budget under pressure.

"We will see the overall market continuing to expand as brands and retailers become more aware of not only the importance of retail marketing but how to utilise it effectively," concludes de Wet.