BRANDSCAPES FOR THE FUTURE
Bringing emotion back into our supermarkets
Prepared for Research Magazine by Dr Mark Thorpe, Director, SPA, June 2003

Brands matter. Of course they do. The market research industry has done much to define and privilege the role of brands within economies and consumer lives. However, not all sectors have an equally warm attitude towards, and relationship with, brands. Within food retailing, and most evidently within the major grocery multiples, the role of the brand inside supermarkets is an issue that requires urgent consideration by researchers, retailers and brand owners.

Consideration is required because the last decade has witnessed a significant erosion of brand credibility in the context of the in-store supermarket universe. Emphasis on (low) price, the rise of the killer deal culture, the perceived increase in quality of own label, the emphasis on corporate (retailer) branding, and the effective de-branding of the in-store environment have all contributed to a situation in which brands are under pressure as never before.

The cumulative result of these factors is that brands now rarely ‘speak’ effectively in our major supermarkets; the noise now tends to be retailer and ‘deal’ focused. In general, supermarket shelves and fixtures house products and commodities, not brands as living, expressive, meaningful strands of communication. More critically, in many instances the shopper-consumer believes the story they have experienced on each of their visits to the supermarket: brands are now a shadow of their former selves. The brand promise has gone and with it the credibility and point of difference. Lose the perception and experience of that brand and it ceases to exist in any meaningful sense; it becomes just another commodity.

The argument made here is that we have now reached a critical point in time when some serious questions need to be asked about the role brands are to play in the future of food and drink retailing in the UK. We know that brands matter but do brands matter enough in the context of UK supermarkets?

Attention needs to be given to the brand situation’ in UK supermarkets for a number of reasons. Trends in shopper-consumer behaviour suggest that changes are happening in terms of the way people approach ‘provisioning’. Ongoing research by SPA, for example, highlights a growing number of shoppers who are ‘giving up’ on ‘live’ shopping for basic items (anything from toilet tissue to tinned vegetables). Instead, shopping for basics is viewed as something to do over the internet or during a “big blast” shopping trip. For some, internet shopping is an existing reality, for many others it is something to aspire to – a shopping life free from drudgery. The growth of internet retailing of food and drink (e.g. Tesco.com) suggests this to be a developing market, one in which ‘experiential time’ is freed-up through use of the internet for the purchase of commodities. Developments such as these are likely to shape the future of food and drink retailing.

But how prepared is the food and drink industry to cater for changing shopper dynamics and mindset? If shoppers of the future will be looking for greater emotional fulfilment through shopping, what mechanics can we use to achieve this fulfilment? Twinned with these future-facing themes are hard-edged economic realities. We are living in an age when the major supermarkets are constantly looking to reduce prices. This is coupled with seemingly constant emphasis on “innovation” and “value engineering”. Suppliers are searching for ever-increasing efficiencies (in order to drive prices down and sustain lower margins), retailers are demanding that suppliers demonstrate efficiencies (through reduced transactions costs), and innovation teams are looking for new ways to achieve motivating propositions that can demand a premium. Lots of activity but where is it taking us?

Amidst all this tactical and strategic activity, the power of brands to deliver a more rewarding shopping experience and healthier margins is seemingly ignored. How long can food and drink continue to deliver realistic margins without a vibrant universe of brands? The key to unlocking value lies significantly in unlocking the potential of brands. And here’s the crux of the matter, unlocking the full potential of brands in our supermarkets requires the creation of spaces that are fit for those brands to live in. Such spaces we can call BrandScapes; spaces designed to augment and bring to life a rich and colourful brand expression.

That brands consist of a set of emotional and rational values functioning at both conscious and sub-conscious levels, is now accepted wisdom. So far so good. The problem comes when we move beyond basics and argue that, in order to express their essence fully, brands must be allowed to live in spaces in which ‘they feel comfortable’. Essentially, we are moving away from seeing brands as just an abstract mix of values, to seeing brands as (also) existing through the way they are allowed to express themselves to ‘their’ audience.

Stating that brands must express themselves may seem a bland truism in the context of a highly developed UK advertising industry. However, next time you are in one of the major supermarkets, take a look and ask yourself what kind of brand expression is taking place. It would also be useful to re-invoke – with a twist - Wendy Gordon and Virginia Valentine’s scenario of imagining brands talking about what they think of us. In the (slightly changed) re-created scenario, it would be interesting to imagine brands responding to the question “how do you feel about the spaces you have to live in?”

I would hazard a guess that the adjectives put forward by the brands would include: isolating, bereft, dreary, dull, under-valued, uninspired, underachieving and grey. Underpinning these heart-felt expressions would be the sense that little or nothing had been done to create selling spaces to help bring brands to the fore. To a great extent, we have created a generation of homeless brands within our supermarkets.

To express themselves effectively, brands require environments that are designed to maximise their potential – a BrandScape. In turn, the brand expression is designed to engage, emotionally ‘stroke’, and build the brand experience. The end result is a more emotion-focused shopping experience. Oh yes, and a shopper who spends more; because when engaged at an emotional level, shoppers spend more money. Simple. But to achieve this uplift on a general level, will require an fmcg shopper re-educated as to the strength, credibility and promise of brands.

A return to a meaningful in-store brand universe will require a fundamental re-education of the shopper. Importantly, the lesson will need to start in-store – where it is still the case that 75% of all purchase decisions are made. Education will only come through experience. It will not be enough to simply create a new Point of Sale campaign that relies on traditional execution. For the most part, POS requires an active shopper to be effective. BrandScapes of the future will be required to activate the shopper. It will be essential to engage using ‘tactics’ that work across sensory and intuitive dimensions. It will also be important for these tactics to be woven into a story and, as we all know, a powerful brand has a strong story to tell.