The most prestigious Award of the night (Display of the Year 2011 – Permanent) was awarded to Valley for the design, development, manufacture and installation of the highly acclaimed adidas Boot Wall. The very same display also received a further Gold Award within the highly competitive ‘Sports, Toys and Accessories category.

The event hosted by BBC Breakfast News Presenter, Bill Turnbull was attended by 400 industry professionals and brands and is widely recognised for identifying the very best in Retail Display. Valley was also awarded a further Silver Award for the development of retail displays for Reebok’s new Fitness sport range, Reezig making Valley own of the most awarded benefactors of the night.

 Valley Marketing Manager, Daniel Marr commented “It is a fantastic achievement to receive not only the Display of the Year but a further 2 awards and one that is a real credit to all the brilliant work everyone at Valley has produced the last year” Marr continued, “We have a simple aim here at Valley, produce highly creative, market leading display solutions that provide our fantastic clients with the valuable return they demand in these tough times… and we promise there is plenty more to come!!”

If you would like your brand to be in with a chance of appearing as the Display of the year for 2012 then please come and speak to the award winning team at Valley on 01535 272861.

Looking for something different? – that extra inch of creativity? – that added WOW?.. all desirables for every In-store Marketing campaign most would agree?

But how can these requirements actually be achieved? 

Often these are desirables for a brand in their search for that all important ROI from their limited marketing budget. Point of Purchase however continues to deliver impressive value vs. sales within an ever evolving marketing mix. However most marketers would profess ultimately there needs to be something else to connect with their target audience.

Enter ‘Technology’… Something not exactly new to the retail marketing arena by any means but does start to answer some of the aforementioned requirements.

Groundbreaking technology such as Augmented Reality is now a fully integrated retail environment, whilst most importantly being fully embraced by consumers. AR accomplishes its goal, it sends the consumer through a multi-dimension product journey that is visibly astonishing whilst making the consumer beg the question ‘How does it do that’? Whether the product in question be in a box, on a shelf or sat in a showroom AR fully envelopes the consumer through its interactivity – moving, touching, opening and turning – all motions that AR enables you to interact directly with the product (all be it a simulation!). Its flexibility is unrivalled with a growing number of applications – AR is utilised in so many disparate retail and buying locations.

So is this an example of the ‘more’ that marketers are looking for within retail? It certainly ticks the boxes when it comes to creativity, wow and point of difference and above all else educating the consumer further about the product with the fabled ‘try before you buy’ philosophy. Yes it does all these things and yes its proof that technology clearly has a place but the 10 million pound question is – does technology convert a consumer into a customer? Is the interactivity and wow that surrounds technology a passport to more sales or do brands have another agenda when using this approach? Is it more about building an experience around the brand and elevating it to a certain platform?

What is clear is that standard retail marketing still leads the way in terms of value and guaranteed sales uplift – Technology is a perfect accompaniment to this and some may argue more effective in communicating more complex products or services. As we speed to towards 2012 what other innovations lye around the corner.

Come back and read more soon as we explore future Retail technology!

With temperatures set to reach around 20 degrees this weekend, Sainsbury’s said it expects sales of burgers to increase by 300% compared to the previous week.

Bread rolls, burger relishes and marinades are also set to see uplift in sales of 50% and demand for salads could be up by a third.

The retailer is stocking up on summer essentials and expects to sell 25% more summer drinks such as chilled ciders and rosés as people make the most of the light evenings and socialise more.

Sainsbury’s weather expert David Bailey says: “After what seems like a long winter, Brits are understandably very excited about a weekend of sun. Sainsbury’s is making sure we have everything to celebrate the first warm weather of the year.”

He added, “As temperatures hit a high we expect there to be an abundance of BBQs and picnics up and down the country and we will be making sure we have enough for those looking to stock up.”

It is also incredibly competitive with a plethora of brands, organisations and even celebrities all vying for consumer pounds. The challenge for marketers lies in developing eye-catching campaigns that capture the imagination of consumers while delivering on the bottom line.

However, this is also a market that refuses to sit still and as the new year begins we wanted to share our thoughts on what trends are likely to gather momentum in 2011 and to also discuss what shockwaves are expected following the recent VAT rise.

The growth of digital marketing

It’s no secret that digital marketing has been one of the definitive terms of the past 12 months but in a year which has witnessed a change in government, budget cuts and widespread redundancies we wanted to find out what the knock-on impact has been on digital marketing budgets. The results are reassuring with over two thirds of respondents (68%) believing 2011 will bring an increase in digital marketing budgets and suggests a rise in confidence of the results this channel to market can bring.

If further proof were needed, the fact that UK shoppers spent more than ever before online at Christmas shows the visible difference a combination of digital and traditional marketing can have on the bottom line.

The integration of video

The use of video in marketing campaigns is not necessarily new and thanks to the rise of YouTube, it is now one of the most popular tools to engage and amuse consumers alike. With broadcasters now serving increasing amounts of content online and YouTube enjoying over 1 billion online views a day, it comes as no surprise that video is expected to go from strength-to-strength this year.

The conversations we have had suggest that video is set to become firmly integrated into the marketing toolbox. In the same survey we found that almost a third of marketers believe video advertising will be one of the most widely used digital formats in 2011. Without a doubt, all eyes will be on video and marketers should take note and start thinking how this can be integrated into their campaigns.

The impact of VAT

The recent VAT rise is no secret and as shoppers brace themselves for potential price hikes, we wanted to understand how this would impact marketing campaigns. The results are encouraging and in today’s age of the individual, our survey found that a third of marketers (30%) expect to see a bigger focus on targeted campaigns versus their mass marketing counterparts.

However, a fifth of those we surveyed are planning to streamline their processes and make steps to increase efficiency, while a further 18 per cent are expected to encourage greater emphasis on measurement and ROI. Demonstrating confidence in the industry’s performance, only 18 per cent thought their budgets would be cut as a result of limited resources and just 7 per cent predicted a lack of funds would cause their company’s creativity to be stunted. The message is clear; the rise in VAT will manifest itself in more targeted campaigns that have a real impact on the consumer.

The future for shopping online

We cannot ignore the fundamental impact the launch of tablet devices, most notably Apple’s iPad, have had on the way people are shopping. With this, the rise of the app has dramatically changed the way people access, browse and purchase goods on the move. Some of the most popular and successful apps have managed to replicate the high-street shopping experience on the tablet, giving browsing a stronger air of luxury compared to traditional smartphones. This approach will almost certainly go mainstream and with the boom in the tablet market showing no signs of waning and so it is essential marketers look at how they can integrate mobile devices into the campaigns they run in 2011.

A prosperous year ahead

For marketers looking to increase their brands’ market share and continue to make a strong impression in the boardroom, there needs to be continued focus on the needs of the individual consumer. One of the most effective ways of achieving this is by implementing an affiliate marketing campaign. As a measurable approach, it is an excellent tool for marketers looking to tailor and maximise the ROI on campaigns and we for one will continue to sing the praises and ensure it remains high on the agenda of every marketers’ digital strategy next year.

In a world which is shrinking thanks to the immediacy of the web, it is also one where consumers expect to be treated as an individual and our survey suggests that marketers agree. We are optimistic about the next 12 months and in a climate where the next change is never far away, marketers have to move with the consumer, especially in the retail sector.

According to Econsultancy’s User Experience Buyer’s Guide 2011, the market is maturing, as more companies think about the strategic importance of customer experience.
Econsultancy Research Manager Aliya Zaidi said: “It’s an exciting time for the user experience industry, with much technological innovation in this space. The web is becoming more social, and this is resulting in the online environment becoming broadly more ‘human’.

“New devices and formats, such as touch-screen technology add a whole new dimension to the user experience, but they represent both an opportunity and a challenge for marketers. The introduction of new web standards, such as HTML5 will also make the user experience more immersive, interactive and engaging.”
Econsultancy’s valuation takes into account the slowdown caused by the recession. Although businesses are recovering, the economic outlook remains unpredictable. Given the uncertainty, there will be a continued focus on demonstrating ROI from user experience.

Zaidi added: “The good news for marketers is that it is getting easier to benchmark success, thanks to analytics technology becoming more sophisticated. There is now a wealth of site monitoring, testing and optimisation tools, which allow marketers to place a tangible value on user experience.

“However, what is clear is that analytics alone do not provide the whole picture. The data must be combined with qualitative insights, such as user behaviour to deliver actionable information.”

Always searching for new innovations in retail marketing this month I found myself visiting the Consumer Electronics Show 2011in ‘viva’ Las Vegas. The aim of my visit was simple…seek out new technologies, new trends and new methods of maximising retail presence so that we can build into our own offering here at Valley….CES did not disappoint!

I was snapping away so that I could bring some of these fantastic display ideas back to the UK so please have a look through my album below! 

After speaking with a cross section of senior marketing professionals at the exhibition what is clear is that shape & form of exhibition stands will indeed find their way into retail environments across the globe so this really is the prime time to collect ideas for in-store marketing displays.

I also discovered that a large presence of designs on show were influenced by household environments. This may be driven by an ever-growing subconscious desire by shoppers to purchase products that can be easily visualised within their very own homes – essentially triggering positive purchasing behaviour. For instance in regards consumer electronics – putting the TV within a ‘home-styled’ retail display allows the consumer to actually imagine it in their own home..really doing the hardest part of in-store marketing in one swoop!!

I have loads more feedback though so if you would like something  more concise on CES 2011 I would be more than happy to send you a presentation of my thoughts. Just drop me an email on enquiries@thevalleygroup.com and I will fire it over!

Sainsbury’s has come out on top as the supermarkets report mixed fortunes over the festive period, according to the latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel.

Sainsbury’s was the only Big Four supermarket to increase its market share over the 12 weeks to 26 December 2010, thanks to its more premium positioning and the relaunch of its Taste the Difference range. It now holds 16.6% compared to 16.3% a year ago.

Asda and Morrisons both reported a 0.1% fall in market share during the period, with Morrisons continuing the slide that first emerged last month following three years of positive gains.

This highlights a necessity to continue pushing presense at the point of retail. As competition increases across retail channels and a slow but increasing number of shoppers turning to internet shopping is is Point of Purchases responsability to ensure that consumers are still engaged and enthused within the retail environment – The economy is clearly still extremely dificult so low cost high return methods such as this are key to any marketing strategy.

For more ideas or help on your in-store marketing campaign contact me, Doctor Retail or my Marketing Manager Dan Marr on 01535 272861.