4 actionable levers to end the year with a bang

The end of the year is fast approaching! Do you still have a little bit of budget? Are you wondering which activities to carry out in the last quarter of 2020? Discover 4 easy-to-activate levers to drive engagement and generate sales in-store.

Lever #1: content creation

Content marketing is an effective way to seduce consumers, increase awareness of your brand or products known and encourage purchase.

The last quarter of the year offers many opportunities with events such as Halloween and the holiday season. In connection with these events, you can for example create recipes, activities or special formats such as a virtual Advent calendar.

The survey we conducted at the start of the summer shows that 30% of Belgian consumers want brands to offer recipe ideas and 26% want inspiration and ideas of things to do at home.

The chocolate brand Côte d’Or for example has a whole section of its website dedicated to recipes based on its products. There are recipes for all moods and events, including festive season recipes such as “Chocolate truffles”. A recipe book has even been created with a selection of 20 recipes.

Haribo is also very engaged in content creation, offering activities every year linked to Halloween, a crucial moment for the brand. In 2018, Haribo chose augmented reality to bring to life its “terrifying Halloween candies” called DragiVampires, CrocoBarjo and TagaDingo. Last year, the brand launched a dedicated website www.haribo-halloween.com with audio stories around these same monsters. The stories are customizable: the child can choose the main character, the secondary character and the setting of the story.

Activities are also a central axis of P&G’s “Envie de Plus” platform, with articles on topics such as “Simple Halloween Makeup for Kids” or “4 Do-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes”. Throughout the year, content is published in connection with special events.

Why not develop specific content for the end of the year?

Lever #2: online contests and games

Another very effective lever with consumers are contests and games, which are straightforward to set up. The Belgian are particularly fond of online games and challenges, especially on social media. For brands, it’s an opportunity to increase visibility, gain followers and build loyalty.

Games are a way for consumers to discover brands and products. In a French study, 58% of game players said they return to the brand’s website and/or are more likely to buy a product from the brand after participating in a game or contest.

A contest can take many forms. It can be very simple, with a draw to randomly select the winner. But the mechanics can be more sophisticated with a quiz, a puzzle to solve or winning moments. There are endless possibilities!

Many brands regularly give out prizes on social media. These can be a selection of the brand’s products, discount vouchers or larger prizes.

Panzani for example, which has more than 737,000 followers on Facebook, gave out prizes this summer on its Facebook page. Consumers were invited to take up challenges such as finding the 7 differences between 2 images and a winner was drawn from the correct answers. Among the prizes: an inflatable mattress, a one-year subscription to a magazine and a recipe book.

The cheese brand Caprice des Dieux also regularly organizes games and contests. Erika Manard, Brand Manager and Digital Manager, explained to LSA: “This allows us to always have something going on. And the distributors like these games, it allows them to boost the cheese section, it brings freshness.”

Michel et Augustin also uses this strategy quite frequently. Sixtine d’Avout, former Head of communications for Michel et Augustin, told LSA: “Games allows us to interact with our customers in a totally different and fun way, even if humor is already part of the brand’s DNA.”

What if you launched a contest on social media to recruit new followers and engage your community?

Lever #3: partnerships with online communities and influencers

Partnerships are another important lever to boost brand visibility and sales in-store. These can be partnerships with online media such as Parent Epuisé, a community of parents that regularly collaborates with brands, or WeMoms, a mobile community of young mothers.

Partnerships can also be made with influencers, whether they are micro-influencers or macro-influencers. According to a Rakuten study on influence marketing, 61% of people interact at least once a day with influencers. 65% of consumers say they discover at least one new brand or product a week thanks to an influencer.

Many brands regularly collaborate with influencers such as Fanta, which has worked with Youtubers, or Maybelline, which regularly uses beauty influencers for its product launches. L’Oréal has even made influence marketing a priority of its digital strategy. Marc Duquesnoy, former Social Media Performance Director within the Global Digital team, told traackr that influencers “confer additional legitimacy and are trusted voices.”

As more and more brands leverage influence marketing, new formats such as takeovers can help stand out. A takeover involves handing over one or several social media pages to an influencer for a set period of time, usually one day. The influencer will then post directly on the brand page, with his own tone and style. It is an effective way to create buzz and generate engagement.

Why not forge new partnerships in the coming weeks?

Lever #4: promotional offers and mobile activation

Last lever to end the year on a high note: promotional offers and mobile activation. There is a lot of uncertainty at the moment due to the sanitary crisis. As such, Belgian consumers are rather cautious. Many of them are trying to control their spending and are looking for promotional offers and good deals.

According to our study conducted at the start of the summer, 93% of Belgian consumers want brands to offer promotional offers and discounts. 64% of them say they are more actively looking for promotions than they used to.

Promotional offers are very efficient to encourage purchase. In a French study led by HighCo in partnership with Ipsos and released in June, 57% of consumers say they are willing to change brand to benefit from a promotion on another brand. This proportion rises to 65% among those aged 18-34. As such, promotional offers help generate trials.

More and more consumers use their mobile phone when shopping in-store, especially to consult shopper apps. Shopmium is the leading shopper app, with more than 5 million users. Our community is the largest and the most engaged in Europe!

At Shopmium, we help our clients design targeted mobile activation campaigns, with media amplification and guaranteed, measurable results. Our solutions are flexible and can be adapted to specific brand challenges. They are also quick to implement, with an average lead time of 2 weeks. In addition, Shopmium campaigns are a valuable source of insights and consumer data thanks to the post-purchase questionnaire in our app.

Many FMCG brands work with us to boost their sales in-store in Belgium. For example, we recently partnered with Granini, Haribo and Michel et Augustin to recruit new consumers.

What if you launched your Shopmium campaign in the coming weeks?

If you’re looking for inspiration for the last quarter of 2020, there are several strategies you can explore to boost your marketing efforts. These include content creation around important events, online contest and games on social networks, partnerships with communities or influencers as well as mobile activation with Shopmium. We would be delighted to answer any questions you may have about how our campaigns work, please do not hesitate to reach out!