Why must we always fight?

On how marketing tactics work best when integrated

We’ve come to accept that promotional channels are divided down the middle – above the line and below the line. Which is most effective? Who gets the budget? When a product flies off the shelf – do we praise the snappy OOH campaign or the disruptive instore displays? Or the bigger question – where is the finger pointed if it doesn’t…?

If you’re not slamming your fist on a desk and hissing ‘IT DEPENDS!’ through taut lips and gritted teeth, maybe you’ve been duped by this clunky bipartisan framework.

The brisk economic climate has fed the streamlining of workforces and budgets, alike. Marketing teams are being asked to do more with less – and scrutinise, ‘do we really need that?’ Important question – but choosing between advertising or instore activations is like considering whether you’d prefer your car to have front wheels or back wheels. It probably goes faster with all four.

As a below the line agency – literally BTL Engage – we know our campaigns shine brighter when aligned with well-executed creative and media.

Activating instore capitalises on the brand awareness job done outside the four walls of retail. Great creative and media grows luscious juicy fruit – then shopper campaigns cash in with the harvest. For example, one study showed that people sampling a product were 28% more likely to purchase if they’d already heard of the brand. They perceive the brand is worth more because of ATL work done well. Advertising and activation work hand-in-hand – they set ‘em up, we knock ‘em down. And over, and over, again.

What is sometimes underappreciated, is that it works both ways. The scale and cut-through achieved in the retail environment have proven benefits on brand perception. Ever been to a supermarket overseas where you’re unfamiliar with the brands? Even choosing a pack of chips is tough work. We all innately register familiarity with brands by way of the psychological principle of anchoring bias. This describes the human tendency to rely on initial or repeated stimuli to form an anchored understanding of something. It becomes habit; engrained and hard to reverse. In short, even if people don’t participate in an activation – they subconsciously notice the brands that activate and register them as more valuable. More trustworthy. More worth buying.

This is why it’s so important to have messaging that reaches touchpoints throughout the shopper journey.

So, why not just build big displays? Stack it high and watch it fly? Do this, too! But your competitors will take the same space next week. Activations are a means to cement brand positioning and deliver a meaningful point of difference to the competition because consumer participation is proven to develop long-term buying behaviour. This time the psychological principle is the sunk cost fallacy. This cognitive bias affects decision-making where individuals continue investment in something because they’ve committed resources (time or effort) in the past. In this case, time spent entering a promotion develops a commitment to the brand, regardless of outcome. So, on top of consumer appetite for prizes, there are ongoing benefits for brand from every entry in the draw or gift with purchase.

This is where a good shopper marketing agency comes in. We deliver that final oomph needed to convert awareness into conversion; from eye-catching displays and instant-wins to giveaways and instore sampling. Our target shoppers, whether ‘considerers’ in your marketing funnel or ‘occasional category buyers’, are under an avalanche of stimuli and drowning in a sea of competing messages. Our speciality is understanding what will maximise eyes on brand and products in trolley within our niche of the media landscape.

Above the line or below the line? Either will work okay alone, but just like those Gallagher chaps in Oasis, neither is as good as they are together. The best campaigns have consistent creative assets and messaging implemented across multiple channels – paired with impactful instore activations and displays. Get the band back together.