By OlgaYurovski Posted November 27, 2018 In Insider Scoop, In Shopper Marketing Best Practices
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Imagine: you just got notified by your finance department that a significant portion of your annual budget is left unspent, and it's already December. For most of us, we don't even need to imagine, do we? If you've never been in this situation, you are either lucky or a planning godbecause virtually every CPG marketer I've spoken with has experienced significant budget "surprises" more often than they wish to admit. While it may seem like a disastrous situation because it could reflectpoorly on you and your team and jeopardize your future budget asks, don't despair! I tend to look for a silver lining in this situation and hereby offer six ideas for how to invest your unused shopper marketing funds with purpose, and do it FAST! Thanks to explosion of digital marketing capabilities, we have a vast array of possibilities to spend unused funds not only quickly but in a targeted, efficient way. You may have intended to test new digital tactics all year long but never had bandwidth or budget to give them proper consideration. Now is the time! Thankfully, most of the digital tactics have a templetized and streamlined set up process that takes days or even hours, not weeks, especially if you have all your assets ready to go: Collective Bias makeup blogger campaign Relevant, engaging and shareable lifestyle content is the most efficient way to break through and grab shoppers' attention in the cluttered, noisy marketplace. Consider investment in content as one of the cornerstones of your marketing strategy. What are your favoriteways to activate shopper promotions on a quick notice? How do you invest in your team's capabilities and continuous improvement?1. Buy Quick turnaround media
Velveeta ad on Pandora 2. Create Or Inspire AWESOMEcontent
3. Invest in Education
4. Thank your customers, team and agency
Create a unique digital promocode for your products that can be redeemed at your retail customer's e-commerce website and give it to all clients and partners, instead of traditional holiday greeting cards, paper coupon booklets or sending physical products.5. ProcureNew technology & tools
6. Plan for business growth
Book a venue for an offsite team and agency meeting early next year to have your team's creative juices going. Discuss breakthrough ideas and build stronger team bonds.
OlgaYurovski
After more than 15 years in Consumer Packaged Goods industry, I became a software entrepreneur. Today, I design and sell Shopperations, a web-based, collaborative planning software for Marketers on both CPG and Retail sides, to enable transparency, accountability and stronger Shopper Marketing promotional analytics. I am passionate about all things Retail and Shopper Marketing, love reading about Neuroscience progress as it relates to shopper research, and care about process improvement and marketing automation technology.