- POPAI will sponsor a Webcast on Shopper engagement, July 18, at 3:00 - 4:30 PM EST. The final results of the first field trial for the Marketing at Retail Initiative (MARI) that was held in the UK, will be presented by Martin Kingdon, as well as the preliminary results of the US field trial.
- The ground breaking MARI study is designed to measure marketing at-retail programs so to put their measurement on a par with other media such as print and broadcast, by providing measurements of Shopper Engagement which will show what shoppers actually looked at across the store in terms of in-store media both for the store as a whole and within specific categories. This combined with ROI measurements will provide a full picture of the in-store environment allowing brands and retailers to plan their at-retail executions with a far greater degree of sophistication than has been available historically.
- POPAI, The Global Association for Marketing at-Retail announced the first findings from studies pioneered by the Marketing At Retail Initiative (MARI) on June 19th.This first proof of concept study was conducted in the United Kingdom at Morrisons and ADSA/Wal-Mart stores. Initial findings show not only the volume of shoppers visiting the stores but the amount of Marketing at Retail materials to which they were exposed to and what materials actually caught their eye.
- “This is a significant initiative which will allow brands and retailers to better understand the important role that POP can play in the marketing mix. We have the chance to establish a new language for the accountability of POP that will allow it to be compared with other media. The MARI study will show how POP compares with above the line means of advertising for the first time and will be able to quantify its effectiveness. The study will hopefully reiterate what people in the POP industry already believe, and educate brands and retailers further about the value of POP compliance.”, said David Martin, Head of brand marketing, ASDA-Wal-Mart.
- MARI outlined a series of tests around the world to study Shopper Engagement to begin to measure consumer experience at retail. Another study in the US has completed work in the field, with the results to be examined in July 18 Webcast.
- Additional studies are planned in Europe later this year. The Shopper Engagement Metrics trial is the first in POPAI’s multi-step vision to position the at-retail medium for the future. This vision includes the development of a Marketing At Retail Valuation system (MARV) which offers standardize measurement and analysis of placement, materials and messages used in the retail environment to understand what works best to maximize the investment in this medium and the overall media mix.
- The results shared at the webcast will not only provide general quantifiable insights into shopper engagement, but more importantly it provides the vast amounts of data required to understand what works best in specific retail environments and product categories.
- The ongoing project incorporates the use of cutting edge technology including small cameras and video software to quantify levels of consumer involvement.
- This technology will be able to count shopper entry, provide gender and age group demographics, and measure shoppers’ sustained visual contact with advertisements throughout their store visit. The software will also be used to develop thermal floor maps of shopper pathways illustrating hot and cold spots in the store and its relationship to the various in-store categories.
- Early results from the technology show that there are affordable applications on a broader scale Lessons learned from this study were applied to the US field trial and will provide a comparison and contrast for not only cultural differences, but improvements in the methodology.
- For additional information visit www.popai.com and select the "Calendar" to register for the July 18 Webcast.
