There is a lot of pressure on FMCG brands at the moment. Retailers are pushing for lower prices so they can maintain claims of being better value than their competitors. At the same time brands are trying to develop true connections with their customers to drive loyalty, as well as maintaining sales in the short term. Marketing, and in particular effective design and branding plays a vital role in conveying your message and telling an appealing brand story, in today’s busy market place.

There is a solid case to be made for brands to examine all routes of marketing, rather than diverting resources into aggressive price promotion strategies. Discounting will certainly encourage consumers to buy a particular product while it’s on offer, however it makes it difficult for the brand to ever return to the full price, for fear of losing customers.  Successful in the short term – no doubt but in the long term this approach encourages the very people you want to be loyal to your brand to become more promiscuous and price led.

Even more worryingly, we are increasingly seeing offers which include bolt on discount in additional to the original reduction - “all beds half price and this weekend only an extra 10% off”. Consumers effectively become blind to the discounts being offered and expect a discount.  This behaviour is becoming the norm. How can businesses and brands maintain a healthy bottom line when full price is looked on as being a reason to not purchase a product?  Long term brand loyalty is not sustainable on discounts and price promotions alone. 

Brands that are keen to avoid this route have a number of options open to them to ensure they stand out on crowded supermarket shelves. One is to make their packaging and design work harder for the brand.   Brands need to create disruption to get noticed but in a manner that doesn’t harm their brand proposition. We are starting to see consumers move away from pure discount outlets, with a decrease in their growth. There is also some debate in the industry as to whether consumers are in fact growing tired of brands focusing their messaging on the recession, and are starting to respond more to positive messaging that resonates with their aspirations.  So, if consumers are finding price-based branding less appealing, the question remains; what will happen to the brands that have made aggressive discounting the core of their marketing strategy?  How will they establish grounds for an open and honest conversation that isn’t based on price? 

When it comes to changing brand design, there is one fundamental question that must be assessed. Does the brand need an evolution, or a revolution?  This decision must be based on the level of brand equity that already exists. Products and brands with existing high brand equity are clearly better candidates for evolution, where the original concept is refreshed in a consistent manner.  Whereas brands with less equity, that are likely to be suffering from design that is not doing its job, need a new lease of life through a radical overhaul. In Birmingham we often say “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” and successful brands should certainly bare this in mind.

Brilliant branding and design starts with brands that really know their customers. Brands must consider the full customer journey, from the initial awareness and trust building through to the final factors that are influential at the last stage of the decision.  Brands that want to demonstrate they are worth paying for must provide their customers with unique experience across all consumer touch points, from branding to experiential to advertising and online. 

If a brand really knows its customers it can then develop a compelling and relevant brand story which will help to create a relationship between the brand and the consumer. Design plays a big part in this but brands need to think much more holistically so advertising, sales promotion, design and all other elements of marketing lead back to the same central story.

Waitrose is a classic example of a brand that has evolved its offering to suit customer demand without compromising its core values. The essential range was questioned on its launch by some, as not in line with Waitrose core messaging as a top end retailer.  In reality, Waitrose didn’t change the items they were selling on a day to day basis but instead relabelled them to highlight the price. The language they use to describe the range highlights this; “effectively combines the quality our customers have come to expect and the reassurance of Waitrose values, together with affordable prices". This is a tactical evolution rather than a radical revolution.

Brands are facing challenges everywhere; aggressive discounting, fickle customers, a lack of trust and unprecedented amount of competition. The answer is to develop a clear and appealing brand story which can be communicated and reinforced through every consumer tough point.  At Boxer we work with our clients to help them achieve this brand story and value by using a value equation of price + quality + experience.  All three need to be present in order to grow brand value, maintain loyalty and keep consumers engaged in open, honest conversation about the brand.