ASIA-PACIFIC – SINGAPORE, MARCH 8, 2012: The Institute of Advertising Singapore launched a new Shopper Marketing category for the Singapore Effectiveness Awards 2012.
The new category will award campaigns which have effectively connected with the shopper, influenced them along the path to purchase and inspired them to become a buyer.
The Shopper Marketing category will focus on marketing communications specifically designed to engage the shopper and guide his or her journey to purchase. Both integrated campaigns and retail-specific efforts are eligible to enter across any one or combination of mediums including retail experience, viral, buzz, direct mail, PR, radio, and TV. The work must demonstrate at least two touchpoints working in concert along the any point of the path to purchase – pre-store, in-store or at-shelf.
Terry O’Connor, CEO, Courts Asia and president of IAS (Institute of Advertising Singapore) said: “Over the past twelve months we have seen the art, and indeed science, of shopper marketing become an ever more crucial element of consumer engagement. Brands have increasingly integrated shopper marketing into their strategies and our introduction of the category is a reflection of the importance and effectiveness of this discipline.”
After a year of uncertainty in 2011, a recent survey by Nielson revealed that consumer confidence remains low in Singapore.
Singapore started the year with 109 points, but slipped 15 points to 94 by the year’s end, a two year low for the country. The research revealed that consumer spending is likely to remain low due during 2012 to on-going concerns over the global economy and job security. With Singaporean consumers more hesitant to spend, and more price and value conscious when they do so, shopper marketing provides invaluable insight into consumer motivations and behaviors.
Michael Robinson, shopper marketing director Asia Pacific, Momentum Worldwide commented: "Traditionally Singaporeans have been quite impulsive shoppers but we saw restraint throughout 2011. With the Monetary Authority of Singapore warning that inflation is likely to remain high in the first half of 2012, shoppers will be thinking harder about every item they put in their baskets, spending more time at shelf making their decisions. In one study conducted last year, the average purchase time reviewing and purchasing soluble coffee brands at big box modern trade outlets was nearly 3 minutes, an unheard of amount of time anywhere else in the world.
“Shopper is an ever more important marketing discipline in Singapore given low TV spend and penetration. We have more than one client who didn’t even run TVC’s last year, meaning print, digital and in-store were their only go-to-market campaigns. In order to remain competitive, brands need to make sure their messaging is better targeted and arranged around zones or triggers that matter most in order to boost their bottom line and build customer loyalty,” Robinson continued.
Sponsored this year by Media Corp and the New York Times Group, the Singapore Effies 2012 honour the country’s most effective advertising campaigns and is now open for entries across all categories. Marketers and agencies can submit entries through the IAS website, www.effies.sg, and the last date for submission is March 16.
