Are in-outlet promotions ineffective?

A recent report has claimed that traditional below the line promotionsare ineffective. Ben McFarland investigates some new approaches

There can be few rivals to the drinks industry when it comes to innovative TV advertising. Whether it's surfing white horses, croaking frogs or a monkey in a wedding dress, today's alcoholic drink adverts are a far cry from the days when everyone was following the bear, betting on whether he drinks Carling Black Label or repetitively shouting Skol.

But despite the increasingly sophisticated "above the line activity" - that's advertising in marketing gobbledegook by the way - and the battle of the brands becoming ever more intense, the question remains whether heavy investment in high profile media support can give the consumer a good enough reason to buy one particular brand ahead of another.

While brand owners use advertising to develop the personality and image of a brand and create empathy with the consumer, approaches to "below the line activity" - that's marketing mumbo jumbo for in-outlet promotions, point-of-sale and sampling just so you know - differ hugely from brand to brand.

Research undertaken by Interbrew UK, the results of which were published in its market report last month, showed that just two per cent of consumers are influenced in their choice of drink by a promotion. Interbrew claims that outdated traditional promotions such as scratchcards and free t-shirts fail to add value for either the consumer or the brand.

Allan Tudor, director of sales for on-trade, believes that there is an urgent need for brewers and retailers to improve their understanding of ways to influence consumer-purchasing decisions.

"Interbrew UK is not going to be doing those kind of promotions. We are going to be emphasising quality, visibility and distribution," said Allan.

In the case of its flagship brand, Stella Artois (pictured)​, the Belgian brewer avoids sales promotions, focusing instead on cementing the brand's reassuringly expensive brand values.

"Rather than spending money on promotions, we want to make sure that the product, by that I mean the liquid inside, is served and presented as well as it possibly can be," Allan said.

According to Interbrew research, 21 per cent of consumers are influenced in their choice of drink by product quality while 50 per cent of those who experience a dodgy pint would not order the brand again and, more importantly for publicans, are not likely to go back to the outlet.

Interbrew has allocated promotional funding to improving merchandising and enhancing the in-outlet experience. New embossed and nucleated Stella Artois glasses have been introduced and as part of the brand's School of Excellence programme, Interbrew is urging publicans to appoint a staff champion to train new recruits.

Louise McKay, senior brand manager for Foster's, agreed that the long-established "kit in the box" promotions were no longer relevant to today's market but insisted that there was still a role to be played by interactive and innovative promotions such as Foster's "Fostralia" campaign.

"Things have moved on a lot in the last seven or eight years. With kit in the box promotions, where t-shirts and caps were simply given away using a scratch card mechanic, the volume uplift was very low," Louise said.

"Instead of doing two or three promotions a year and spending our entire budget across different activities, we decided to opt for one big promotion in both the on and off-trade and complement it with above the line advertising."

The Fostralia umbrella concept has run for the last five years now and claims to be the biggest beer promotion in the world. Last year's Fostralia "The City, The Reef, The Rock" promotion ran in more than 8,500 on-trade outlets in conjunction with radio support.

"Research has showed an average 14 per cent increase in volume for those outlets that ran the promotion and we are expecting even better results from Fostralia Formula Oz this year," added Louise.

"The idea is to develop a clean, clear strategy as the market becomes increasingly complicated.

"The message needs to be concise as the consumer is being constantly bombarded with more brand messages and the in-outlet promotion needs to be supported by above the line activity."

One of the principal obstacles facing brand owners at outlet level surrounds the prickly issue of point-of-sale (POS) material.

The Interbrew market report states that more than one in three consumers, 35 per cent, are influenced in their choice of drink by merchandising.

However, there is an increasing number of pub companies and retailers who argue that an uncluttered bar environment yields better sales and are consequently becoming more precious about what goes behind the bar.

With this in mind, Scottish Courage adopted a more bespoke approach to POS material for this year's Fostralia Formula Oz promotion.

"Rather than introduce a standard POS kit across all the participating outlets, our sales teams - armed with laptops - would sit down with publicans and choose tailor-made designs from a menu," said Louise.

"The outlet's name would appear on the POS material and the gamecards to make it more inclusive and increase the implementation rate. It's the first year we've done this and although it's too early to know the results, the feedback has been extremely positive," she added.

An alternative promotional route to market is via a sampling campaign. The toughest task facing the majority of new or relaunched products, especially those without a fistful of advertising spend, is actually getting the products into people's hands.

When Guinness launched its new Guinness Draught in a Bottle concept last year, (before its Guinness UDV days), it embarked on a sampling campaign with a difference.

As part of a £5m marketing drive, Guinness trained an extensive nationwide team of samplers in the art of magic as part of an initiative to assure consumers that Guinness Draught in a Bottle tastes the same as the more traditional hand pulled pint of the "black stuff".

James Freedman of Magic Management and Training, the company brought in by Guinness to supply the crafty conjurers, claims that a giveaway is over 80 per cent more likely to be retained if it is presented in a memorable way and argues that brands need to offer the consumer much more when running sampling promotions.

"Traditional sampling campaigns can have a negative effect on people. Simply giving away free samples changes the atmosphere and doesn't sit well with a quality product - it devalues the brand," said James.

"It's important to make consumers associate the brand with a good mood. We call it motivational entertainment and it's a unique way for people to experience the brand in a positive environment. There's no point trying to make people taste your fantastic product, designed to be drunk in the pub with their friends, when they're running for the 5.29 at London Bridge!"

James and his merry band of magicians bamboozled customers with magical trickery and illusion incorporating the Guinness Draught in a Bottle at key outlets in more than 15 major cities last year.

Feedback from the campaign revealed that of all the individual licensees who were visited by the touring team of tricksters, a massive 99 per cent would welcome them back.

Regardless of approach, all brand owners are aware that without the compliance of a licensee, the promotion is unlikely to succeed. Research has shown that 50 per cent of consumers would be prepared to buy a brand if recommended or encouraged by the barstaff, but this only happens in five per cent of cases. It's doubtful whether bombarding publicans with fiddly scratchcards and big bulky boxes crammed with t-shirts and caps will evoke a positive response.

Enticing publicans with prizes and incentive to help oil the wheels of a part