In this digital age attention has become a rare commodity. The challenge for brands is to find new and innovative ways to surprise and delight customers in order to capture their imagination and engage with them. Where better than at the actual point of sale?

The EFMP group of agencies are progressive in using innovative technology to not only track and report on consumer activation but to actively surprise and delight customers through virtual reality technology.

Virtual Promoter

Our agencies in the Czech Republic, Germany and Romania are some of the few agencies in the world using this state of the art interactive 83” rear-projection media display platform, called the Virtual Promoter. This platform has been designed to produce a life-size display that interacts by gestures and hi-fi sound feedback.

The interactive displays are aesthetically pleasing and effortlessly catch the attention of the passing consumers. The engaging nature of the displays makes consumers curious and encourages them to explore the technology; as a result every detail of the product is promoted.

Whether it’s product information, special offers, services or long-term customer retention, there is no better way to capture the attention of the customers at the point of sale (POS); and the virtual promoters are always on duty.

Due to the novel way that virtual promoters display information, consumers are receptive to far more information. This is a great advantage for brands operating in a competitive environment. However, the benefits go beyond just engagement but also include the recording of in-depth customer metrics, with smart data giving brands insight into their target audience.

“The ease of set up, mobility and detailed consumers reporting metric makes this one of the most innovative developments in Customer Activation Marketing at the moment. “
Eckhard von Kuczkowski, Competition-Partner, Germany

PPM Factum in the Czech Republic is one of only a few agencies in the world to use this progressive technology.They launched their virtual promoter (ViP) at the Retail Summit on 1st February 2016. View video here. In just over 2 days they had over 600 unique visitors and 217 VIP active users. It was found that on average customers spent over 70 seconds interacting with the device. To understand this technology more, please visit this bespoke web presentation.

“The response to the launch of the Virtual Promoter  has been overwhelmingly positive. We understand that innovative activation of target groups is one of the most important themes for the face to face business and we are always on the lookout for leading technology that can help us achieve this.”
Riha Pavel, PPM Factum, Czech Republic

GrupSapte Agency in Romania,in conjunction with Pepsi, has recently launched the ‘50 years with Pepsi in Romania’ campaign; which they communicated through Virtual Promoter.

They are one of the first agencies in Romania to use this technology incorporated in special and innovative POS materials and we will be updating this blog with the results of the campaign and we will also be comparing these results to the results from a similar but more traditional campaign.

Activation Marketing Technology

Return on investment is a key metric outlined by any client engaging with one of our agencies. Using leading technology in the field to capture sales information and report in real time is fundamental to effectively measure the success of a campaign. By the very nature of the types of promotions carried out, the detailed reporting and third party access to that information is what helps brands make the most informed decisions, and in addition, builds trust through transparency.

The essence of using this technology is to give brands a deeper understanding of how customers experience them in the retail environment, which in turn enhances their business intelligence and allows them to make strategic changes to implement cost savings and an increase in sales. It allows our agencies to translate their activities into data that shapes business decisions.

Working in partnership with our clients and understanding that many of them operate across Europe in an increasingly competitive market, we recognize that access and interpretation of the consumer activation data helps them outperform competitors. This data helps them make the most informed business decisions for the future.

Given the variety of campaigns delivered and the objectives for each, all agencies are able to create and report on bespoke metrics that are tailored to an individual brand’s needs. The ultimate objective is to optimise performance. A variety of platforms and tools are used to deliver campaigns; below we outline some of the outputs and benefits of this technology.

Store Selection Process

Through clients sharing their sales data, our agencies are able to effectively map which store generated the most revenue. This allows our agencies to effectively unveil the opportunities for each store and identify which stores require attention and which should be leveraged.

We would also compare activity in stores to a control sample should no Field Marketing activities have taken place, thus allowing us to attribute an incremental sales value to an activity.

The store selection process gives us insight into shelf space, price audit, quality of 2nd placements presence, location within the store, competitive POS material, and price. All of this data helps give our clients a competitive advantage.

Dashboards

All our agencies use an online reporting platform that has its own smartphone app. The app ensures that field marketers can log on through a tablet or mobile phone while they are on location, in order to configure in-store activities, collect data and record short interviews for market research. The results from the app are delivered in real-time allowing us to manage all projects in the field. And perhaps the most important feature, the clients can log in and check real-time sales, customer encounters and photos; giving them full visibility of the campaigns from the moment of launch.

The dashboards provide real-time indicators, using analytical graphs and tables that are easy to interpret and understand and that can be adjusted to specific time periods.

These innovative visual tools enable us to extract and order the most important data and this, coupled with our agencies’ market knowledge and extensive network expertise combines to optimise the effectiveness of the commercial campaigns and to ensure that results are delivered.

Tailored Reports

Quality insightful reporting is what has helped establish our agencies as field marketing leaders. Detailed reports not only build trust and confidence with our clients but provide valuable insights into each campaign identifying both areas of success and opportunities for improvements.

Reports can be quantitative or qualitative. Tailored reporting of solutions allows data to be presented in a clear and concise manner on the client’s own password protected web portal for direct access.
There is a real focus to ensure that all technology used in the field integrates seamlessly into clients’ existing CRM systems.

Looking Forward

EFMP gives global brands the opportunity to get a thorough overview of the FMCG and CT European markets. We understand the challenges and competitiveness of markets and we ensure that we are best placed to differentiate your campaigns to deliver a positive return on investment.
Our agencies are ambitious and progressive, continuously looking for the latest technologies that help drive performance and deliver exceptional results.

For more information on how we could best promote your brand in Europe, please get in touch.