Redirecting resources to trigger impulse buys

<p>Unilever's "impulse trigger" campaign applied a low budget but high </p><p>target audience reach marketing programme to promote sales and publicise </p><p>the brand value of Wall's ice-cream in China's major cities. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>McCann-Erickson Guangming implemented a media campaign which focused on </p><p>the use of outdoor, radio and newspapers to trigger sales and raise </p><p>brand awareness. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This was a major initiative for a marketer like Unilever, which had </p><p>historically used primarily television and believed firmly in the </p><p>medium's effectiveness. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>McCann's media team suggested that the budget reserved for the </p><p>production of TVCs should be reallocated to above-the-line media such as </p><p>bus and bus shelter advertising, to promote Wall's new logo, products, </p><p>brand values and prices. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As ice-cream consumption tends to be impulsive, an effective media plan </p><p>should work to trigger impulse purchases at street level. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Television is not able to effectively drive impulse sales for individual </p><p>ice-cream products such as Wall's, as few households keep ice-cream in </p><p>the freezer. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Research also found that Wall's young, active target consumers watched </p><p>less television during summer, but rather listened to the radio and read </p><p>newspapers more often in order to plan leisure activities. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Outdoor media was also an effective communication channel to reach these </p><p>target consumers, who went out more often for leisure activities during </p><p>the summer months. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Thus, full painted ads on buses, a bus shelter campaign, newspaper </p><p>banner ads and radio commercials were run in China's major cities </p><p>without any support from television. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Wall's is the leading ice-cream brand in China, with more than 50 per </p><p>cent market share, but China's ice-cream market is highly fractured, and </p><p>crowded in certain areas by low-cost and low-quality products. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The main objectives of the impulse trigger campaign were to communicate </p><p>Wall's new logo, communicate the brand value and good citizenship image, </p><p>to promote new pricing and to launch new products with limited </p><p>above-the-line resources. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The campaign successfully achieved these objectives, with brand </p><p>awareness rising 15 per cent and sales rising 67 per cent in Beijing, 35 </p><p>per cent in Guangzhou and 33 per cent in Wuhan. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>* This ongoing National Geographic Showcase series features selected </p><p>material from winners and other entries in the Best Use of Media </p><p>category in MEDIA's Agency of the Year Awards 1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>