CONSUMER MARKETING INNOVATIONS


we aim to better engage customers in relevant brand conversation and also co-create with them the innovation they would expect from that specific brand. Additionally, using design thinking techniques we were able to explore creative ways to engage with consumers, define what they need and how best to connect their needs with the key market segments where the brand fits the best, and, further, how to develop relevant and disruptive innovation. In addition to this, programmatic targeting allows brands to microtarget and ensure they’re delivering the best customer experience.


5. Sustainability concerns that existed pre-Covid have just accelerated and will continue to drive new products and commerce opportunities


Customers and consumers continue to demand more tangible opportunities to modify their own behaviour, and many studies show that purchase decisions are finally swinging around to match intentions. Covid-19 will incentivise many companies to rethink their supply chains, and this will create opportunities for them to make a big leap forward in how they manage and present themselves as environmentally responsible. Last year, Abel & Cole introduced in the UK a new sustainable way to shop by removing single-use packaging from its most popular pantry items and, instead, enabling customers to receive their chosen goods in returnable, refillable pots, nicknamed ‘VIPs’ – very important pots. These ‘VIPs’ are collected the following week, to be reused again, and again, and again. Named Club Zero, the initiative had an overwhelming response from customers and has now become a permanent feature on the site — making Abel & Cole the first online retailer to do so. From breakfast cereals to rice, pasta and pulses, shoppers now have the option to buy kitchen cupboard essentials without packaging. See also Aldi’s commitment to reducing


the volume of plastic packaging used by 50% by 2025. The commitment will see the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket remove 74,000 tonnes of plastic packaging during the next few years, the equivalent to 2.2bn single items of plastic. Lots of innovation in the drinks market too:


many companies seeking to replace beer cans with units made from biodegradable cardboard;


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Data will allow us to better understand what, where and how consumers engage with products. It is key to create outstanding experiences through e-commerce to unlock new growth opportunities


and swap the conventional plastic rings with cardboard or glue holders. Looking to the future, in my view, the key success factors for companies looking to be able to drive sustainable growth are: • discover uncommon insights into emerging consumer needs and/or ways in which companies could address those needs better than the competition


• agility and the ability to jump on opportunities quickly and measure their impact in real time


• alignment with a minimum number of silos and maximum coherence of focus and effort


• a culture that is eager to experiment in pursuit of greatness, and willing to tolerate ‘productive failures’


• resilience as the most relevant innovations take time to gain traction; you must have patience to stay the course, and remain relentless in tweaking and adapting the model.


Companies that struggled to continue to fund far-field innovation opportunities will have to re-plan and re-prioritise in 2021 and beyond, in order to ensure future growth once business continuity becomes more predictable. Companies and brands need to be more open in collaboration with other categories and behaviours. Developing bespoke solutions from the ground up will have higher barriers to entry, so expect to see more partnerships between more types of business – with borrowed synergetic business models becoming more common than typical isolated and standalone revenue drivers. In conclusion, I strongly believe that innovation and digital transformation are core drivers of growth across all industries and will only increase in importance, with e-commerce playing a pivotal role.


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