Trust us, you won’t be able to unload all the learnings from this episode with Stop & Shop’s Lisa Martinelli in one trip. This master retail marketer reveals how your brand purpose shapes positioning, how to build unwavering brand loyalty, and her number one practice for evaluating agency strategy.
The one thing brands must bring to an agency review
Mutually beneficial agency-client relationships are critical to solving business challenges and brand building. Yet, finding a new agency can be stressful for both the brand and the agency. Agencies often feel like the pressure is all on them. But in reality, the anxiety is shared. After going through two recent agency searches, Lisa advises that one of the most important things the client can do is own the brief. She urges brands to make sure the business challenge is smart, timely, and accurate. This allows brands to truly get a sense of how the agency thinks and works. She also shares that brands shouldn’t expect perfection. Instead, come with an open mind and give honest feedback to help the agency nail the assignment. This give and take not only demonstrates what it will be like to work together but also sets the agency up to succeed long term.
How tech can build brand loyalty
Getting a new consumer to engage with your brand is a win, but building true customer loyalty means winning them back over and over again. For Stop & Shop having a shopper continually drive past a competitor to visit their store is a brand loyalty signal.
One way to get consumers to seek you out is by leveraging modern tech. Stop & Shop introduced Marty, a friendly robot, for a better in-person shopping experience. Marty assists shoppers, alerts staff of spills and hazards, and lets store employees know when stock is low on certain items. Stop & Shop also builds brand loyalty through a personalized shopping experience curated by data received through the shopper loyalty program. This tracks a specific customer’s purchases and alerts them of discounts for their favorite items. Finally, Stop & Shop’s “Feed it Forward” initiative helps lift local communities through food drives, meal delivery, and school food pantries. More on this later.
What happens after a TikTok goes viral
TikTok is a powerful platform that can take brands from zero to hero almost overnight. It’s important to get your name out there and leverage what users say about you. We asked Lisa about the time Stop & Shop went viral for the way their self-checkout aisle pronounced “bananas.” Lisa and her team leaned into the fun on their socials. They started to look for other items with funny pronunciations, showing that they were listening to their customers and matching their energy. Lisa explains that this TikTok user’s positive shopping experience was great for Stop & Shop’s image, maintaining their loyal customers and gaining new ones.
Why your brand purpose can’t just live in a PowerPoint
Every brand has a mission or purpose written down on a PowerPoint or hung on an office wall. How far you go to live your purpose though, is the differentiator. Lisa urges CMOs and brand leaders to ditch the PowerPoint for real-life expression. For example, one of Stop & Shop’s guiding principles is to “feed it forward.” This philosophy fuels Stop & Shop’s philanthropy initiatives where they deliver food to people in need. One of their current objectives is to have a school food pantry in every single store. So far, they have 250. When you live your purpose, vs just read it, it’s good for the bottom line and the soul.
The art of evaluating strategy
There is no surefire way to know whether or not a strategy proposed by an agency will fail or succeed. Strategists do the best they can with the information presented to them. So, how should a brand evaluate strategy? In her experience, Lisa says the best way to get to a great strategic insight is with the “but why” exercise. By asking this question five times, consumer tension is often revealed – helping you identify the problem you actually need to solve.
After uncovering that golden insight, crafting the strategy should be next in the process. Do your due diligence, leveraging data and analytics, and really get in the minds of your target audience.
Plus, a whole lot more ...
Want to know more about what it’s like to run an agency review? How about the day Lisa had to step in and work the deli counter? Listen to the full episode to see what else is in store. Drop your favorite takeaways on our social posts and be sure to leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. See you next month.👋
ABOUT THE QUESTION EVERYTHING PODCAST
Part interview, part therapy, part Price Is Right, the Question Everything podcast puts your favorite CMOs and thought leaders in the hot seat. That means while they're facing off against our game board, you'll learn from the successes and failures of the best in the biz who were daring enough to be curious.
