GUEST POST from Kevin Roberts
The Sam Walton Business School at the University of Arkansas is on our calendar every October because of the superb annual conference run by the Center for Retailing Excellence. Andy Murray, Global CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi X, was a founder of the conference, and this year a keynote speaker. His subject was “the future of shopper marketing” – which should apply to anyone and everyone who wants to sell something to a customer.
The presentation featured five key points (and a whole bunch of arresting stories, insights, and examples):
- Put yourself at the heart of the customer (most companies try it the other way around)
- Navigate the experience of your customer from the “shelf back”
- Create ways for customers to participate and be involved in your brands and store experiences
- Explore the fringe/edge/margin for new ideas (Wal-Mart was a fringe idea, it came from Bentonville, not Chicago)
- Find new ways for manufacturers and retailers to collaborate authentically based on trust, transparency and shared goals
This is a special presentation and will be viewed in five years time as a definitive statement about the world’s biggest activity: shopping.
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