Earlier this month, Co-op launched the next instalment of its ‘Pop to Co-op’ brand platform, which highlighted how consumers could get great value on everyday essentials by shopping convenience retail.
The work aimed to challenge perceptions that Co-op was an expensive grocery retailer and was soundtracked to “Suttin Like That” by Kurupt FM,.
Sam Walker, Co-op’s marketing director breaks down how the platform has been performing since its last iteration.
Walker explains that at the start of this year, the retailer spent a lot of time looking at consumer sights and looked at how the brand delivered on value, ease and quality. With that in mind the retailer came up with its ‘Pop to Co-op’ brand platform.
He said: “We knew we needed a way to dramatise and bring to life how our proposition served customers, particularly some of the strategically important missions we’re focusing on- meal for tonight, top up food shop and food for tea.
“Summer was really the first outing of that. It was where we got to show that across all of the summer moments, whether that is sporting events, impromptu picnics or barbecues.”
Co-op wanted to set up a “lasting platform” rather than just going from campaign to campaign. The retailer’s previous instalment was all about summer moments but the shift in seasons brings about a different focus. Consumers are more concerned about value, he highlights especially with recent headlines about the increase in fuel prices.
He says: “We know that customers are going to be really focusing on value, and for us, the top up mission is the mission that really leans into that sentiment quite hard, given the mix of products and the way customers think about it.
“We knew what we needed to do was focus on was how the second instalment of ‘Pop to Co-op’ really delivered against those needs”.
He explains that Co-op found consumers wanted convenience but found many were worried about value and whether they could afford it, so it wanted to highlight that consumers were able to shop the way they wanted to.
The campaign’s concept was inspired by its customers feedback- the convenience retailer speaks to them about what’s going on in their lives beyond grocery shopping and the feedback it receives is how busy life is- people have kids they are looking after or elderly relatives to support and some may be doing both of those things at the same time.
He says: “There’s a real advantage to being quicker, closer, simpler, shopping conveniently to do those top up missions.
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“The benefit of being an easy shop that saves time and responds to that need within the customer was really what gave us the inspiration to build the campaign.”
Walker shares that he loves it when the retailer is able to have some and bring to life Co-op moments. He says there’s an “energy to the work” that connects those moments and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
“I think from this campaign, we’re having some real fun in how we dramatize some of those challenges of the big shop. So rather than being very literal in how we show it, we’re dramatising it in a more creative way, particularly in the TV and AV assets that we’ve got.”
“I think having some fun in a way that is right for our tone of voice and right for our brand and feels true to the Co-op is the bit that I’ve enjoyed most and probably the highlight for me for the campaign.”
Walker highlights that it is too early to really assess the autumn campaigns impact as its only been running a few weeks. However, it has started to get insights and reviews from the ‘Pop to Co-op’ platform as a whole and he highlights that they are seeing really positive responses from its customers.
“We’re hearing really strong feedback on value, on relevance and how they perceive the experience. It is definitely starting to do that work, but we’re firmly of the view that it’s time to build as well. That’s why we wanted a lasting platform. You’re not going to get all the results you need overnight, but we’ve certainly got some encouraging early signs.”
He adds: “I think the overarching objective for the autumn campaign is really clear in terms of specific campaign objectives, so it’s really landing that message that you can afford to shop the way you want to conveniently.
“It’s making sure we’re driving those value perceptions and then prompting the action of more visits, more transactions from customers when they come, and we’ll have a suite of metrics and a measurement framework that will help us assess that.”
The autumn campaign and the brand platform as a whole gives the brand the confidence as they aren’t starting from a blank piece of paper, they are picking up from a prior campaign. In the case of this autumn campaign, Co-op was able to go look at what it had learnt from the summer instalment, look at its media strategy, draw on the business objectives it hit and draw on the creative platform to create the new instalment.
He says : “It is absolutely about optimising and moving forward and delivering the next chapter of the story. But we’re really clear: it’s the same story that we’re telling, it’s the same KPIs and strategy. And we are simply responding to where’s the customer is going to be and how we best serve their needs in this next campaign period that we’ve got.
And looking forward to future instalments of the campaign, Walker highlights: “It’s definitely not job done.”
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