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Posted by Ed Cotton A new pilot study from POPAI looks at how UK shoppers engage in retail marketing at Morrisons and ASDA/Wal-Mart stores.

It reveals just how challenging the battle for consumer attention has become.

"534 shoppers enter the store per hour; shoppers are exposed to 1.6 pieces of marketing materials per second as they navigate the stores; shoppers' eyes are drawn to 17.8 percent of the marketing materials..."

Over 80% of materials get ignored.

The battle for attention is real.


Posted by Ed Cotton At one time, Heineken was the UK's best selling lager, much of this success was down to Lowe Howard Spink's memorable advertising campaign and the tagline- "Refreshes the parts other beers can't reach" that was known by every Brit.

However, by the early 1990s, the brand had started to falter, it was too popular for its own good. It had become a part of cultural landcape becoming had a "British" lager. Heineken was no longer special any more and people knew it. The brand had become tarnished, it was precieved as being weak and watery and consequently lost ground to more fashionable imports. By 2003, sales had slipped to just 20% of peak volume.

In 2004, Heineken did something radical in response to the situation. It changed the product, scrapping the original brew that was made in England and started importing product from Holland, the same beer that is sold in 170 countries around the world. In so doing, it gave up $800 million in sales just to protect the integrity of the brand.

In 2005, the brand stopped advertising on television and pushed funds into point of sale and sponsorship.

Now in 2007, Heineken is making a comeback. It's returning to television after a two year break and is looking to bring the brand strategy in line with the rest of the world. The goal is to bring a "continental style of drinking" to the UK. In addition to TV advertising, the company created a mobile 400 seat cafe that it will take to events to reinforce the new positioning. It's also making sure that the product is served correctly  and has hired a team of auditors to evaluate the performance of 5,000 bars over the next 12 months.

It remains to be seen if the re-introduction of Heineken in the UK market will be a success. However, it's an illuminating case study that shows sometimes it's worth taking a sales hit to protect the integrity of the brand and that patience is important if you want to re-stage right.