FMBE Awards 2021: Most Effective Retail Sales Experience

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The bar was set really high in this one. 2 silvers and one gold were awarded.

SILVER Blue Square – Samsung

This team demonstrated how they created a premium sales experience specifically for Harrods and Selfridges stores. The solution detailed how new store in store retail spaces had seen a reinvention for a process that also overcame the hiatus challenges of lockdown closures.

Judges admired the clear and distinct understanding of how Blue Square readied the team for high value shopper communications and shared some incredible revenue data with our judges.

One judge wrote: “In a very turbulent climate I thought it was a great sales approach, to offer concierge to high calibre consumer spend – to help really drive these sales. I liked the immersive experience when the stores reopened. They really have looked at best way to drive sales from their high-profile customer base and the results clearly demonstrate for a high ticket spend. A well-focused smart approach.”

SILVER Fizz Experience – Hotel Chocolat

This activity impresses by showing how the ordinary can be made less ordinary to the point of laying down real cornerstones in a brand’s journey.

Sampling challenger luxury liquor brand Hotel Chocolat at wholesaler Costco, with Christmas in view, was extremely revealing for the brand and gave the brand owner superb extra insight. Gains made through sampling right around the country showed were a clear demonstration of the value of getting consumers to trial product.

Nigel Sandals, Global Travel Retail & Spirits, Hotel Chocolat testified “We kicked off our nationwide demos campaign on Sat 7th Nov and sent sales surging with over 2,000 bottles of Velvetised Chocolate Cream Liqueur sold. Members particularly enjoyed the texture and flavour profile of this product; it samples really well. Congratulations to Gateshead for setting a new daily sales record. Well done! Amazing job everyone!”

Everyone liked this campaign for its clear KPIs and results.

GOLD Link Communication – Mighty Pea

Link Communication have made this category their own in recent years, with Gold – Gold – Silver – Gold in the past four years. The entries are always different but often successfully champion a challenger product – in this case oat drink as a milk replacement from Mighty Pea, have a nice creative sampling stand, deliver to an exacting budget and create fantastic sales results. Compelling data is often the measure for sustained sales measured long after the event. In Mighty Pea’s case – the average long term sustained increased Rate of Sale achieved in the sampling stores was 130% (from 10 units to 27 units).

It is important to add though that this year was also markedly different to before. Here was a campaign that needed to fully engage shoppers whilst maintaining strict COVID protocol. Link knew better than most that the desire for their engaging sampling campaigns had not gone away – and had – if anything, strengthened. Lockdowns had decimated human interaction. The timing had to be right, and with a brand that trusted Link to make the campaign a safety-first shopper success, without compromising on commitment to reaching out.

One judge summarised the success of this balancing act.

“Great execution in lockdown and I loved their SAFE approach strategy. Their entry was extremely detailed which really helps to understand the scale of their activity. It looked really fun and engaging and a really safe way to experience the product in covid times. The results again were really detailed, and they showed it be a great success. The experiential activity was really well thought through and that comes across in the detail.”