Path to Purchase Essentials
The marketing world is in a state of constant disruption and the discipline of shopper marketing is ever-evolving and growing in importance. The concentration of buying power represented by key retailers and the growing impact of e-commerce has dramatically reduced the ability of brands to guide the retailer-manufacturer relationship. With retailer’s also putting their own brands front and center on the promotional agenda, brand marketers must find productive, creative ways to drive effective shopper engagement by better understanding consumer needs and buying behavior.
This two-part workshop will give professionals from all industry stakeholders and organizational functions a solid understanding of shopper marketing fundamentals, covering the key concepts, best-practice strategies and critical activation techniques needed to excel in this now-vital aspect of the brand marketing mix. It will then take a deeper dive into the skills needed to effectively unlock and execute shopper insights, the lifeblood that fuels the entire process.

Part I: Shopper Marketing Essentials
For sales, brand and shopper marketing professionals relatively new to the discipline, this workshop will define and explore “Shopper Marketing” as a growing practice area and identify where it fits within the broader brand marketing mix. It will look at the practice from every angle and give participants a solid understanding of the following:

• What shopper marketing is and why it has become a critical part of integrated marketing communications.
• The tools and understanding needed to develop and execute a comprehensive shopper marketing program.
• Best practices for the activation of the various in-store, near-store and digital tactics being used by today’s leading shopper marketers.
• How best to align the sometimes conflicting interests of retailers and manufacturers to create successful collaborative shopper programs. 
• Common metrics used to assess program success.
• Ways in which organizations are integrating their shopper marketing efforts with the overall marketing mix. 

Part 2: Shopper Insights Essentials
Ongoing,unprecedented disruption at retail has made an understanding of “why shoppers buy” more important than ever before. The ability to deeply understand consumers — their attitudes about brands and products, their shopping behaviors and their unmet needs — is critical to effectively competing today and preparing for whatever additional retail disruption might be coming.
This workshop will teach attendees how to discover and apply shopper insights to improve their marketing practices — from strategy to activation — across retailers and across sales channels. More importantly, it will explain how to inspire a shopper-centered marketing culture in which insights become the core of retail transformation.
This working session will encompass theory, case histories and hands-on exercises that will help attendees understand:  

• The unique role of shopper/shopping insights. 
• The types of insights needed to win with shoppers in today’s marketplace. 
• A process for generating insights that matter. 
• Techniques for data gathering and interpretation. 
• Shopper psychology and its impact on behavior. 
• Ways to partner with retailers to drive better insights. 
• Methods of applying insights to strategic planning and tactical activation. 
• Tips for rallying teams around shopper needs.