It goes without saying that 2020 has been a less than ideal year for many sectors, with virtually zero opportunities to celebrate our successes, and retail marketing is one area that has received less attention this year amid stock shortages and changed customer habits.
Retail marketing (POP displays, experiential and sampling campaigns, category management and insight driven campaigns) this year has for many in the industry been a challenge.
In a poll of Shop! members, we found that marketing budgets have been slashed by up to half for around 38 per cent of the industry. Thankfully, for 52 per cent of ANZ retail marketers, Covid has had no effect on their marketing budgets, and 10 per cent of marketing budgets have actually increased in the past 12 months.
Just 10 per cent of Shop!’s members told us they have had more campaigns, displays or activations in stores since March, with a further 12.5 per cent reporting there has been no variation to activity volume as a result of Covid.
This huge change in how brands and retailers market to shoppers, and the shift in the day to day operations of Australian retail marketers has not gone un-noticed by Shop!, and the retail marketing industry body has never been more driven to recognise the success and struggles of the industry.
The Shop! ANZ Retail Marketing Awards are open for entries until January 18, 2021, with the sole purpose of celebrating and rewarding the ingenuity and effort of those in the industry keeping it alive and thriving, despite the challenges of 2020.
This year we’ve introduced three new awards – two focused on retailers and brands that have excelled in Covid-safe experiences for shoppers, and those who may have pivoted their instore marketing campaigns to meet the changing needs of shoppers throughout the pandemic.
With our world growing smaller, and local manufacturers becoming increasingly more important to the uninterrupted operation of retail marketing campaigns, we’ve also launched a new Produced in ANZ category, to recognise homegrown Australian and New Zealand design and manufacturing.
Entry to the Shop! 2020 Retail Marketing Awards is open in New Zealand to both members and non-members for projects in-market in the 18 months between 1 July 2019 and 31 December 2020. Early Bird entries close December 31, with a final submission cut off of January 18. Gold, Silver and Bronze winners of the 26 categories will be announced at the annual Shop! ANZ Awards Gala Dinner on March 25 at Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf, Sydney.
For more information on the Shop! Awards and entry, visit https://www.shopassociation.org.au/enter-awards
