Lucas To Co-Present With Carol Mazza, VP, Advertising and Branding, For Bi-Lo Holdings, “Own Brands Creating Shopper Empathy And Loyalty”

CHICAGO - Anthem, a global creative agency that actively connects brands with consumers by amplifying desirability from package design to brand campaign to drive brand performance, announced today that Jim Lucas, director, global insights and strategy, will co-present “Own Brands Creating Shopper Empathy And Loyalty” with Carol Mazza, vice president of advertising and branding for Bi-Lo Holdings, parent company of BI-LO, Harveys and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, at the Shopper Marketing Expo, October 23, 2014, at 1:00 pm in Minneapolis.

The Shopper Marketing Conference & Expo, produced by the Path to Purchase Institute, attracts nearly 4,000 marketers, agency executives and retail professionals who develop shopper strategy along the path to purchase.

Mazza and Lucas will address this elite group of leading retailers, retail executives, and shopper and retail marketing professionals on the strategic path taken by Bi-Lo Holdings in launching their own brand Chek soda to compete with national carbonated soft drink leaders.

Attendees will discover ways to identify barriers to purchase and develop empathy for the shopper and how private label brands can break through the competitive national brand landscape. They’ll learn how Bi-Lo Holdings looked at customer purchasing habits by analyzing loyalty data, and conducted research to find the barriers to trying private-label products as well as what kept shoppers loyal to national brands.

Carol Mazza stated, “Bi-Lo Holdings partnered with Anthem to learn what would get consumers to try our products and discovered that six years after the 2008 financial crisis, consumers were tired of value messaging such as ‘budget-stretcher’ or ‘stretch your dollars further’ – just pushing products on price point alone is something that doesn’t connect with customers.”

Jim Lucas continued: “Recession fatigue was starting to set in… We had to rethink the notion of value. Differentiating from the national brands who promote their products alongside big events such as NASCAR races, the Super Bowl and the Fourth of July, Anthem suggested the Chek messaging make the brand part of everyday activities like an after-school snack, taco Tuesday or hanging out with neighbors.” 

The Chek launch saw double-digit household penetration; driven by high levels of trial and strong repeat purchases. “Social and digital media played a huge role in this. We could literally observe how people were thinking about Chek and how it fit into their everyday lives.”

Mazza added: “We learned a lot of helpful things from monitoring social media (Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter) where people commented on what’s the best flavor, what’s the best food combination or occasion, what’s the best recipe.”

Lucas concluded: “Much of the success can be attributed to Bi-Lo Holdings’ ability to empathize with consumers and keep the messaging positive – Consumers are thinking, I can’t really control the future, but I can enjoy the now. I can enjoy my friends and family.”