Brand groups must be re-designed to bring a shopper focus to the brand strategy. This requires establishing a Shopper function within Marketing that is simultaneously brand- and retailer-facing. This will ensure that the brand strategy is fully aligned with the shopper’s behavior within specific retailers.
Long-Term, Strategic. Typically, brand organizations are designed for long-term, strategic collaboration with no more than 4-6 retailers. This tight focus is partly because brands must center resources on the relatively small number of retailers that account for the overwhelming majority of their sales volume. It is also because retailers make their own choices about which brands are most important to their success.
Cross-Functional Teams. This retailer-centric approach mandates development of 4-6 cross-functional Account Teams, each of which is designed to work closely with a different retailer. Each team is staffed by representatives from Marketing, Sales, Shopper, Insights, Category Management and, sometimes, Finance. Ideally, each team should also include Supply Chain and Information Technology, as both are critical to the successful implementation of Shopper programs. Each functioning team member aligns with and informs the others.
Annual Planning. The team leader draws on input from team members to create an annual account plan that ultimately serves the goals and objectives of both brand and retailer, and their mutual shopper.
