DSN, Mack Elevation host second annual New General Market Forum
The journey to understanding how to serve the New General Market continues, according to Dan Mack who led the discussion at the second annual New General Market Forum, co-hosted by Drug Store News in partnership with Mack Elevation Forum. The event took place in New York on April 6, and was attended by some of the most innovative brands in the personal care industry, and a group thought-leading retail executives — Walmart VP merchandising for beauty Jody Pinson, Walgreens DMM for beauty Holly Schmidt and Wakefern Foods VP health and beauty care Chris Skyers — all of whom were seeking a roadmap to better serve today’s key consumers.
(To see photos from the event, click here.)
Mack, managing director of Mack Elevation Forum, kicked off an information-packed day, highlighted with retailers and brands sharing what they’ve learned over the past year and how they plan to evolve their businesses in the future.
“There’s a shift in all parts of culture that’s going on,” said Mack. “The catalyst for this is the multicultural consumer and the millennials — and ‘millennial’ is a mind-set,” he said, explaining the dramatic influence these groups are having on older generations of consumers as well. Three values they possess are individuality, global connectiveness and purpose, Mack said.
Younger consumers are validating decisions by their communities. “Everyone has a microphone, and that can be good or bad for you company. You can’t bamboozle anyone anymore,” Mack said, adding brands must be honest, authentic and transparent. They want experiences and storytelling. “The brands that break through get this group,” he said.
Companies need to be inclusive because they understand consumers at a deeper level, Mack explained, and they need to be good at connecting dots. “Culturally connected organizations understand a trend before it is a trend,” he said.
As a natural segue, 17-year-old millennial and entrepreneurial prodigy Max Baron gave his “front-line assessment” of what it takes to move the needle with his generation. While still in high school, Baron created PrepReps, a business that connects social influencers on high school and college campuses with brands looking to engender loyalty among younger consumers. Baron has more than 3,000 ambassadors in a network of 500 schools. His generation has a strong “B.S. meter,” Baron explained, and don’t respond to messages that are incongruent. An example is the recent use of Snapchat for Allstate during the 2016 March Madness NCAA basketball championship tournament. “Allstate doesn’t even want to insure young drivers because we aren’t very safe, as I know because I’m starting to drive,” joked Baron.
All ears were open as perhaps the most visible architect of marketing to the New General Market, Rich Dennis of Sundial Brands, took the podium. Dennis unveiled a riveting call to action campaign kicked off just the day before called #breakthewalls. With interviews of shoppers and leading social media influencers, Sundial created spots showing how separating products in stores alienates consumers. “This hit home because one woman said she shopped with her white girlfriend together in the store until it was time for beauty and they went their own way,” he noted. While retailers agreed there is a need to stop the segregation, they did note it will take some time to re-educate consumers – but they agreed it will be worth the effort.
One of the most poignant stories of brand purpose was illustrated by Ricardo Pimenta, global brand VP for Unilever. He described that although it may sound simple, it takes a deep dive into a company’s heritage to find a cause that fits the brand. He shared the example of what Lifebuoy soap — a leading brand throughout Asia — could do to prevent early childhood death. The brand focused its messaging around the power of hand-washing with soap to reduce the risk of death from diarrhea-related illnesses by as much as 46%. Every year as many as 2 million children die as a result of complications from diarrhea-related illness — some four children every minute, Pimenta noted. The company is having a similar impact with the Vaseline brand in countries in need through The Vaseline Healing Project.
Putting theory to real store examples was Wakefern’s Skyers. “Supermarkets who ended up in the graveyard were not moving with the consumer,” he said of the shakeout in the grocery industry. “I have to have us look to tomorrow while we can only see today.” He noted that the online environment surpasses stores at this time, and that it is a process to merge together several categories in a new beauty vision. However, the company is moving briskly to enhance the beauty presentation in his stores. Already efforts, especially around SheaMoisture, have brought in new shoppers who weren’t buying beauty under ShopRite’s roofs, Skyers noted.
Two information-packed panels of retailers and brand executives shared strategies they are following to curate their wares to the New General Market. A common refrain was the need to listen to consumers and “not just speak at them.” Such companies as Unilever, Kao, Henkel, Conair, Milani, Lornamead, Vogue, Hyland’s, Paris Presents and Hello said they are doing this with social listening. Several indicated they launch new products based around the intelligence gleaned. Technology has facilitated that through social media, but there are also stepped-up efforts to visit colleges or actually get into consumers’ homes to observe beauty routines. And, many companies talked about the importance of tapping young employees. Taking social listening to new heights, Hello founder Craig Dubitsky even personally responds to consumer emails, and regularly communicates directly to customers via Skype.
Sponsors for the event included: Beiersdorf, Conair, Edgewell Personal Care, Hello Products, Henkel, Hyland’s, Kao, Lornamead, Mentholatum, Milani, Paris Presents, Sundial Brands, Unilever and Vogue International.
The complete executive New General Market Report will appear in the June issue of Drug Store News.