the last mile

​Instore is often where you reveal a deep understanding of how the brand is experienced by people. Or not.

The case of  Pampers in India.
Despite more than three times the media spends of its main competitor, Pampers, registered slower growth than them, in India. Behaviour based Receptivity & Shopper insights helped change not just the communication mix and media investments, but also  packaging and in store design, leading to an exponential increase in the trial and  in Pampers meeting aggressive sales target set. Here's a  sliver of the story In-Store.

Dad in the picture
While all communication was targeted towards the mom, the actual shopper was the dad, especially in tier1 & tier2 cities in India. Dad was the primary shopper especially when the child was very young and mom’s mobility was restricted. And dads, were more often than not, on motorbikes, scooters and bikes and even if they came to the shop with Pampers on their shopping list, they very often left with a Mammy Poko or a Huggies because Pampers packaging had no handles while both Mammy Poko and Huggies had plastic handles that they could easily use to secure the product (a big package!) to their vehicles. All that effort made in driving awareness, consideration brought to a naught on account of not understanding how the final mile is run!

The Sanitary Pad and The Diaper Difference
Pampers and Whisper (fem care) was placed in the same aisles in store. And had the same color palette in packaging (both and blue and white) and were stacked pretty close to each other. Dads coming in to the shop with Pampers on their shopping list were terribly embarrassed about inadvertently touching a fem care product. And their fear of embarrassment often led them to change their choice at the POS & go for a visibly different brand, the orange colored Mammy Poko or Huggies rather than be caught around or worse still seen holding a fem care product Once again, all the money spent in getting a customer in store  went down the drain in the last mile.

Trust = The Recommendation of my neighbourhood shopkeeper
Shop Keeper’s recommendation is trusted, especially in small towns in India. Their opinions are taken seriously. And they recommended competitors more than Pampers because of the margins they could earn. Their influence on purchase was extremely strong, with the degree of influence higher in small town India.

Communicating Price
In crowded retail environments, Pampers appeared more expensive because of the way information was visually communicated.  
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On Packaging 
The visuals on Pampers packaging did communicate the intended benefit of comfort & dryness that but didn’t do so in a way that was relevant and meaningful to the moms they wanted to convert. 
In order to indicate superior absorbency, Pampers showed 6 glasses of water being poured into the diaper at one go, while Huggies showed 5 glasses of water BUT not being poured all at once into the diaper. Consumer reaction to the Pampers packaging “no one pees so much. Who pees 6 glasses at one go? The diaper must be so thick and uncomfortable. Also I don’t need diaper to absorb so much. ” and to Huggies “my child pees about 5-6 times during the day, and its about a glass of pee, everyone h/she goes. Shows good absorption “ 
 
The goal of all marketing is to drive trial. Paying adequate attention to the final leg of consumer journey, to how people behave and respond to stimulus in store, can help ensure that all that Awareness & Consideration achieved at the start of the path to purchase culminates in conversion. Pay attention to the last mile, to win the share of wallet.