3 Must see examples of targeted messaging to boost your sales

As all good marketers know, to have maximum positive impact on your sales figures, your message needs to hit the right people at the right time.

Precisely how that message is conveyed is important too. The core elements of your brand are likely to have universal appeal. But what drives someone to react in the way you are hoping for can vary hugely depending on their circumstances at any particular time.

Promotional product offerings, in-store end cap displays, specialist approaches to messaging aimed at specific demographics (e.g. seniors): all of these give us some great examples of inspired targeted messaging. Here’s a closer look at how it’s done…

Coke’s whole approach to content creation provides some highly valuable pointers on how to devise your own messaging strategy. It’s all about keeping a tab on the latest trends – and enabling content creators to come up with their own ideas for exciting new campaigns across the globe. But it does this in such a way that the brand’s central message and brand promise remains intact. In other words, it’s a strategy for ensuring the message stays fresh and innovative – but remains unmistakably ‘Coke’.

This model starts with Coke’s ‘Brand Stories’ as a bedrock. This encapsulates Coke’s universal elements, its brand goals, brand promise, organizational objectives, and consumer interests.

Next comes the creation of what Coke refers to as Liquid & Linked content and messaging ideas. They are “liquid” because they are engaging and contagious in nature. Ideally – and because they are designed to speak to the target audience on their terms – these liquid messages will also “spill out” beyond Coke’s immediate control, triggering conversations via social media and elsewhere. Yet at the same time, these ideas are “linked” because the campaigns are also conceived in such a way as to reinforce rather than contradict or diminish Coke’s core Brand Stories.

The ‘Share a Coke’ campaign is a perfect illustration of this approach. It originated from one of the company’s core Brand Stories, “Create Happiness”. Starting out initially in Australia, the campaign involved personalized bottles printed with 150 most popular first names, before being expanded further. The approach was an instant hit, causing Coca-Cola to become the most talked-about brand in Australia.

Over the coming years, almost 70% of disposable income will come from senior citizens

The ‘end cap’ refers to a particular category of point of sale display; namely, the display of products that are placed at the end of the store aisle. Consumers have certain expectations when it comes to this area: it’s where the “interesting stuff” is. Innovative new product ranges (or perhaps even the retailer’s favourite products), exclusive offers, in-store only offerings, inspiring ideas: the end cap should be the home of these.

If a particular product is going to feature in an endcap display, it’s important to tailor your message with the aim of living up to these high customer expectations (and of course, to make sure you are making the most of this prime area of in-store real estate!

Presentation is key here. Not least, you should consider tweaking your standard banners to utilize the full vertical space. You might even want to tweak your packaging to ensure it presents an organized, ‘polished’ look. Get it right and you will be making the most of a small amount of space while making sure your central brand message comes across loud and clear.

The seniors market is a prime example of this. Did you know, for instance, that over the coming years, almost 70% of disposable income will come from senior citizens?

Effective targeting demands that you do not limit yourself to one or two broad customer personas and assume that these are a reflection of your entire target market. Instead, consider segmenting your customer groups based on demographics and location.

Having identified those segments you believe represent the greatest market opportunity, you should create a rich picture of these customers on and offline. Next, tailor your messages to ensure they are speaking directly to them.

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