The Moodie Davitt Report presents the latest edition of regular column The Digital Conversation, in association with Shiseido Travel Retail.
Nestlé International Travel Retail (NITR) is set to build on its digital engagement with travellers after reporting a strong reaction to initiatives around its Kit Kat and Cailler brands this summer. That’s according to General Manager Stewart Dryburgh, speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report.
As reported, the company launched its 2016 global Kit Kat campaign, ‘However you break, share it’, in August, with a strong airport presence worldwide. The campaign encouraged travellers to capture their airport ‘break’ moment with a Kit Kat selfie stick, and share their experience on social media.
The other area of digital engagement was a virtual reality experience for super-premium brand Cailler at Zürich Airport, followed by Geneva Airport, through Dufry. This used innovative technology to engage with visitors.
Dryburgh said: “The ‘share your break’ campaign has had a big impact on social media and encouraged us to build upon these activations next year. It offers strong consumer engagement and people really have shared their experiences in the stores. Kit Kat is well placed to talk about travel as it’s all about breaks. With Millennials it really has an impact and there is some excitement we can build on there.”
“There’s digital in terms of broadcasting about the brand but also the enhanced depth of experience in the store, which has worked very well with Cailler.
“Sales have performed well, but also from a brand equity viewpoint and in the way we have connected people with the story line, it has been a big success. What is critical today is to be able to tell your story and allow consumers to engage with it. What works so well is that you can hear the cow bells and see the scenery.
“This is where the industry has a big opportunity. We have consumers with dwell time, and even if the competition for that dwell time is higher than it ever was before, we have to make sure the story is very sharp.”
The Cailler virtual reality project (captured in the video on this page) will be rolled out to selected locations and with certain partners in travel retail.
Dryburgh said: “We are not after unlimited reach. A decade ago [when Cailler was initially launched in travel retail before being withdrawn -Ed] we wanted to go everywhere in one hit and were thinly spread. An ‘ink-spot’ strategy is better and it is working because we are doing it selectively.
“What has made this story go so well is the coming together of the packaging, the point of sale, the brand ambassadors for communication and the fact that it offers full values sales and we don’t discount. Now that might narrow down the number of places you can go but we recognise that success takes time.
“We want to do it slowly and well. We have partners that share those ideas, and see that the premium end is where we need to go; we will choose our next steps carefully and can talk more about those soon.”
On digital engagement more generally, Dryburgh said this has to be built into “everything you do as a brand, not just be an add-on to the marketing mix”.
He noted: “We cannot just think about consumers at the point of sale but across the journey. It’s about the point in their lives where we can add value in subtle ways. It’s the moment of emotional engagement that resonates with them at relevant places and times – not popping up when they don’t want to see us.”
He said NITR is targeting different groups, three in particular, in its next wave of consumer marketing. These include the Millennials, the middle classes in emerging markets and ‘empty nesters’ (people with high disposable income who are approaching retirement).
“The first two are key and we’ll be very targeted on them,” said Dryburgh. “The challenge we face is that Millennials think differently to the older generations so we have to readjust what we have taken for granted until now. They are looking for experiences which offers us an opportunity. And what is striking is that wherever you go in the world they share a mindset, similar life values and attitudes, even if they speak different languages. They are a fascinating group but one we have to adapt to. It’s a key task in our industry today.”
