How To Build Clarity with Merchandising

The Relationship Between Clarity and Merchandising

The extent to which people feel they understand your brand’s role in their repertoire is an indication of your Clarity. Brands that want to drive their Clarity can use Merchandising opportunities to their advantage, as it’s during these times that all eyes and ears are more intensely focussed on your brand; whether that’s instore or online.  

Increasing your Clarity through Merchandising relies on making sure the role of your brand and product is clear when it’s being promoted. Display is also important to drive Clarity - consider how your brand is displayed, and who it is displayed to, to more clearly hammer-home how and when it should be used.  

To improve your Clarity through Merchandising, consider the below: 

1. Develop strong hero images for your brand, with a focus on its purpose: When pack shots are placed online or in point of sale material, sometimes brands will not manually adjust the messaging on pack. Eliminating small, unnecessary text (like net weight, or disclaimers) and enlarging key claims which talk about your brand’s purpose is really important. Even though the design is not exactly as it appears in real life, the key elements are highlighted to help understand what your brand is all about without getting distracted or unintentionally missing key product claims. 

2. Focus on your brand’s role when on display:  When given a merchandising opportunity, consider focusing on how your brand fits into the daily routine of the buyer in claims on point of sale or in online spaces. Look at the imagery you use to surround your merchandising. Try to make people imagine how, when and why they would use your product or service when it is on display.   

3. Merchandise your brand alongside other complementary brands:  A good merchandising strategy to drive your brand’s Clarity is to present it alongside other brands that would make up part of the usage routine. For example, if you are a breakfast food, merchandising your brand alongside coffee with claims around “starting the morning off right” will make it clearer as to when your product is meant to be enjoyed.

    

What should you do next?

• Look at the images you’re currently using on instore and online merchandising materials to determine whether there are optimisations you can make to them. Simplify your pack so the core purpose and key claims of your product are coming through. 
• Use strong surrounding imagery on merchandising materials and landing pages to help people imagine how and when they would see themselves using your product or service. 
• Place your brand next to other brands that are part of the same routine.  Merchandising them together with clear routine messaging will drive how, when and why to use your product. 

How to determine if it’s working.

• When your brand has merchandising opportunities, keep an eye on how your Clarity score increases. 

• Your Clarity should go up during and after merchandising opportunities where the purpose of your brand is front and centre. 
• Explore how people are talking about or writing about your brand online.  Whether that’s through social media conversations or even in earned PR coverage, the way people replay what your product is and what it is for is a good indication as to whether they understand your brand’s purpose. 
  
  
  Guidance from:
  Jim Brennan | Managing Director, ProQuo AI
  
  Jim is a master of brand management. With over 10 years at Unilever as a brand leader, he knows how to make a brand grow.