LAUNCH! takes brand interaction on the road

In-store brand interaction (sampling) has long been a tried and true method of stimulating trial but today’s consumers want more from brands. They want experiences and to be entertained – and Toronto-based LAUNCH! is delivering.

Kelly McCarten, LAUNCH! CEO, says, “we are helping further engage in-store through more retailtainment with highly-educated brand ambassadors such as chefs, dieticians, and nutritionists to really educate, inform and engage the consumer, so the brand influence is strong and has a lasting impression. We’ve also expanded into digital entertainment, gamification that helps brands further stimulate trial, loyalty and shareability.”

Two recent programs created by the fully-integrated brand and experiential marketing agency illustrate how innovative brand experiences can be. For Carlsberg, LAUNCH! partnered with Distinctive Games to develop the interactive KICKS app that brings the excitement of the beautiful game – European football – to Canadians. The creative and addictive game was a good fit for the brand since Carlsberg has partnerships with European football, and a great way for fans to connect with their favourite beer and sport.

Ten full-size touchscreen arcade machines containing a custom-build of the Carlsberg KICKS game were developed and sent to the top 10 Carlsberg outlets across the country. The game was also made available on the App Store and by mid-January already had about 15,000 downloads and was cited as being one of the hottest apps.

A “Forward to School” program for Loblaws is another good example of how to put a new twist on trial and brand engagement. The integrated eight-week program during the key back to school period spanned several grocery categories. It was designed to put a strong focus on bringing healthy, convenient and great tasting lunch meals to kids that are Mom-approved. The idea behind it was that although Mom loves to see the kids go back to school, she dreads trying to make lunches that kids will eat every day.

The program had a large experiential component with custom-built food trucks designed to sample a wide variety of products from the more than a dozen grocery brands that participated with Loblaws. The brand ambassadors gave out specially designed coupon books which were packaged inside a mini-blackboard that Mom could then use to write her shopping list, or give to the kids to draw on.

At retail, LAUNCH! set up innovative, interactive sampling tables with products from all the participating brands. POS material throughout the store pointed Mom to the areas where she could find the back to school products.

“A successful program starts with understanding consumer insights and attitudes toward that brand. We work closely with the brand teams to understand their brand attributes,” says McCarten. “It’s all about informing and engaging in the right way to convert consumers from trial to brand advocates.”