The brief

Week 1 - Mon 28th Feb - Fri 4th march

Seeds and gardening Spring campaign

My end point assessment project is to work with the in-store marketing team to develop an in-store POS element that displays our range of sowing seeds. This POS will be a brand new variant of side fin that can hold hooks in which to hang seeds on. On the shelves between them (positioned on the end of an aisle - known as an end unit) will be all the tools and pots needed for the customer to grow the seeds.

In support of this, I will later organise a digital campaign which includes a online guide, marketing Email and social posts full of bonding content aiming to increase awareness of our garden/seed range, inspire the customer to grow their own, drive footfall to stores and increase sales online.

This campaign aims to develop brand awareness of wilko seeds & planting products, inspire our customers to grow their own produce, and to increase sales of wilko branded seeds by 20% in weeks 13-20

Initial briefing

I was first informed of this project on Friday 25th February. I arranged a Teams meeting that day to learn more with in-store Marketing Manager Scott Rowan and In-store Marketing Executive Holly Ramsden. Also sitting in was my manager Francis Lee and colleague Lee Francis who's also an apprentice . (Yes they have the same name but flipped!)

Key points from that meeting were:

Market has shifted from "Product and price" to "Jobs to be done"
Customers are overwhelmed by our yellow value displays & discounted was/now pricing and resonate more with simple low pricing.
Seed sales are lower than expected so an aim is to increase impulse purchases of seeds with other garden products
To do this, a new prototype side fin element that will feature hooks to display seeds will be developed. Left and right sides.
Speak to the wilko garden buyers about current seed sales and forecast sales.

Part 1: The in-store POS

The first part of the project is to design a new promotional end unit that will become a 'one-stop' shop for wilko seeds and planting pots. The aim is to entice customers into purchasing seeds and pots together with everything they need in one place. At the heart of this will be a new prototype side fin (shelf side) that will hold hooks for displaying seed packets. On the shelving in between will be the pots, planters and tools the customer will need to plant those seeds.

View meeting at the link below. Note: The title 3-for-2 seeds offer is misleading as this project is about getting the customer's jobs done and will feature every day low pricing (ie: no discounting and no offers)

View Teams meeting

Example of an end unit display with Valentine's Day creative. An end unit consists of a bird beak and shelf sides (also known as side fins)

The prototype

In the support centre 'mock shop" (A complete non-functioning store inside the head office that is used to trial new concepts and layouts) there is a prototype of a side fin provided by our print suppliers HHG. This prototype contains pockets which seed packets and printed flyers could be placed into. There are some fundamental issues with this prototype:

The pockets are too big (though can be made smaller)
Customer cannot see what's in the pockets.
Printing the seed packet on front of the pocket is limiting, if the seed is out of stock it cannot be replaced with another seed.
Double width seed packets cannot fit in the pockets (as demonstrated below)
Dust/rubbish can collect inside the pockets. Customers could dispose of Pic n' pix and gum in them.

At the point of coming on board with this project, the decision had been made - quite wisely - to substitute the pockets for peg hooks. Using peg hooks will solve all of the issues highlighted above and would still be a new concept for wilko. I will work closely with Holly on this project, who gave me a rough mock up of how the fin should look.

A prototype side fin with pockets. A double width packet cannot fit in the pocket.

Initial concept idea of how the side fin will look with pegs. The pegs allow a flexible layout, with single width and double-width packets able to be positioned on the hooks. The background will be plain so we can swap products around and is less limiting

Following the call I was put into Email contact with several key people both internal and external in the development of the role.

Sam Campbell - A buyer for garden
Simon Dean - Microspace planning manager
Adam Benson - Merchandiser
Mark Berry - Account manager for wilko at HHG (printers)

They provided some key information about the POS including:

The buyers didn't realise the opportunity would be available so soon, therefore there would not be any supplier funding for it, so will be covered by POS budget
The products that will feature on the POS - and that stock is good.
Suggestion that any 'tips' on the POS artwork is generic to they are flexible
The POS will go out to 413 wilko stores
Each fin will feature 12 hooks, they will be generic black or white, as coloured peg hooks can only be supplied on runs of 30,000 or more. (we asked about using green)

On the right are the SKUs that will feature on this POS. There are 12 types of flowers and 12 vegetable lines. Therefore in my artwork I will use the left fin for flowers and the right fin for vegetables. Below are the SKUS that will be on the shelves in between.

The buyer for garden Sam provided me with a list of SKUs which will be featured on the display

Initial Email discussion with the buyers and merchandisers where I found out more about the POS.

P03A New Element type-280222.pdf

From the initial briefing and subsequent Email chain, I have enough information as to what is required. My next step is to conduct some of my own research both primary and secondary into what other retailers display their seeds and research into growing flowers and vegetables. This will enable me to later produce blog and Email content to support this campaign.

S8 -Effectively liaise with, and manage, internal and external stakeholders including suppliers to deliver required outcomesS2 -Plan and deliver tactical campaigns against SMART objectivesS5 -Able to engage and collaborate with a wide range of clients/stakeholders, across departments internally and with clients/suppliers externally to support marketing outcomes as requiredB7 -A collaborative approach is central to how they work, showing empathy and being mindful to the needs/views of others

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