In a comment to an article on integrating digital into shopper marketing, Matthew Keylock of Dunnhumby argued that “I still struggle with the stubbornly prevailing split between consumer marketing and shopper marketing … they are all people and in the case of many brands they are the same people! You need to understand them through a single view and similarly you should market to them consistently across the different channels”
The argument for integration is strong, and the core essence of what ConAgra (see link) are doing is strong. Integration is desirable, and digital (and in particular mobile) has made this integration mandatory. The idea that shoppers exist in a store, and consumers outside is false – shopping decisions are made outside stores and always have been (which store should I visit is surely a shopping decision!). Now mobile media breaks that artificial barrier completely.
But integration is not homogenization. Shoppers and consumers are different. They make different decisions and think differently about brands. We want them to do different things. He challenge is to celebrate their differences, understand how we should market to not shoppers and consumers, and then integrate them. Assuming they are the same (when they are not) is a step backwards and misses a huge opportunity to move consumer goods marketing into a brave new world. It would be a shame if this new technology did that.
