TCG - Total Program Value

1. TOTAL PROGRAM VALUE
2013
© 2013 The Carlson Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2. › Total Program Value
Tota Progra Valu
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If you’re like 50%
of the brand teams
asked in a recent
survey*, you want to
know more about how
your customers make
purchases, and how
you can affect their
decisions.
* Shopper Marketing 2012 Trends Report, January 2012
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3. You can call it Shopper Marketing, Consumer Research or
Retail Strategy, but by any name it means information which
can improve the retail performance of your brand. To move the
needle on consumer behavior, you need two things. The first
is a resource that knows how to gather the right knowledge,
and the second is the ability to translate that knowledge into
programs which deliver ROI in the retail environment.
Here’s our approach for retail success, we call it:
Total Program Value (TPV).
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4. › Total Program Value
What is
Total Program Value?
The retail world moves at breakneck speed, and nothing
changes faster than the behavior of today’s shoppers. Shifting
consumer needs, influences and preferences vastly outpace
a brands’ ability to develop and implement new and exciting
brand experiences. At the same time, brands are looking far
more critically at the cost, effectiveness and ROI of their retail
programs. The notion of a high-cost branded retail solution
with a finite lifecycle makes little sense in today’s market. Total
Program Value offers a new perspective on the development
of retail programs. It’s consumer-centric, focusing on changes
that continually better the shopping experience and it’s
incremental, improving the performance of retail programs as
they evolve over time.
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5. TOTAL PROGRAM VALUE HAS FIVE PILLARS
1. TPV is holistic. It addresses the full ecosystem of retail programs,
from overall brand strategy through operational and logistic details.
All aspects of retail are included, so that programs address marketing,
merchandising and implementation concerns as thoroughly as they
consider the retail program elements themselves.
2. TPV takes the long view. TPV incorporates the full lifespan of retail
programs, delivering value at every stage. By emphasizing a cycle of
ongoing innovation, programs continually elevate what’s working, and
make incremental changes to address challenges. The emphasis on
testing and program evolution leads to smarter and more cost-effective
procurement strategies.
3. TPV is flexible. Each category and each brand is unique. Consequently
the meaning of success varies not only per organization, but also per
individual program. TPV addresses differing needs of both brands and
retailers, creating better-informed and more efficient programs while
calibrating the process to include only what is relevant.
4. TPV is smart. In the cycle of innovation, tribal knowledge accrues. In
addition, the model includes fully integrated participation by best-in-
class partners in strategy, shopper marketing and digital media. These
seamless partnerships offer the depth of experience to be efficient and
effective, with nothing lost in the translation from strategy to execution,
no matter what mediums are involved at retail.
5. TPV has its feet on the ground. TPV is fact-based. Design is based
on response to actionable insights and observations. While there’s
an emphasis on the intellectual property of retail – the strategy and
evaluation – working in design and execution keeps us honest.
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6. › Total Program Value
How does it work?
THE FULL-CIRCLE PROCESS –
PROGRAMS THAT IMPROVE WITH AGE
Total Program Value means the end of the old lifecycle of retail
programs. The paradigm used to be a year of development,
resulting in a program with a 3-year lifespan in the market.
The new model makes the most of your investment in retail
programs. Through the TPV cycle, we look both outward – to
discover what’s new and innovative in the market, and inward
– to evaluate programs for effectiveness and opportunity for
improvement. As information is gathered, it is applied to the
next generation of your program, to enhance what works or to
improve what doesn’t.
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8. › Total Program Value
The Process
of Discovery:
Anticipating Consumer
Response
“The best strategies are simple, and they’re designed to do
two things: fix what people hate, and give them more of what
they love.”
- Rebecca Huston, Principal – Strategy, Huen LLC
Discovery establishes the foundation for success. Strong
strategy is the basis for better program design, and the better
the design, the easier it is to translate to a seamless execution.
In Discovery, three levels of information are layered together to
inform strategy.
› The first level is a comprehensive understanding of consumer decision-
making at retail. Which trends and behavioral patterns influence what
shoppers do in the retail environment? How do technology and new

9. media play in to the retail experience today? What successes and
challenges do we see in the market that can inform direction?
› The second level is category influence. Typical behavior patterns
change from category to category. (For example, men purchasing golf
clothing shop much more like women than they do in any other apparel
category.) Some categories see much greater influence from changing
technologies. (The PC category is in constant flux.) Understanding the
specifics of each category helps to shape solutions, and makes it easier
to anticipate consumer response to program elements.
› The final layer is the brand. Specific brand objectives, strengths and
challenges inform a virtual mixing board of options. Emphasis can be put
on key areas to amplify, alter and influence how shoppers interact with
the brand environment.

10. › Total Program Value
Direction and Execution:
Putting Knowledge
to Work
Direction is the interpretation of discovery into program
design. Execution translates design into real-world retail
programs. With TPV, brands and retailers are partners in the
process from the outset, so when we arrive at these hands-on
phases, there are no surprises. In addition, the engagement
of all partners from the beginning ensures a more effective
and cost-efficient process, with nothing lost in translation. It’s
a more comprehensive approach leveraging the best thinking
from all participants, which conserves time and money without
sacrificing results.
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12. › Total Program Value
Evaluation:
Reality Check
Evaluation completes one cycle, and sets up the next. In the
TPV model, performance is measured against short and long-
term program objectives. As in discovery, both qualitative
and quantitative data contribute to the full understanding of
program success. Ultimately, evaluation delivers information
which directly impacts the next evolution of the program by
identifying elements that contribute to ROI, and those which
aren’t worth the investment.
“It’s a mistake to base strategy on what consumers tell you they’re
going to do. If people were good at predicting their own behavior
the self-help gurus would be out of business, and we'd all keep
our New Year's resolutions.”
- Rebecca Huston, Principal – Strategy, Huen LLC
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13. › Testing in operating retail locations is the best possible way to gauge
the effectiveness of new program elements. Being able to watch what
consumers actually do beats asking them what they’re going to do
every time. Real-time, real-world observation is data you can count on
for accuracy. In addition, it’s relatively easy to see how a small change
affects shopping behavior. Positive changes can be implemented
throughout the retail channel; those that prove ineffective can be left by
the wayside.
› ROI is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Metrics need to be calibrated
based on both organizational and program objectives. There are multiple
places to look for success beyond sales figures, including areas such
as brand recognition, social media imprint, frequency of store visits and
response to specific initiatives.

14. › Total Program Value
What are the benefits?
BETTER OVERALL BRAND EXPERIENCE
› TPV is a vehicle to bring brand strategy into the environment.
› The process ensures that branded retail programs keep pace with
current brand marketing and communication.
› TPV is structured to incorporate all the critical elements of the brand
including product merchandising, brand marketing and technology into
one seamless experience.
MORE EFFECTIVE CONSUMER CONNECTION
› Design is driven by actionable insights that connect with consumers to
maximize the effect on their purchase decisions.
› Both discovery and evaluation are consumer-centric. Understanding
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15. the factors which affect decision-making, and evaluating how solutions
play out in real environments create a foundation of knowledge that is
directly applicable to the design of retail environments.
BETTER USE OF INVESTMENT
› With TPV, you spend your budget with a sharp focus on fixing issues
and improving performance.
› Retailer and category needs are anticipated, facilitating buy-in from
retail partners.
› The iterative process is more innovation-friendly. It’s designed for quick-
turn testing and implementation without a full-scale overhaul of programs.
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16. › Total Program Value
Take-Aways
Of all the brand communication mediums, the retail
environment is most closely aligned with consumer purchase
behavior. As such, retail offers an unparalleled opportunity to
directly affect how shoppers make decisions about products
and services. Total Program Value offers the best possible
approach for organizations to create retail programs which
deliver on those opportunities.
› TPV is a comprehensive approach, working at all levels and phases of
retail program development to deliver lasting value.
› TPV focuses on the unique needs of your brand, its relationship to core
consumers and today’s markets.
› TPV is consumer-centric, building engagement through integration of
environment, merchandising and communication.
› TPV is a vehicle to amplify and leverage your brand’s marketing and
communication efforts at retail.
› TPV empowers your organization to make informed and effective
decisions about retail programs.
› TPV makes fiscal sense. It’s a tool to optimize your retail investment,
putting budgets to work in ways that maximize ROI.
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