Perry: working on brand growth after relaunch
What do you do as a retail brand when you are over 150 years old, while the street scene and the online world change almost daily? Who do you target when you carry a variety of brands and your customers are literally all ages? With that challenge and questions, Perry came to Blauw.
Challenge
Perry Sports has been on an impressive come back since its bankruptcy in 2016. Under the banner of UK-based JD Sports, they made a relaunch and with a new website and flagship stores in major cities, are working hard to put Perry back on the map.
Vision
Brand Tracker based on actual consumer behavior
Based on Byron Sharp's theory, we developed a simple, consistent approach that allows organizations to transform Sharp's thinking into daily practices and steering information.
Perry operates as a sports store chain within three categories:
- Sports (including soccer, field hockey, tennis)
- Adventure (including camping, winter sports)
- Lifestyle (including sweaters, sneakers, sunglasses)
As a result, they have a lot of competition.
In the outdoor category, Perry is in the same market as Decathlon and Bever, among others. For the sports category, they cater to the same target group as Intersport, but also, for example, a Zara, which nowadays has an extensive sports department.
For Perry, a 0 measurement was done for their distinctive brand assets (DBAs) and category entry points (CEPs) based on qualitative research. The unique aspect of this is that we start from actual consumer behavior in response to recent buying behavior. For each category, we put questions to these buyers. We ask at what times they engage in sports, with whom, in what specific situations and what they talk about.
Solution
Step 1: How recognizable is my brand (DBAs)?
We looked for truly distinctive brand characteristics. Which elements (colors, fonts, symbols) of the brand are truly typical of Perry and not the competition? Which components do most consumers (re)know and how easy is this process?
Step 2: Do I have sufficient and strong hooks to my brand (CEPs)?
We examined the extent to which a category entry point (a situation or moment) in the brain is linked to Perry. An example of such a CEP for Perry is the change of seasons.
Around October, November, you're on your bike. It's chilly, you notice you have cold hands. Gloves ... you need them! Once home, you go looking for them. Where have they gone? Then you buy new ones...
At such a moment, Perry should be the first thing that comes to your mind. That's where you should be for gloves. This is brand salience:
the chances of your brand popping up in the brain in a decisive (buying) situation.
You will find out exactly at what moments consumers could or should ideally think of your brand. Here we look at the brand itself, its competitors but also at the frequency/relevance of a CEP. Suppose there is an element that is strongly associated with Perry and is distinctive from competitors. But what if such a situation only occurs once every 5 years? Should you then bet on that?
Blauw advises Perry on this.
Determining your starting position
The 0 measurement: based on which brand elements is the brand actually recognized and in which situations is the brand actually thought of? If it turns out that a brand element is uniquely attributed to your brand, but is not that well known yet, then the brand element has potential to make the brand more 'salient'. This will require raising awareness of the brand element.
Based on the scores on the different, tested category entry points, you will know precisely in which corner your brand strength is lacking or, on the contrary, fully captures it. By focusing campaigns or marketing activations on these specific buying situations and triggers, the brand becomes more 'salient'.
The goal is for as many consumers as possible to think of the brand in as many relevant situations as possible.
With continuous and consistent communication, you build your brand's brain position.
Step 3: Where is room for brand growth and am I leaving money right now?
The distinction of this form of brand research, lies in the fact that we start from the inverted funnel.
You assume recent buying behavior and not buying intention.
- Have you bought anything from the lifestyle/outdoor/sports category in the past few months?
- Where did you buy it?
- What other stores and websites did you visit?
Consumers may think of you, but they don't buy from you. It allows you to see exactly where you (as a brand) are leaving money.
Result
Securing brand strategy through a brand monitor
Brand growth is not achieved in a few weeks. You therefore track the DBAs and CEPs periodically (per month, per quarter or per (half) year) in relation to the brand and with a large group of consumers.
This helps you take targeted steps in building your brand. The beauty of continuous measurement is that you can immediately see, for example, the effect of an advertising campaign or other activation among your target group. Also possible effects of actions by competitors or unexpected discussions in the media can be interpreted in this way.
Also need help finding opportunities and growth possibilities?
We'd love to help you with your brand growth. Want to know how to better target a broad audience to grow that way? Read more here
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