Campaign 2005

1st June 2005

Rome was not built in a day and, similarly, the My Shop Is Your Shop campaign is a long term activity designed on the platform of the independent retailers’ unique selling point – he owns the business (unlike his multiple manager counterpart) and therefore everything about that business and its customers is personal yet community based.

The independent, sole trader or family business, lives in the community.

Often he and his family live over the shop – where the superstore satellite c-store manager will often travel miles to and fro every day.

The independent retailer ‘s children will attend the same school as the kids in the community surrounding the shop and they will “hang about” together.

The owner and spouse will talk the local community talk – it’s inescapable when everyone brings in news of the latest addition to the family or the latest drama involving a teenager under the influence of unhinged hormones seeking pacification.

The MSYS concept is slowly but surely being constructed on the value of the independent retailer to the local community – hence the implication “my shop is your shop too, if I do not stock what you want to buy, tell me.”

The interface between the sole trader or family business is essentially built on community values. So under the auspices of MSYS, the industry has begun to build awareness of the need to ensure that every independent retailer is a community retailer – and what is required are new rules and guidance to give the retailer the road to best-practice as a community bedrock.

The campaign is consumer orientated. It must be wholesaler-driven because the wholesaler is the interface with the independent retailer.

Wholesalers generally find most of their turnover derives from the independent sector and unless they nurse that sector they will be hit in their pockets. It hurts.

So the wholesaler works with other wholesalers and suppliers to generate funding for the generic consumer pr campaign.

Suppliers should not overlook the fact that footfall generated by the campaign results in more sales for their brands.

So the cost of participation can be directly allocated to consumer budgets (and not to wholesaler support where this traditionally means promo spend).

June the first

The MSYS campaign is ongoing. But its annual focus is on National Independents’ Day which takes place on June 1st. The first NID in 2004 was a huge success in consumer terms due to the regional and local media coverage achieved by Nexus, the top London pr agency which is working on the campaign. Local radio included the celebration of the local independent throughout the day. Millions of “consumer hits” were achieved. The day was covered on BBC 2 Working Lunch with an outside broadcast featuring a Stockport independent. Lessons learned last year will be implemented in NID 2005. Retailers will be planning the day into their diaries and staff workloads. Suppliers will be organising special promotional activity. Wholesalers will give the day more resource and specific attention.

In-Store Theatre

If ever there was an opportunity for in-store theatre, NID is just that. The independent retailer will create his own impact in the store . He will ask his wholesaler for assistance. The store will emphasise its local community links. Sponsoring the local junior soccer team, helping the local old folks’ club, “looking out “ for the elderly and the lonely, becoming aware of those who need a friendly chat. Research has revealed that a sizeable chunk of those who use a local shop on a regular basis find it is the only place in which they will meet and talk to people. Many live lonely lives. Community values are becoming increasingly important and appreciated in a society mostly driving in the fast lane. Young mums, often single, blokes on their own – an increasing number – as well as the more mature members of our neighbourhood population not only need the local shop but they need to feel that the local shop is aware of this need. Unlike the faceless supermarket where the check-out girl often refuses eye contact, the independent retailer can add value to the purchases made by the customers by deploying the no-cost best practice community rules.