Morrisons has appointed agency Live & Breathe to develop a raft of instore communications as part a pilot scheme at one “lab” store, the results of which be used to develop the retailer’s “store of the future”.
Traditional messaging has been replaced by arresting statements and visual cues in its Kirkstall store in Leeds. For its butchers, these include; “we’re control freaks” and “you’ll like it or else”. These and other similar statements are designed to prompt conversation, allowing master butchers to explain how they manage their meat supply from farm to fork and its money-back guarantee for anything less than total satisfaction.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are displayed where possible loose, market-style in open containers, together with details of provenance, drawing shoppers in via bold colours and textures. Where beneficial, some of the fruit and veg is kept “on the rocks” on top of ice beds that keep it fresher for longer.
Fresh food and other categories have each been assigned a colour that appears on the bulkheads running throughout “Market Street”, Morrisons’ instore recreation of a traditional shopping street with a focus on individual specialists. Communications within each category take their cue from this leading colour, using signature tones and accents to build consistency and familiarity.
A chalkboard approach has been used to bring to life Morrisons’ credentials as the only supermarket to employ traditional professional fishmongers, bakers and butchers. A photograph and name of each Morrisons specialist together with a short introduction to consumers appears within these departments.
Live & Breathe has worked with Montana Vistas, a North American fresh food merchandising specialist engaged by Morrisons for this pilot initiative, whose remit covers the entire look and feel of communications, spanning colour schemes to customer education to category messaging, signage and POS collateral.
Morrisons marketing promotions and activity manager Ben Hurley said: “As shopper marketing experts, Live & Breathe understands the retail environment inside out. Not only that, it understands consumer behaviour in the retail environment and is proving to be a wonderful partner for Morrisons as we endeavour to change the face of supermarket shopping.”
Live & Breathe group account director Kenny Cox commented: “Morrisons is really pushing the boundaries to change the way fresh produce is merchandised instore. Part of the excitement of being involved in a pilot of this kind is that everything is up for grabs and experimentation is the name of the game. We are constantly adapting and fine-tuning the concept in line with learnings as we go along. It’s a massive privilege to be involved in such a groundbreaking project which will play a part in shaping Morrisons’ inspirational ‘store of the future’.”
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