retail businesses continue to work hard to execute strategies that are improving the value and shopping experience of their customers ood progress in the second quarter and customers rewarded Coles for its continued investment in lower prices as part of its “Down, Down” campaign. reflected in improvements in perception and increasing customer numbers. good old-fashioned share of mind; a consideration that is frequently neglected in the search for ‘engagement’ and originality The problem for Coles is that Woolworths as the larger and more profitable player has deeper pockets. According to Nielsen Ad Ex figures Woolworths’ adspend in January to November 2010 was $89.4 million to Coles’ $71.6 million, and $76.9 million to $62.6 million respectively for 2011. So outspending Woolworths hasn’t been an option. ‘out shout’ Woolworths with its smaller budget. Coles has seen a “massive jump in brand awareness” over the past two years that has helped it “eat away at Woolworth’s leadership”. Not about brand awareness. Brand salience - comes to mind first. Coles’ almost constant stream of new initiatives over the past two years has managed to achieve (apart from keeping Woolworths in mainly a reactive mode) is to give it a sense of momentum. people tend to gravitate to brands that are seen to be setting the pace in their categories. reconfirming a successful brand positioning is the default defensive strategy for a market leader being attacked by a challenger approach. However in the face of Coles forward looking onslaught the use of its old commercials probably just made Woolworths look more stagnant and out of ‘fresh ideas’.

“charming”, “beautifully directed” and “polished” new Woolworths’ campaign “ain’t going to be causing Coles any sleepless nights”. psychology of persuasion and behavioural economics has identified the role of ‘social proof’ in influencing behaviour.