A planning process seems obvious, but how many of your clients actually have one? Between your authors? None. When we think of planning, we think of long hours, battles between brand and shopper teams, so many great ideas on the chopping floor... we get it. But what oftentimes gets overlooked is the opportunity to take a fresh look at upcoming shopper marketing calendars. This is an incredible time to find out where and when the retailer is pushing private label and how your client can show up in a way that is consistent with brand positioning. A little research goes a long way in affording the ability to pivot quickly and in a manner that is consistent with retailer objectives.

One approach is to review the retailer’s calendar from the previous year to determine which categories and seasons emphasized private label. If you think your national brand can partner with private label to offer the shopper an impactful solution, make that play (see #2). Otherwise, look for less-obvious seasons or create a new one to get your brand exposure. Just make sure you have the intelligence about the shopper to ensure that time of year and theme will resonate.