Students enrolled for the Integrated Brand Communication module had the pleasure of having Ms Talita Myburg as a guest lecturer on 13 September 2016. Ms Myburg discussed how shopper marketing is used by marketing practitioners as an integrated marketing communications (IMC) tool.

Ms Myburg obtained a BCom Honours in Marketing Management degree (cum laude) from the University of Pretoria in 2005. She is currently the Business Unit Director of Shopper Activations at Grey Advertising. She has over 10 years’ experience in the marketing and advertising field, with exposure to a wide range of industries including banking, insurance, telecommunications, IT, FMCG, retail, management consulting, automotive and real estate. Some of the major brands that she has worked with include Procter & Gamble (Ariel, Always, Gillette and Pampers), South African Breweries, Vodacom, Standard Bank, Tabasco, Microsoft and Tiger Brands.

She highlighted that it is extremely important for marketing practitioners to understand the difference between shoppers and consumers, specifically the difference in their behaviours when making a purchase. “Shoppers purchase the product, but consumers actually use the product,” Ms Myburg explained.

An important trend in the shopper marketing environment is for organisations to have an omni-channel presence; connecting the experiences of consumers and shoppers in both online and offline mediums. By including various case studies in the presentation, Ms Myburg showed how crucial it is to engage your shoppers in digital mediums after the shopping occasion has taken place.

One of the case studies discussed was the Tabasco campaign Ms Myburg personally managed. Consumer insights showed that Tabasco is viewed by most consumers as a hot sauce, when in actual fact there are different flavours, not all of them ‘hot’. Due to the many different cultures in South Africa, it would be more challenging to communicate only one message. She explained how Grey Advertising used activations in grocery stores showcasing different cultures using Tabasco sauce in different ways and with different dishes. To enhance the shopper experience, shoppers were referred to the Tabasco website to vote for their favourite Tabasco flavour, join social media pages to access recipes and share their experiences with friends online.

Ms Myburg’s vast knowledge and experience in the shopper marketing environment enhanced the class’ learning experience, especially regarding application of the theory they’ve learned. The examples she gave will assist students to not only remember and relate to theory when studying for this module, but also when entering the marketing environment after graduation.