BTL in Consumer Focus
If we were to focus on the market from the aspect of marketing activities, we would notice an increasingly pronounced transition from ATL to BTL activities. Changes in the structure, habits, and expectations of consumers have led to this trend.
Today's consumers not only expect but also demand to receive relevant information and messages that will prompt them to take action in the most direct way possible, interacting with the brand through their preferred communication channel.
Unlike ATL activities, through which we reach mass audiences with messages that reinforce brands, convey general product information, or trigger emotional responses, BTL activities consist of targeted, directly focused marketing activities that respond to consumer demands and expectations regarding a particular brand. From the client's perspective, BTL marketing enables adequate measurement of investment results, monitoring return on investment, and targets increasing sales.
BTL today represents an inexhaustible generator of useful information for both consumers and brands. BTL allows customers to see, taste, feel, form an opinion, and provide feedback on products before purchasing. On the other hand, through BTL activities, brands are presented to target audiences in a customized manner through specially designed activities that best represent the values and benefits of the brand in light of the expectations of the target group.
Like all marketing activities, BTL goes through certain stages of transformation and evolution. Pronounced changes in consumer behavior have led to significant changes in BTL. Consumers are no longer just ordinary consumers of products who make purchase decisions based on functional and emotional benefits. Customers today expect a relationship to be created between them and the brand based on shared values that unite them. The art of BTL comes down to recognizing these values and creating an environment in which a positive experience from the relationship between the brand and the consumer is formed. The development of digital marketing has given BTL access to large databases, enabling easier acquisition of information about the preferences and behavior of key consumers. With digital marketing tools and support from digital activations and the creative sector, successful BTL campaigns are created with a special emphasis on brand activation.
Some of the key BTL activities today include brand activations, point-of-sale promotions, events, road shows, and digital brand activations.
Brand activations involve moving consumers to action through affirmative interaction and the formation of positive experiences related to products and the brand. This BTL activity is particularly effective in communicating and connecting products with consumers as it leads consumers to form positive experiences through direct brand contact, creating an emotional connection and transforming them into product users.
Within Smartpoint, we have a dedicated sector for BTL activities for our clients. We are especially pleased that our clients are following BTL trends, and together we generate BTL campaigns that generate buzz and deliver good results. One campaign we are particularly proud of is the brand activation for the Planet of Plants brand within the Street Food Festival and Burgeraj events. Designing and implementing a brand activation to bring veggie products closer to traditional, classic customers, not just veggie consumers, creating a positive experience related to the Planet of Plants brand, and encouraging product sales was a special challenge that we successfully met.
I hope that BTL will continue to follow the growth trend and that in the coming period, it will show its full potential, especially through collaboration with digital and creative sectors.
For Marketing mreža website text written by: Matija Đorđić, Account Director, Smartpoint Adria
Photo: Unsplash