How to increase brand awareness

Brands are trying more and more to go outside their normal distribution channels to conquer consumers and build brand awareness.

We already reported on the Danone’s store in Barcelona; here’s the Maille mustard store in Paris.

I wouldn’t mentioned this one if I hadn’t read recently a very short article on the results achieved by this store. It is indeed pretty rare that brands accept to unveil such metrics, also given the amounts invested.

In terms of brand awareness Maille seems to have reached a very positive ROI since they report to have reached 140000 visitors in one year, up 20% compared to 2012. The revenues of the boutique increased 37% over the last 12 months and Maille has opened a new boutique in London to further increase its presence.

Besides the sales that are realized in such a store, the main interest remains the development of the brand image. The big advantage is obviously the control of the communication towards consumers. Whereas brands only had advertisement at their disposal to communicate outside classical distribution channels, flagship stores offer a new medium to convey the brand values. Interestingly the development of sales points entirely dedicated to one brand has also allowed the development of special corners in supermarkets.

Advice for your marketing strategy

If your distribution channel is controlled by someone else, think about escaping it and getting directly in touch with your end-consumers. Although primarily reserved to established brands, this strategy also works for SME as the example of Alain Milliat reveals.