The Brand Manager Plan

davids · senior brand manager · francisca celestino · shopper marketing framework · davids · senior brand manager · francisca celestino · shopper marketing framework ·

Shopper Marketing Framework

the throughline

one brand purpose, then everything else hangs off it

It all starts with one brand purpose and a small set of key messages for the year. Those drive why and when we launch, and every activation below, always‑on KPIs and demand‑expansion proof points alike, exists to prove or scale a piece of that same story on the shelf. Shopper marketing isn't a separate lane running its own agenda, it's where the story gets tested in front of a shopper.

days 1–30

Baseline

Pull POS and OOS by door and SKU, audit the current always‑on KPIs, and get retail media and Instacart optimized against what we already know works.

days 31–60

Test

Run a controlled test on one physical lever, facings, secondary display, or shelf talkers, in a small door set tied to the year's key message, not run in isolation.

days 61–90

Decide & build the case

Decide whether to scale the test and build the proof‑point case for the Kroger chain‑wide ask.

always on

the KPIs, run continuously to learn and decide

*All thresholds below are directional hypotheses, set to be calibrated against Davids' own baseline, Harris Teeter category benchmarks, and retailer terms once we're inside the real data.

Tactic	The Activation	Monthly KPIs	Quarterly KPIs	Decision	Conclusion / What It Means
Kroger Precision Marketing	Paid search & display inside Kroger's own media network (84.51/KPM), targeted at oral‑care category shoppers.	Attributed sales lift · CTR · ROAS	Share of media spend by category · household reach in trade area	↑ Scale spend if ROAS >4x ↓ Cut if ROAS <2x	Low ROAS means the message or the targeting isn't landing, not that we didn't spend enough.
Instacart optimization	Fix the listing content (title, images, keywords), then layer sponsored placements on top of it.	Click‑through rate · conversion rate · search rank	Share of digital shelf vs. category · sponsored ACOS	↑ Scale sponsored spend if conversion >8% ↓ Rework listing if conversion <4%	Low conversion after the listing is fixed means something outside the page is blocking purchase, like price or trust, not the content.
Out‑of‑stock audit	Weekly door‑level inventory pull, cross‑checked against POS sell‑through by SKU.	OOS % by door · days out of stock	OOS trend vs. category average	↑ Maintain cadence if OOS <5% ↓ Escalate to supply chain if OOS >10%	OOS staying high after escalation means a supply chain or replenishment problem, not something shopper marketing can fix alone.
Field execution scorecard (broker/field partner, if applicable)	Broker visits each door on a set cadence, scores shelf compliance and display execution against a checklist.	Compliance score per door · display execution rate	Compliance trend vs. velocity correlation	↑ Expand incentive if compliance tracks with lift ↓ Rework incentive if no correlation after 90 days	High compliance with no velocity lift means execution was never the bottleneck, the tactic itself is.
Promo calendar (TPR)	Temporary price reduction, about 15–20% off, run in a 2‑week window once a quarter.	Incremental units during promo · promo ROI	Base‑velocity trend after the promo ends	↑ Repeat the cadence if incremental >20% ↓ Reduce frequency if incremental <8%	Weak lift even at a deep discount means a distribution or awareness gap, not a price problem.

demand expansion

proof points, built to earn Davids more shelf

Tactic	The Activation	Monthly KPIs	Quarterly KPIs	Decision	What It Proves to the Retailer	When It Activates
Planogram & facings	Add 2 facings to the toothpaste block, piloted in 40 doors before the chain‑wide ask.	Velocity per facing · facing count by door	Incremental sales per facing added	↑ Request more facings if velocity/facing beats category avg ↓ Hold at current facings if flat	Proves the buyer is under‑shelving us relative to demand, the data makes the ask for more facings on its own.	Business‑need driven: timed to the annual category reset, backed by a strong quarter or a new launch that needs room.
Secondary display	Off‑shelf endcap in the oral‑care aisle, 2‑week placement.	Incremental velocity during display · compliance rate	Lift retention after display comes down	↑ Scale to more doors if lift >15% ↓ Drop tactic if lift <5%	Proves the lift is real demand, not just a temporary display bump, the argument for approving it chain‑wide.	Seasonal or launch driven: category demand peaks (New Year oral‑care surge), or fast visibility for a new item.
Shelf talkers	Small shelf tag on toothpaste and floss, placed by the broker across the test market.	Velocity lift vs. control · cost per door	Sustained lift at 90 days	↑ Roll out chain‑wide if lift >10% ↓ Kill if lift <3%	Proves the message moves shoppers repeatably across doors, the justification for a permanent chain‑wide program.	Launch driven: cheap enough to run the moment a new product or claim ships, the fastest read on whether a message lands.
Sampling / demo days	In‑store demo table with mouthwash and toothpaste samples, one flagship door per market, 4‑hour Saturday slot.	Trial‑to‑repeat rate · cost per trial	Repeat purchase rate at 90 days	↑ Scale to more doors if repeat >25% ↓ Cut if repeat <10%	Proves we create new, repeat buyers in that door, not a one‑day trial subsidy, the case for more sampling doors.	Launch and business‑need driven: runs at launch, when trial is the whole point, and again ahead of a JBP renewal when we need fresh repeat data.
Cross‑merchandising	Cross‑stock floss next to the toothpaste block, no separate display, just adjacency.	Co‑purchase rate · basket size lift	Category basket share	↑ Expand pairing if basket lift >10% ↓ Drop if no lift after one quarter	Proves we grow the category's basket, not just our own sales, the argument that carrying us grows their category, not just shifts share.	Launch driven: activates when a complementary SKU ships, the natural adjacency story, or ahead of a line review when we need a category‑growth argument.