On Sunday, The Value Engineers were delighted to be asked to contribute to two news programmes. Lou Ellerton joined Stephen Dixon and Gillian Joseph on Sky News Sunrise to discuss the multi-million dollar ad business that’s the Superbowl, building on the recent blog post from Richie Heron.

Ads in the Superbowl have become an event in themselves – not just for those in the advertising and marketing world, but also for the general American public. In fact, a survey last year found that more people in the US tuned in to watch the advertising than to watch the sport! It’s become an unofficial competition to see who’s got the new best ad, meaning that the viewing public are more engaged on the day and brands are keener to be there. The result is that prices are pushed ever further up, as we’ve seen with this year’s media costs.

Of course, the use of the Superbowl to showcase great advertising is nothing new. Coca-Cola began the trend in 1979 with its Mean Joe Green ad, to be followed by Apple’s 1984 triumph. Directed by Ridley Scott, the ad launched the Apple Mac with an anti-establishment tribute to George Orwell’s ’1984′. Despite being aired only twice, it remains acknowledged by the industry as one of the great executions of the past 30 years.

Following her appearance on Sunrise, Lou went on to talk with LBC Radio’s Emma Baxter and ex-Interbrand chairman Rita Clifton about the ‘demise’ of Britain’s high streets. Sparked by Sir Terry Leahy’s comment  that the closure of small shops is a “part of progress”, the debate covered the inevitability or otherwise of such closures, and what the independents can do to combat it.

While there’s no easy answer, here at The Value Engineers we believe that continuing success is as always dependent on offering something bigger, better or different. Given that the stores can’t compete by size, it’s up to traders to focus their efforts on offering better, different, and possibly more specialist products, services and shopping experiences.

Of course, the biggest factor in the decline of local high streets is consumers’ willingness to compromise their support in favour of convenience, ease and lower prices. There’s no point in complaining about the closure of small traders if you’re doing all of your shopping on Amazon – it’s a case of ‘use it or lose it’.

On Sunday, The Value Engineers were delighted to be asked to contribute to a regular LBC radio show, hosted by the lovely Kay Burley.

Lou Ellerton joined Kay to talk about the post-Christmas retail surge, as consumers flocked to London’s Oxford Street, Westfield and shopping centres around the country to make the most of the sales.

Leading department store John Lewis announced a record start to its online sale which began on Christmas Eve, with hourly orders up 70% on last year, while Selfridges took in more than £1.5 million in its first hour of trading on Boxing Day. The story was no different online, with UK internet users making 84 million visits to retail websites on Christmas Eve and 107 million visits on Christmas Day, up 86% and 71% respectively compared to the same days in December 2011.

So what’s the story behind the surge? In Lou’s view, much of it can be boiled down to a metamorphosis by UK consumers into strategic shoppers – or ‘stroppers’, for short.

Now well trained by the major retailers to expect heavy discounts in the week immediately before and after the 25th, ‘stroppers’ are spending less on presents to unwrap on Christmas Day – focusing on smaller, more intimate gifts that show thought in place of the big-budget purchases of Christmases past – leaving them able to take advantage of discounts for the key family purchases.

While the post-Christmas sales boom will have come as welcome news to retailers beleaguered by poor pre-Christmas figures, the Olympics downturn and stormy weather, it remains to be seen whether tills will have taken enough to keep them from suffering as we head into another year of economic uncertainty. Either way, we’ll be keeping our ears open for more signs of the stropping phenomenon…

Sadly, we’re unable to post a copy of the interview here due to size constraints, but if you’d like to hear Lou’s comments or find out more about stropping, drop us a line.

Amidst continued turmoil on the high street, with Clinton Cards the latest to give up the ghost, the sun is shining over Sainsbury’s where pre-tax profits soared 7.1% to £712m in the 52 weeks to 17 March. CEO Justin King attributes much of the success to the supermarket’s Brand Match initiative: the guarantee that if an identical basket of branded goods would be cheaper in Asda or Tesco, a coupon will be given at the till for the difference.

According to the UK’s third largest supermarket, over half the vouchers issued have told customers that their Sainsbury’s shopping was the cheapest. Which is a win for Justin King and co. All other customers have received a voucher telling them exactly how much more expensive Sainsbury’s is than its rivals. Another win. But why?

Let me take you back to the 1980s, when TVE was in its infancy and a group of researchers at Cleveland State University were making an interesting discovery. They had created identical CVs for two fictitious job candidates, John and Dave, and two almost identical reference letters – the only difference was that John’s letter said he was sometimes difficult to get along with. When asked which candidate they’d like to interview the HR Directors surveyed named difficult-to-get-along-with John. The researchers concluded that the criticism of John made his reference more believable, and that made him a stronger candidate. Admitting that John wasn’t perfect – showing him ‘warts and all’ – actually helped sell him.

Similarly, by saying “we don’t always get it right and for that we’re sorry” the folks at Sainsbury’s are putting themselves in a stronger position than they would have been had their prices been cheaper in the first place.

The Sainsbury’s customer is touched to receive the voucher, even though it’s the supermarket’s way of showing that its branded goods are more expensive. The customer returns to spend the voucher – and throws a few more items in her basket than she might otherwise have done (she might as well while she’s there, she thinks). At least that’s the theory, although those impressive pre-tax figures would suggest it’s more than just theory.

While it’s unlikely that Sainsbury’s is deliberately setting brand prices a little higher to be able to deliver that voucher of apology, could it be ‘actively maintaining’ shelf prices knowing that the ‘actual’ selling price is going to be lower? This kind of pricing strategy is no more obvious than on Amazon, where the price ‘strikethrough’ is as expected as it is accepted. Jeff Bezos will never just show you what you’re going to pay when you purchase from his site – he also wants you to know what you’re not paying. Even though you would never have been charged the higher amount (RRP, what RRP?) you feel like Amazon’s done you a favour.

And as long as you continue to return to Sainsbury’s, and cash in your Brand Match vouchers, you’re never going to pay the higher shelf price.

So in the end Sainsbury’s – and the customer – benefit all round. Where its prices are competitive Sainsbury’s is as good as its rivals, and where they’re higher its honesty –and the voucher saving – ‘guarantee’ return custom. And as long as she comes back, the customer will only ever pay the lowest prices on branded goods. It’s a clever strategy and one big win for Mr King.

A litter of hungry pigs pushing and shoving, trying to get fed, seems an unlikely source of inspiration for one of the most important innovations in modern retailing, but according to Willaim Sitwell, author of ‘A history of food in 100 recipes’, it gave Clarence Saunders an idea.

In 1916, Clarence was on a train travelling from Indiana, when the train slowed down at one point while passing a pig farm. From his window, Clarence saw a large number of piglets gathering round their mother sow, all trying to get fed. It made him think of a strong similarity with the grocery stores he knew. In busy times there were never enough clerks, so that people would crowd around the counter trying to get served. He thought that there must be a better way of doing things – and had an idea.

Within a few months, Clarence Saunders opened his first store: a store with no counter and no staff to take orders. Instead, customers served themselves from the shelves and paid on the way out. Self -service had been born and was an immediate success. Fast forward seven years and there were 1,268 stores in his chain, which he had named Piggly Wiggly in honour of his source of inspiration.

(Unfortunately not long afterwards disaster struck and a combination of financial mismanagement and poor stock trading saw him go bankrupt. Clarence lost everything, including a house complete with pig-pink rendering)

A chain of DIY stores in North America has made headlines recently with its new campaign, which targets consumers looking to prepare for the zombie apocalypse.

Westlake Ace Hardware introduced its Zombie Preparedness Center in early October, offering help and advice for consumers concerned about everything from minimising the smell of decaying neighbours to zombie-proofing their homes and gardens.

It may sound like just another PR stunt - and it’s certainly been effective in gaining coverage - but it’s anchored in sound brand thinking from the company’s ad agency. Omaha-based Bozell was keen to find a fresh way of engaging 20- and 30-something consumers with the brand, which was struggling to attract an audience of DIY novices.

The answer? Zombies. Our fascination with the undead has never been more apparent, with The Walking Dead finding fans both here and across the US, and Brad Pitt currently filming a new zombie film in Scotland. It may be a sign of consumers’ anxiety at the fraying of societal bonds, as some psychologists have posited, or something more straightforward - the catharsis of a battle against enemies who may want your flesh but at least don’t want the contents of your bank account.

So where does the brand thinking enter the picture, you may ask? Well, at the heart of the Westlake Ace brand is knowledgeable service. In recent years, the company has sought to position itself as the home of expert advice and assistance in everything DIY, thereby differentiating itself from brands with much larger out-of-town retail formats and a more comprehensive offer.

With its Zombie Preparedness Center, the brand has tapped into a pop culture phenomenon that has high appeal for its younger target audience. It’s treated the subject with exactly the same direct, helpful approach as it does more run-of-the-mill household issues, however; it uses zombies to illustrate common DIY problems such as repairing holes in walls or fitting external security lights.

The result is a campaign that’s garnered the brand great publicity and connected with a notoriously hard to reach audience, while reinforcing its core offer.

So there we are: the next time you’re grappling with a seemingly irresolvable marketing problem, you might just benefit from taking a completely different approach. Of course, if you want a hand with that, you know where to come…