Syndication may not be something your brand has ever considered but here’s why you should... Not only is this service budget friendly but it gives you the opportunity to go further with a smaller investment, often increasing your coverage. You can share team resource with another brand that matches your coverage priorities or compliments your product portfolio.
With a syndicated approach your brand will share store coverage with other brands that fit similar requirements to yours. This also means you share the cost, removing existing limitations on the amount of stores your field sales team visit. Your budget can go further since you’re no longer leveraging the costs of a permanent field sales team on your own.
Deploying a syndicated solution for permanent teams can deliver benefits in a volatile environment. This is particularly important right now as the landscape of retail continues to change. More brands are feeling the pinch with tighter budgets and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
A syndicated approach unlocks efficiency because the cost of travel and coverage is reduced, while deeper coverage is achieved in outlets that brands may not be able to reach alone own due to cost or geography constraints. It presents incremental display opportunities which are less likely to be unlocked without regular coverage, and also helps maintain retailer relationships through more regular visits.
Choosing the right partner for syndication will be key to your success as they need to treat the team as an extension of their business, whilst building relationships with other brands in the syndicate. If actioned correctly, syndication can give your brand the competitive advantage it needs during challenging times.
Still not convinced? Hear what brands say about the how this team model has helped them improve their approach to field sales:
McCurrach, part of Avidity Group have provided the field sales team for Kerry Dairy Consumer Foods over the last 6 years. Over this time the scale has changed based on our business priorities and delivered the highest level of performance and return. With the sale of our meats and meals business in 2021 the scale of our business changed significantly. However, we still saw the need and benefit of the field sales team.
McCurrach proposed a syndicated service that would allow our brands to continue to be represented in the same volume and geography of stores and share the team with another business. This solution was perfect for Kerry as it means we can still support a large number of stores with promotions, availability and visibility for Strings & Things, Attack a Snak and Pure at the time and cost appropriate to our budget.
Along with the benefit of scale of coverage, syndication, also delivers a significant savings as we are only paying for a percentage of the call we need. This in turn supports a robust ROI with us not paying for extra time in a call that would not be utilised to the fullest.
Gordon Neil is Group Strategy and Marketing Director for Avidity. Hear why he recommends a syndicated approach for brands…
“The combination of ongoing volatility in outlet execution, opportunities for incremental visibility, and continuing pressure on cost and margin, means that syndication is the optimum approach for some brands.
Where a brand needs regular outlet coverage to win at the point of purchase, but doesn't have the budget or potential value to go it alone, syndication can provide the answer.
The efficiency benefits syndication can bring through sharing the cost of in-call time and travel can be the difference that enables brands to deliver the coverage model required to win in-outlet. This is on the increase as the cost of labour and travel continue to rise.
As long as brands go in with their eyes open to the flexibility and compromises required to make a syndicated partnership work, they can use it to their advantage to win in the market.”
Louisa Monger, Head of Partnership Development at Avidity echoes this further…
“We are currently seeing more and more brands leveraging or exploring a syndicated resource model. There are two main reasons behind this, firstly, syndication unlocks cost efficiencies which is a key driver for many brands due to the to the current cost pressures that brands are facing. Secondly, in-store standards are currently under tremendous pressure, therefore, syndication enables brands to go deeper and more frequently into the estate to resolve execution issues that they would not be able to afford to do via a dedicated team. ”
So, if you’re looking for a cost-effective solution when planning your 2023 budget then why not explore syndication? If you want to maximise your budget without sacrificing your store coverage, this could be the right option for your brand.
Choosing the right agency partner is key to delivering results with this cost-saving approach. Talk to us to find out how we can give you that competitive edge whilst keeping costs down.
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