Asda’s former marketing boss Andy Murray is moving back to the US and so the UK grocer has brought in a new chief customer officer as it seeks to “serve our customers and grow our business”.
Putting the focus firmly on its quality credentials, Asda is encouraging shoppers to resist the urge to “compromise” by shopping with rival retailers.
Econometrics have played a significant role in influencing Asda’s Christmas activity this year, as the supermarket looks to add another layer of emotional storytelling and align perceptions of quality with the in-store experience.
The campaign aims to draw synergies between Asda and Downton Abbey’s focus on quality and highlight how food is at the heart of every British home.
Asda plans to “accelerate” its price position and invest in new technology to improve the customer experience as it looks to position for future growth that boss Roger Burnley admits will be harder to deliver without the synergies the merger would have provided.
Asda says it is now working on marketing activities eight weeks sooner than it was 12 months ago, with the almost year-old partnership with agency AMV already beginning to bear fruit across the business.
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The competition watchdog has raised serious concerns around price and competition, saying the merger between Sainsbury’s and Asda would need some major changes, including the possibility of selling either the Sainsbury’s or Asda brand, to go through in a decision Sainsbury’s has called “outrageous”.
Asda is looking to “capture the spirit of excitement that is bringing Christmas home” with its 2018 festive campaign, which will launch on ITV and Channel 4 this evening.
To maximise both revenues and savings, Sainsbury’s and Asda’s merger must get brand architecture right, unifying operations while keeping the brands distinct.
This week’s deal might have created the UK’s biggest supermarket group, but questions remain over how the two businesses will work together when they have such distinctive brand propositions.
Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe believes that just because the two brands will be owned by the same company, that doesn’t mean they can’t co-exist.
The deal between the UK’s second and third biggest supermarkets gives the combined entity about 31% of the supermarket sector, ahead of current market leader Tesco.
Both brands are expected to be retained in £10bn deal that would create a supermarket group to rival market leader Tesco but is likely to raise competition issues.
The appointment comes five months after Asda’s chief customer officer announced a review of the supermarket’s agency relationships as it looks to better connect with its “value-seeking customers”.