168
During market activations, the product is often introduced in a playful and fun
way, for instance, in combination with dancing, singing songs, and playing music.
MCs ensure visitors are enthusiastic about what is happening and create a buzz.
Next to the physical location where the activation is held, vans or other motorized
vehicles tour the neighborhood to gather a larger crowd to the location of the market
activation. In Ethiopia, during the market activations with business champion
Family Milk, as part of the larger dairy partnership, locally celebrated singers were
involved in the market activation. In Nigeria, a market activation for a Tom Brown
product in Kaduna state greatly benefited from the visit of the governor’s wife to the
activation activities. And obviously, a critical element in all market activations is to
provide consumers the opportunity to taste the product.
Lastly, coupons or other actions are sometimes introduced to attract consumers
during the activation to buy the product at a discount (the Action in ATEAR). These
market activations are also the right moments to inform potential BoP consumers
about the importance of nutrition. In the aforementioned pilot on soy kebabs, activities were developed, together with school teachers, to educate the children on the
importance of a healthy diet and how that could improve their performance both at
home and in school. Combining the general benefit of such activities, the schoolchildren also better understand why it is more beneficial for them to buy a proteinrich soy product instead of sugary snacks; this will help drive demand for the soy
kebab sticks.
6.4.6.4 Last-Mile Distribution
Even when a product is available and properly marketed, there are no guarantees
that the product will actually reach BoP consumers. This was clearly the case in the
first pilot 2SCALE delivered with GUTS Agro, where together we developed the
Supermom product completely from scratch and ran an intensive marketing campaign to promote the product. However, the product uptake was less than expected,
and distribution was a larger than expected part of the challenge.
As mentioned earlier, BoP consumers are typically removed from conventional
market outlets. This means that sales points have to be located closer to the consumer, or distribution should be organized in such a way that it directly reaches the
consumer. Previously we referred to three strategies through which such “last-mile
distribution” can be organized in a way that does not become too costly and the end
product too expensive.
11
• Use of existing channels and infrastructure: The first and easiest approach is to
use existing distribution channels, also referred to as “piggybacking.” To explore
such approaches, the business champion needs to investigate the existing channels in the BoP target market. For example, there could already be a distributor
active in the market that sells other, non-competing FMCGs such as bottled
11 http://bopinc.org/updates/publication/access-to-food-and-nutrition-at-the-bop
N. van Dijk et al.
During market activations, the product is often introduced in a playful and fun
way, for instance, in combination with dancing, singing songs, and playing music.
MCs ensure visitors are enthusiastic about what is happening and create a buzz.
Next to the physical location where the activation is held, vans or other motorized
vehicles tour the neighborhood to gather a larger crowd to the location of the market
activation. In Ethiopia, during the market activations with business champion
Family Milk, as part of the larger dairy partnership, locally celebrated singers were
involved in the market activation. In Nigeria, a market activation for a Tom Brown
product in Kaduna state greatly benefited from the visit of the governor’s wife to the
activation activities. And obviously, a critical element in all market activations is to
provide consumers the opportunity to taste the product.
Lastly, coupons or other actions are sometimes introduced to attract consumers
during the activation to buy the product at a discount (the Action in ATEAR). These
market activations are also the right moments to inform potential BoP consumers
about the importance of nutrition. In the aforementioned pilot on soy kebabs, activities were developed, together with school teachers, to educate the children on the
importance of a healthy diet and how that could improve their performance both at
home and in school. Combining the general benefit of such activities, the schoolchildren also better understand why it is more beneficial for them to buy a proteinrich soy product instead of sugary snacks; this will help drive demand for the soy
kebab sticks.
6.4.6.4 Last-Mile Distribution
Even when a product is available and properly marketed, there are no guarantees
that the product will actually reach BoP consumers. This was clearly the case in the
first pilot 2SCALE delivered with GUTS Agro, where together we developed the
Supermom product completely from scratch and ran an intensive marketing campaign to promote the product. However, the product uptake was less than expected,
and distribution was a larger than expected part of the challenge.
As mentioned earlier, BoP consumers are typically removed from conventional
market outlets. This means that sales points have to be located closer to the consumer, or distribution should be organized in such a way that it directly reaches the
consumer. Previously we referred to three strategies through which such “last-mile
distribution” can be organized in a way that does not become too costly and the end
product too expensive.
11
• Use of existing channels and infrastructure: The first and easiest approach is to
use existing distribution channels, also referred to as “piggybacking.” To explore
such approaches, the business champion needs to investigate the existing channels in the BoP target market. For example, there could already be a distributor
active in the market that sells other, non-competing FMCGs such as bottled
11 http://bopinc.org/updates/publication/access-to-food-and-nutrition-at-the-bop
N. van Dijk et al.