Ariane Thieleking, GfK Panel Services Germany

Brands make a market. Even a supermarket. Ariane Thieleking, Senior Marketing Consultant with Panel Services at GfK in Nuremberg, was confronted with the difficult task of taking a strong brand and developing new markets for it in such a way as to achieve increased sales, not only for the hard discounters with a primary focus on retail brands, but for retailers across the board. No simple undertaking for the fast moving consumer goods segment, but certainly feasible by generating “extra impulse buying”.

“We refute this: it simply isn’t true.” With this confident statement, Ariane Thieleking took on the task in November 2005, convinced that there was still a great deal of potential in the realm of sweet dreams, which just needed to be identified. “The inclusion of eight products from Ferrero, a confectioner with a 25% share of the chocolate products market, in the Aldi South range was making the other retailers uncomfortable”, says the volatile lady from North Germany recalling the situation at the outset of her task. “There was talk of market cannibalization and Aldi taking customers away from other market players. However, this turned out not to be the case.”

Germans go shopping on average 110 times per year. Half these purchases are accounted for by the discount stores. At first sight, this sounds good and appears to offer the ideal circumstances for generating additional sales in the FMCG sector. But four years ago, Germans were still shopping ten times more frequently than in 2006. Ariane Thieleking explains: “This forced retailers to think out of the box”, a fact with which the market researcher has no truck, since she spent ten years in the confectionery industry, where she was able to convince herself that simply being there creates a demand which can ultimately be converted into an impulse to buy.

“After matriculating from school, I wanted to do a traineeship”, says Ariane, who is a passionate horsewoman. “I spent two years at Bahlsen as a business trainee, mainly in the marketing department.” After just a year as a trainee, Ariane, now 30, was flattered by the offer of a job in market research. She adds: “But I wanted to study, so I accepted the job and at the same time, completed my studies until I graduated in business studies, although the job always took precedence.”

What I like about GfK is that it encouraged my development

Ariane Thieleking joined the Consumer Tracking division of GfK as the “sweet” marketing consultant on April 1, 2004, and started work on the Bahlsen and Storck brands, of which she had prior knowledge. “GfK encouraged my development, sent me to seminars and ultimately on a development course for senior consultants. That’s what I like about my job”, says Ariane with evident pleasure. She regards the fact that she was working on a client account where she was previously employed as a “win-win” situation for both parties.

Ariane Thieleking launched into her work with all her energy, took over Ferrero from a GfK colleague and won Haribo as a new client. Since she regards challenge as her friend, she felt completely at home with the sales side of her task, just as she enjoys rising to the challenge of the different corporate cultures she encounters at the various GfK clients. “This is what attracted me”, she freely admits. When she became involved in the launch of Ferrero products, “the Aldi South listing was a fact and the analyses had already been completed.” This meant she was faced with dispelling the concerns other market players had, that listing with Aldi might lead to an erosion of sales.

» We must be significantly more focused and get more out of our data. «

And her credo? “We must be more focused and get more out of our data.” From where Ariane Thieleking stands, this translates as follows. There are 37 million buyers for fast moving consumer goods, which means that there are more potential consumers available in this area than in any other market segment. They buy sweets and confectionery 57 times a year. According to Ariane, “This is the highest conceivable potential and what we need to do is to exploit it.”

She soothed the ruffled feathers of the other market players by consistent use of GfK consumer data to support her contentions. The fact that the Aldi Group was split into Aldi North and Aldi South helped by providing the corresponding reference markets. Comparing the two showed that the stores in which Ferrero was listed did significantly better. Aldi North, which does not carry any Ferrero products in their ranges “came out decidedly the worse in comparison with Aldi South”, says Ariane Thieleking. And it was not just the Aldi South Group which benefited from the listing. The entire sweets and confectionery market in the Aldi South territory came out considerably better than retailers in the comparative reference area.

The average plus was markedly higher

Aldi South, who had carried five actual brands in the FMCG segment before introducing Ferrero products, generated double-digit growth with the listing of these products. This increase is attributable to the fact that “sweets and confectionery are an impulse buying group. In most cases, buying sweets and confectionery is unplanned”, maintains Thieleking.

However, Ferrero and GfK did not pioneer new territory, because Aldi had already been carrying confectionery brands like Knoppers, Merci and Toffifee for some years, with Haribo Gold Bears also present on the shelves. But eight new Ferrero products suddenly appearing certainly caused ripples throughout the industry.

The average plus, that is, the sum of money spent on each purchase per customer, has risen significantly since the introduction of Ferrero products, a fact which GfK could demonstrate on the basis of data from its consumer panel of 25,000 individuals, which enables the company to verify and analyze consumer attitudes and buying habits. The panel, which is a representative random socio-demographic sample for Germany, records its daily purchases on a manual scanner. The survey can also include over 200 characteristic features and attitudes of panel members which can be used to filter down data and identify individual tastes and buying habits with a high level of precision.

“By generating added buying impulses and extending the range of the Aldi South discount stores, we have introduced the Ferrero brand to countless consumers and expanded the entire sweets and confectionery market. Other retailers have been able to share the benefits of this opportunity as well”, says Ariane Thieleking with pride. Added to this is the fact that Ferrero buyers are also value-conscious shoppers, who spend more than the average consumer. “We are engaged in developing the potential of the fast moving consumer goods segment at every level and this also has positive effects for retailers right across the board” , maintains Ariane Thieleking.

GfK Panel Services Germany

• Established: In an earlier form GfK Panel Services Germany has been in existence since 1957. At the time, the household panel research department of GfK in Nuremberg had commenced continuous collection of purchasing data from private households. In a history dating back almost 50 years, household panel research has operated under a variety of names and with a number of different shareholders. GfK took over as sole shareholder in 1997.
   
• Employees: More than 300 permanent staff
  
  
• Business division: Consumer Tracking Household, individual and special panels: the ConsumerScan panel collects data on fast moving consumer goods, such as bodycare products and foods, and for this, consumers use an electronic diary to record their purchases. For consumer durables and services, an area which includes such items as electrical goods and tourism, data comes from a combination of the ConsumerScope online and mail panels.
  
  
• Clients: The company has a client base in Germany in excess of 500 and a market share of over 80%. Major clients include Unilever, Procter & Gamble, The Coca-Cola Company, Ferrero, the Metro Group and Karstadt/Quelle.