Marketing in an age of austerity - Live Well for Less

The marketing strategies of the major supermarket groups in the UK are as good a barometer of how households are feeling about life than almost any other measure I can think of.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrison’s: they invest hugely in keeping close to their customers, trying to understand and second guess the key influences on buying; changes in tastes and preferences.

If you’ve popped into your local supermarket recently you’ll have noticed a sharp focus on value - price cuts, price-matching. The hard-pressed household consumer is finding it difficult with disposable income squeezed by rising food & fuel prices but depressed wage rates and rising unemployment. Consumer spending is firmly in recession territory - and the supermarkets know it.

Which makes the latest Sainsbury’s television advertising campaign all the more interesting….

There is something about this one-minute advert which resonates very strongly with me. Perhaps because I have a young son (and daughter) and we probably don’t spend nearly enough time doing simple stuff together as we ought to.

It’s fascinating - show it to your students and see what their reaction is.

A father and his young son are alone for the day. Why? Is it a single-parent household? It looks like the weekend, or perhaps a day during half-term holidays. A chance to do some stuff together, but times are hard and maybe cash is short. Not to worry - enjoying life’s special moments shouldn’t cost the earth. Your best childhood memories are more about the journeys, the experiences, the simple fun things rather than how much your parents spent on you.

Have Sainsbury’s captured this feeling with the advert? Take a look