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The Delta Group, Europe’s premier visual communications specialist delivering dynamic multi-channel marketing services to brands and retailers across the globe, is delighted to announce the successful retention of the Lidl GB account after a competitive tender process.

The contract is for the supply of all printed material. This includes all in-store POS, client facing signage, creative services and store installations.

Jason Hammond, CEO of The Delta Group said: “We are thrilled that Delta’s contract with Lidl GB has been renewed, allowing us to continue to deliver excellent value, innovation and exceptional customer service to one of our largest clients. In addition to supplying all printed in-store marketing material, we are delighted to have been entrusted with providing additional services – namely creative and installations – to one of the UK’s fastest growing brands.”

“I wanted to take the opportunity to thank and congratulate everyone who was involved with the retender. The effort and enthusiasm from our various internal teams – from Account Management to Structural Design and Installation – really shone through and felt that it was the Delta team spirit that distinguished us from our competition.”

Claire Farrant, Lidl GB Marketing Director, said: “I’m glad Delta took on the challenge and really engaged in this tender process. We are looking forward to continuing to build strong working relationships within the Delta team, and together we will build robust POS solutions that delivers our strategic brand messages in innovative and sustainable ways.”

Congratulations to everyone involved in this fantastic win!

It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but Christmas is also one of the most competitive times of the year for retailers.

You’ve decked your shop windows, stocked your shelves full of gifts and ‘festivefied’ your website, but what can you do to ensure the best possible outcome for your efforts this Christmas? Focusing on buyer personas will do the trick, thinks Econsultancy.

Buyer personas can be an incredibly useful tool during key events in the retail calendar. While some personas will be shaped by things like your target audience and retail category, there are broader personas just about all retailers will want to engage this Christmas. Let’s take a look at what they are and how you can target them.

The cautious customer 

We’re in a period of ‘cautious consumption’ says PwC, mainly as a result of political uncertainty. The shift in spending habits isn’t so much about spending less, but rather about changing priorities. For instance, PwC thinks customers will spend less on big-ticket items and events such as travel, and instead devote budgets to categories including ‘health’ and ‘children and babies’.

Retailers therefore need to tread carefully with their marketing communications. For instance, a cautious customer who is also responsible for a family is likely to be more receptive to messaging linked with a sense of necessity over luxury.

They’re also likely to be a long-term planner – during the course of a year they’ll engage with ‘always-on’ brands, as opposed to ‘buy for Christmas’ ones. According to Google, 34% of shoppers say that discovering new products and getting ideas is what they love most about shopping, so gift guides are seriously worth considering too.

The brand loyalist

Consumers spent big in supermarkets last year – £450m more in December than in the previous year in fact, found Kantar. This increase wasn’t from new customers but from current customers spending an extra £9.07 over the month, proving the importance of brand loyalty across every retail category.

If you want to inspire loyalty, it’s a good idea to focus on targeting previous customers. New research reveals that emails are the most effective way to inspire repeat purchases from customers, so this should be a key channel in your strategy.

The last-minute shopper

Seven in ten consumers buy right up to and during the final week before Christmas – that’s a lot of last-minute shoppers.

Google notes how the majority of last-minute shoppers use their smartphones to search for product delivery and availability information, opening times and directions to local retailers. So it’s vital you provide the correct information and make it easily accessible for consumers.

Also, reaching out to this persona with relevant content – such as information on your fast delivery options – could help to seal the deal.

The bargain hunter

Christmas shopping doesn’t end on Christmas Eve; Boxing Day sales are a great opportunity for brands to boost their revenue and get rid of last month’s remaining inventory.

You’ll want to utilise behavioural targeting to identify consumers interested in scooping up the best deals, and use category-specific content that appeals to what they’ve expressed interest in in the past.

If you need help improving the customer journey, Delta Group has the tools, knowledge and experience to help you do just that. Our end-to-end multichannel marketing services can empower your strategic goals and help you better connect with your consumers. Get in touch today.

There’s no denying that Brexit uncertainty is having an impact across the retail sector by affecting consumer confidence. But a boost in Christmas marketing spend this year could be taken as proof of retailers’ optimism as they enter the festive period.

Figures from the Advertising Association (AA) shared by The Drum placed overall Christmas ad spend at £6bn last year, with digital media accounting for a larger chunk of budgets than TV. This trend is predicted to carry through to this year, with £6.8bn expected to be spent on Christmas advertising. TV ad spend will fall again, by 1% year-on-year to £1.4bn, while display ad spend is expected to increase to £1.75bn.

So, what are retailers’ main marketing spend priorities during the festive period?

Iceland’s top marketer, Neil Hayes, also quashed suggestions that ad spend would dwindle over the festive period due to the political and environmental environment. “Christmas happens every year and that’s what we are focused on – we’ll still be selling mince pies on the run-up to the 25th.”

Christmas has come even earlier for retailers this year due to consumers spreading out their shopping more, which has led to search budgets increasing.

The Guardian quotes AA’s chief executive, Stepehen Woodford, as attributing the strong growth in digital advertising to the fact that brands and retailers are following audiences and looking for channels where they can reach out to specific audiences effectively.

He continued: “Small and medium-sized businesses are also driving huge growth online. Twenty years ago small businesses had limited choices but now a one-person business can advertise using digital channels to 100 people if they choose to. It has also opened up routes for a small business to reach global markets.”

We’re sure you’ll agree that the very best Christmas marketing strategies are ones focused on creating compelling and impactful customer journeys. If you need some guidance, get in touch with us today to find out more about our services and previous work.

Black Friday is on the horizon again, and British retailers are set for success.

Since its journey across the pond, the huge sales event has become synonymous with the year-end shopping rush; it’s a game-changer when it comes to Christmas trading figures.

Despite Brexit and a general election looming, the year is likely to go out with a bang for retailers across the UK, as consumers are still looking to Black Friday discounts for a little pre-Christmas sparkle. In fact, spending is set to reach £2.53 billion on November 29, with shoppers spending a record 3.4% more than they did in 2018, according to recent figures.

The report, carried out by the Centre for Retail Research for VoucherCodes, predicts a total spend of £8.57 billion in the course of the four-day Black Friday bonanza, factoring in Cyber Monday.

Regarding customer confidence, a VoucherCodes spokeswoman said: “it looks as though enthusiasm for Black Friday is showing no sign of slowing down in the UK, with total spend up 3.4% on 2018”.

The UK is likely to top the rest of Europe, with consumer spending soaring 29% higher than second-place Germany and exceeding that of Spain, Belgium, Italy and The Netherlands combined.

The report takes into account the fact that many retailers will extend discounts across a 14-day period, with a total spend of £29.57 billion occurring within this two-week timeframe.

As Black Friday is occurring marginally later this November, VoucherCodes has highlighted the potential for this to trigger “a greater sense of urgency among shoppers to get their Christmas shopping done over the deal-filled weekend.”

Here at Delta Group, we’re all about creating compelling, impactful customer journeys, making the impossible possible in an ever-changing market.

Our end-to-end multichannel marketing merges insight, creativity and optimisation, producing and executing powerful point-of-purchase visual communications for clients.

We understand the complex challenges brands and retailers face. Delta Group helps clients to navigate the wilderness, using our global technology systems to provide seamless support, alongside stellar campaign management that keeps you competitive.

We’ve collaborated with some of the world’s leading brands and retailers, kicking off a wide range of successful brand extensions, product launches and international marketing campaigns.

Interested? Get in touch today and find out what we can do for you.

We are pleased to announce that, for the 5th year running, Delta Ireland has been nominated as Large Format Digital Printer of the Year at the Irish Printer Awards!

Having won the award in 2015 and 2017, Delta Ireland will be looking for success in the category again after their fantastic work on the Tesco Ireland “Fire Pit Foyer” Standee.

The ceremony will be held on 29th November at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin.

Congratulations to everyone involved!

We are delighted to announce that Superior Creative Services, part of the Delta Group, picked up a Silver award at last night’s prestigious POPAI Awards ceremony!

At the black-tie gala dinner held at London’s Lancaster Hotel, Superior’s FSDU’s for wine brand 19 Crimes won in the “Grocery & General Merchandise – Temporary Display” category.

Here’s what the judges had to say:

“[The FSDU] created strong brand presence, with ideal placement in the wine aisle for maximum visibility. The design displayed good use of app technology to create a clear call to action for shoppers. Robust enough to cope with a heavy loading, end of life recyclability was also built in to the design.”

Congratulations to everyone involved in this fantastic achievement!

The Delta Group today announce two new senior appointments to their Executive Board in addition to record sales results for 2018.

Dean Smith and Tim Ingram-Smith have joined the company as Chief Sales & Marketing Officer and Chief Information Officer respectively. Dean will be responsible for group sales, bid management, marketing and group strategy, while Tim will be looking after all aspects of The Delta Group’s ‘IT and Technology’ proposition, both internally and externally.

Jason Hammond, CEO of the Delta Group, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dean and Tim to our Board and are confident they will help drive continued success and our next phase of growth. It is a very exciting time for the company and everyone involved.”

“We have been looking to fill these group-wide, senior positions for some time and are thrilled that we have managed to secure such well-respected industry ‘heavyweights’ to build on the success of the group and drive the business forward.”

In addition to the new hires Mr. Hammond has also announced Delta’s financial results for last year.

“In 2018 Delta’s sales grew by 15% to £92.6m, a record in the business’s history and as such helped maintain Delta’s position as the largest privately owned point of sale print business in Europe. This outstanding growth was driven by the highly successful acquisition of Superior Creative in August 2017, the win of the exclusive Sainsbury Group contract and increased sales within Europe. The latter led to the business securing its highest ranking in the Sunday Times International Track 200 for fast overseas growth.”

The business also posted an operating loss of £871k, reflecting in part to the upfront costs of its major client win, expansion costs associated with new facilities overseas and new capital expenditure including the purchase of the UK’s first Nozomi C18000 printer. Other key financial results from 2018 includes:

  • £3.4m of one-off exceptional costs related to acquisitions, the centralisation of its Creative Business’s into one Central London hub and restructuring costs, to make the business more efficient in 2019
  • As a result of lower operational costs in 2019 at the half year the Group’s PBT was £1.4m ahead of the half year in 2018
  • Cash in the business was £6.1m at year-end and in 2018 Delta invested £5.3m on new capital expenditure including the purchase of the Nozomi C18000 single-pass LED corrugated printer
  • Delta’s sister business Delta Properties Limited filed a profit in 2018 arising from the continued increase in the value of its investment portfolio of £21.9m.

The Delta Group is delighted to announce that Superior has recently been awarded a contract to produce Asahi Europe’s point-of-sale displays in the UK as of June 2019. Superior will be responsible for the design and production of UK-based POS displays for Asahi brands which include Peroni and Asahi Super Dry.

Matt Attree, Group Business Development Director, says:

“Securing the Asahi contract is testament to a combined effort across the whole group over a 6 week period. Using our extensive knowledge in this field we will be best placed to help develop their ever-expanding brands in the retail sector in the UK”

Delta is delighted to present our new brand identity, logo and the launch of a refreshed website and contemporary logo.

Delta’s new identity goes beyond look and feel; the Group has amalgamated services into three clearly defined divisions; CreativeDisplay and Technology.

“By highlighting our services in this clear way, we hope to give credit and visibility to all our talented teams while also aligning with the future needs of clients in a rapidly changing and highly competitive retail landscape,” said Jason Hammond, CEO of Delta Group.

This rebranding aligns Delta’s strengths as an end-to-end communications provider combining insight, creativity, production, execution and optimisation to provide clients with a broad range of powerful visual communications with global technology systems to support and communicates a more relevant brand promise; a commitment to service excellence instore, outdoor and online.

 

 

For more information, or to obtain a copy of our brand guideline document, please contact marketing@thedeltagroup.com.

We are delighted to announce that The Delta Group has come in at #36 in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200!

The International Track 200 ranks Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales, measured over their latest two years. Compiled by Fast Track and published in The Sunday Times, The Delta Group was first featured in the 2018 list (published on 10th June), coming in 58th place.

Our CEO, Jason Hammond, states: “We are absolutely thrilled to be no.36 in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200, recognising our strong international sales growth. Our performance is reflected in our excellent client service and significant new business wins through 2018. The whole team have worked relentlessly to achieve our objectives and reach the level of success we are enjoying today.”