shopgrade 2021
3rd of june 2021
A genuine black swan event, the Coronavirus pandemic created a seismic shift across the globe and changed our everyday life in unimaginable ways. It moved beyond the breaking point healthcare systems, it took a huge human toll, and it created a tremendous burden on our economies. But it also highlighted the resilience in our systems, with vaccines being developed at breakneck speeds, historic relief bills being rolled out by governments and businesses worldwide doing their best to contribute to the effort.
The Covid-19 outbreak had also some good unexpected side effects. From highlighting the innate need for human connection and the importance of mental health to reimagining the way in which work can be done and accelerating the digital transformation, the pandemic set a new normal for many aspects of our lives. As the dust settles, we must look with renewed eyes at the world in order to understand what changed and what hasn’t.
Beyond healthcare, shopping has been one of the hot topics of the pandemic, especially in the lockdown period. And, maybe with short hiccups, the industry came through and managed to find a way to fulfill shoppers’ needs. Retailers streamlined operations, producers found new ways of reaching consumers, and agencies shifted services in order to be active where it was needed most.
Even though the pandemic is not yet behind us, thanks to the vaccine program we are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And we can refocus on finding the way to best serve consumers in the new normal.
There are still many unknowns, but what we can say for sure is that a better tomorrow needs a better collaboration of retailers with producers, of producers with agencies, and of agencies with retailers. We invite you to write the journey for our local market alongside other retail and marketing professionals.
We will explore the new normal in shopping behavior from different perspectives, with keynotes and Q&A session from seasoned retail professionals, thought leaders, and dynamic entrepreneurs.
Is there any lasting shift in the consumer's shopping behavior?
What are the emerging technologies in retail marketing?
How do we and our consumers cope with change?
How does 2020 look when looking through a bigger lens?
How did the retailer environment go through the pandemic and what has changed? Get an inside view of the shopper trends and the opportunities that arise in the new normal.
In the new reality, people’s lives have changed and highly impacted the way they consume and shop for consumer goods. There are categories that saw growth while others experienced decline. There are retailers winning as a result of the shopper changes while others are struggling. Let’s look at what changes are here to stay.
The closest thing to predicting the future is unpacking the trends that shape it. From E-Commerce-Friendly POS Systems to Staff-Free and Cashier-Less Stores, retail enters into a new era of technology.
Technology is not the answer to everything. But it can be an answer to many. With new expectations and new ecosystems developing in the industry, we look at emerging technologies that can redefine retail marketing.
Online platforms and streamlined delivery services set a new scene for retail marketing. Borrowing from the on-demand economy, we're dropping the push approach towards sampling with one focused on pull.
In retail vertical industries, businesses are dealing with challenges of quickly understanding and adapting to new purchasing behaviors. Moreover, retail businesses need to overcome the human limitation of managing simultaneously a massive selection of products/brands/categories. These situations lead to deficiencies from both commercial (e.g. loss of sales, decrease in customer satisfaction) and operational (e.g. out-of-stock, overstock) perspectives. Implement predictive analytics AI Engines capable of quickly adapting to new purchasing behaviors and predict future outcome. Improve the day-to-day activities of marketing, merchandising or procurement departments and manage simultaneously an unlimited number of products and locations.
Details about this keynote will be announced shortly.
2020 imposed a lot of change both on an organizational level and on an individual level. And change is never easy. We take a deep dive into the way organizations need to look at change and into the way humans deal with change.
Millions of people all over the world found themselves forced to change their purchasing behaviours overnight, which had a strong impact on global trade. The pandemic was a turning point for customers’ relationships with companies and their service team. In this talk we will explore the impact of biases, empathy and cognitive effort on our digital journeys.
Turning persuasion on its head, I claim that outlining the benefits of our product is useless if we don't start with the client's reasons to say no.
We like to say that the consumer is king, yet we treat it as a pawn in our marketing strategies. And, as Kasparov or Deep Blue can testify, a lack of understanding can lead to a checkmate. Join our thought leaders in exploring modern-day consumer behavior.
Details about this keynote will be announced shortly.
Due to development of digital media tools and globalisation of interest and buying, the world brought marketing and communication to new channels. The God of media, the TV, was replaced by influencers, transforming these ones into celebrities. How was that possible and why the brands are in need to work with them, but more important is that efficient or not, we’ll see together.
We know that loyal customers are at the heart of your bottom line. But how do you win them? Is it a great product experience? Is it the best value for money? Is it tapping into their aspirations? The truth is that it’s in the same time all of them and none of them.
Diana is a Strategic Foresight consultant and founder of Future Station, a strategic foresight consultancy agency that helps organizations to spot new trends, spark innovation, build future scenarios and prepare for the future. Diana leads companies in their strategic planning processes or contributes to teams’ upskilling for future realities.
Ioan is General Manager for Mercury Research, a leading full-service research agency. His research expertise is complemented by advertising experience and academic work. Ioan holds a PhD in sociology from University of Bucharest, and specializations in political studies and business management from University of Texas, ASEBUS and University of Washington. He teaches courses on advanced analysis methods, market research and marketing.
With a marketing background, Raluca has built a deep understanding of the local shopping dynamics over the course of 20 years leading GfK’s Consumer & Retail business. She is also an active Executive Coach and Team Coach, trained in Systemic Coaching and certified by the International Coaching Federation. From her role as Team Coach @ The Entrepreneurship Academy, Raluca supports the development of Romania’s new generation of entrepreneurs.
Florina has 8 years of experience in client service & sales for Romanian and French companies. She knows how to respond to clients` needs, conduct new projects and integrate ideas into strategic plans. She coordinates the client service department of g7 and is constantly looking to find new opportunities for growth and development for the agency’s clients.
Spending the past 10 years in offline retail, eCommerce and retail agencies, Silviu has a deep understanding of the dynamics within field operations. His strenghts lie in Business Analytics and Digital Transformation, currently leading the development of Feasy.io as Product Manager and the transition to online for Leroy Merlin as Omnichannel Project Manager.
Cosmin holds an EMBA degree at Maastricht School of Management and a graduate degree from MIT for the AI program “Artificial Intelligence: Business strategy implications”. He is the managing partner of Lummetry.AI, a deep tech company focused on democratizing AI - Deep Learning technologies, by offering easy-to-implement API-based AI engines for both video analytics and predictive analytics business purposes. Cosmin coordinates Lummetry’s operational, commercial and financial activities.
Dr. Ana Iorga is a consumer neuroscience and behavioral sciences expert with a deep abiding passion for understanding human behavior. She spent over 15 years helping companies improve their customer experience and engagement strategies, across industries like Banking, Insurance, Consumer Goods, Manufacturing, Retail and Automotive. Dr. Iorga is a Medical Doctor that holds a PhD in Consumer Neuroscience and a double MBA degree in Marketing & Finance. She founded Buyer Brain, a consumer neuroscience company that focuses on delivering non-conscious insights to drive customer engagement & loyalty.
Radu Atanasiu has led several projects in real-estate and publishing and now he focuses on teaching students and consulting professionals on decision-making, problem-solving, and persuasion. His book, Critical Thinking for Managers, will be published in June 2021 by Springer Verlag.
Sorin has started his career in advertising in 1994 when he joined Graffiti BBDO as a research manager. Throughout the years, he has contributed with research insights to advertising campaigns for various local and international accounts, while also directly teaching consumer research to both client teams and students as a lecturer for The Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences, University of Bucharest. Sorin retired from the advertising industry after 25 years of continuous employment with the same agency, but his passion for research and advertising is still keeping him involved in industry events and in educating the next generations of marketers
Serial entrepreneur with an appetite for out-of-the-box ideas and an eye for emerging market trends, Mirela has extensive experience in 10 different segments and holds multiple industry awards for her activity as an entrepreneur, mentor, and influencer.
Get ready for a full day of Retail Marketing, packed with insights from industry experts, discussions with peers and networking with partners.
Refreshments, lunch and cocktails are taken care of, so you just need to bring your expertise and open mind.
Start | Speaker | Key Note |
---|---|---|
9:30 | Welcome coffee | |
10:00 | Corina Chiorean | Welcome |
10:10 | Raluca Raschip | Behaviour Changes shaping the future of brands |
10.30 | Ioan Simu | Meet the post-pandemic shopper |
10:50 | Diana Stafie | Foresight - Trends shaping the future of retail |
11:10 | Coffee Break | |
11:25 | Florina Zamfir | Out of store Retail Marketing with direct to home product activation. |
11:45 | Cosmin Marinescu | New purchasing behaviours? Data captures them. AI predicts them. |
12:05 | Silviu Costin | Is Retail Marketing different than the taxi business? Introducing crowdsourcing. |
12:25 | Lunch | |
13:25 | Irina Paraschiv | Emotional agility as the core of agile organisations |
13:45 | Ana Iorga | Using empathy to create better customer experiences |
14:05 | Radu Atanasiu | What if your client says no? |
14:25 | Coffee Break | |
14:40 | Sorin Psatta | 30 years of marketing. What changed? |
15:00 | Mirela Bucovicean | Is brand communication what you thought it was? |
15:20 | Razvan Cucui | The no. 1 thing that wins people’s hearts every time. |
15:40 | Corina Chiorean | Conclusions / Goodbye |
16:00 | Cocktails | Networking |
Corina Chiorean
Chief Executive Officer g7 Marketing
In all of our projects and initiatives, we strive to open communication channels between shoppers, brands, and retailers. Because at its core, retail marketing is not about shelves or stock, but about people and relationships. Shopgrade is our small contribution to the community of retail marketing professionals, a space in which we can all share our views, exchange ideas, digest emerging trends and work together towards a brighter future for our industry.
We live and breathe Retail Marketing for more than 20 years. As the ultimate meeting ground for brands and shoppers, we believe retail is the foundation for sustainable brand development and long-term consumer loyalty building. We work openly with clients, retailers, technology partners and fellow agencies to advance the shopper-centric approach towards retail marketing.
We have 100 seats* open for trade marketing professionals, brand managers, sales leads, department heads, and CEOs. We also invite all retail experts to join us, as well as any retail marketing agency representatives, ad men or women, industry journalists, or independent consultants. The more diverse the audience is, the more it benefits to everyone present, so book your seat now.
*The number of seats can change in order to respect the public health regulations in conjunction with the Covid19 pandemic.
The forum for forward-thinking retail marketing professionals in Romania.