In the picture above (from left to right) Marc De Reu, Nicole Berx (both owners of THoM), and Norbert Verkimpe (Bisnode) are shown.

Then it was time for the presentation of the yearly marketing survey results among marketing professionals. During the time of the data collection, marketing confidence was very low (see picture below), very much in tune with consumer confidence.

The survey identified the following Major Marketing Challenges 2012 (see below). The economic recession/dip caused “doing more with less” to be one of the big themes for 2012.

Below, the expected net budget change in media is shown with online, mobile and own brochures being the big winners. Magazines and newspapers clearly are the biggest losers.

Then, THoM consultants presented their  F A C T S  approach to cope with today’s challenges (see picture below).

More information about the yearly marketing survey can be obtained from caroline.vervaeke@thom.eu

Then, two guest speakers took the stage. First, ir. Olivier Delangre (Amoobi) presented their path-based analytical approach to analyzing customer traffic in the store by locating mobile devices indoor (see picture below).

Olivier Delangre (see picture below) proposes to use this technology to remodel stores. The big advantage of using this technology is a more detailed view per visitor/customer: e.g. number of visitors per day/week, conversion rate, dwell time per visitor. It’s important to measure these key statistics before and after remodeling.

Independently, Prof. Dr. Nico Van de Weghe (Department of Geography, UGent) offers similar “bluetooth” tracking. Dr. Dries Benoit and yours truly completed data collection on a study in Gent Zuid shopping center. We are currently finalizing the scientific results...

Caroline Vervaeke (consultant at THoM, see picture below) introduced the second guest speaker from CB’a (global branding consultancy).

Their presentation included a lot of examples about “unconventional” ways of implementing marketing/branding. Normally, branding would recommend to make it very obvious what product you are selling in a retail setting: E.g. Indulgi in Kyoto (Japan): They “hide” the products they sell in the store (in case you are wondering, it’s apparel).

Usually, branding theory says “be consistent”. However, Aesop uses the original spirit of the place (see picture below).

After the presentation, it was time for networking...

We also enjoyed the excellent food. Congratulations to the organizers at THoM for this interesting evening!