I’m sure you’ve read The Art of War, written by Sun Tzu in the 6th century. What? You haven’t read my favorite marketing book? It framed a lot of things for me early on in my career, and there’s a famous quote in it that says: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.”

This wisdom speaks to me because, as marketers, we too often overlook the importance of execution. Innovation is typically lavished on the development of a big idea, but we need to apply the same level of creative thinking to the execution of our campaigns — especially shopper-marketing campaigns because the field is growing so rapidly.

Indeed, Shopper Marketing 4.0, recently published by the Grocery Marketing Association (GMA) and Booz & Company, reported that, over the next three years, 83 percent of food, beverage and consumer product manufacturers plan to increase investments in shopper marketing. Fifty-five percent of companies say shopper marketing is their top investment and plan to increase spending on it by more than five percent each year.

The study also identified the shopper-marketing initiatives that have proved most effective along the path-to-purchase, based on various marketing objectives. For example, if building brand awareness and consideration is the goal, then sponsored search results are a good way to go. If it’s product trial you’re after, then in-store displays that engage and convert, and personalized emails work best.

It certainly appears that there’s no shortage of innovative approaches in shopper marketing today. In fact, I recently reviewed an assessment of agencies in terms of innovation and found plenty. One group is focused on big ideas for engaging consumers all along the path-to-purchase, not just in-store. The other group notes the boundless possibilities to reach shoppers in new and innovative ways in-store and convert them into buyers.

But then I re-read the much-publicized GMA/McKinsey report that was issued last August, which talks about the need to re-ignite growth. In other words, despite all the innovation in shopper marketing, when you look at the majority of product categories — especially in food and beverage — they are not growing.

Growth continues to be a challenge for brands because of increased pressure by retailers to differentiate themselves and maximize their share of wallet. Cash-strapped shoppers are meanwhile searching for value by taking advantage of deals more often, using more coupons and shopping less often, while also channel surfing in more “value outlets” and buying more store brands.

So, we have one study that’s all about growth in shopper marketing and all of the innovation that’s driving it, and another reporting slow to no growth. Intrigued by this paradox, I took a look at the Sunday ads and then visited six stores in Northern Florida.

My field research was not scientific, but my observations supported the McKinsey findings: All I saw was price messages, and nothing at all about the kind of solutions shopper marketing is supposed to provide. If you go up and down the supermarket aisles, 80 percent of what shoppers experience is still just green beans at three for a dollar.

What’s more, the products are virtually the same at every retailer, the packaging doesn’t have the benefit on it, and the promotion and merchandising isn’t shopper solutions: it’s just price, price, price. We all know that it’s the emotional connection on top of the brand benefit that drives demand creation and grows categories, but I saw fewer platform-based benefits — health and wellness, for example — in these stores than I did just six months ago.

Why is this? It’s not because of a shortage of innovative shopper-marketing programs; it’s because only a handful of programs — the kind that produce positive financial results and promote brand health — are being executed successfully in-store.

The Axis of Innovation

Innovation in execution begins with full alignment between retailer and brand plans, based on joint value creation. Maybe something as basic and obvious as alignment between retailers and brands wouldn’t normally be considered innovative, but in today’s world it is because few, if any, are doing it.

This goes back to Sun Tzu: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.” What we really need to do is make our axis of execution as important as our axis of innovation.

This may be obvious, but it’s a quicker route to victory when we think of execution as integral to — and integrated with — strategy. Think of innovation in the execution plan as being as important to brand plans as it is to new product innovation. Think of execution excellence in shopper marketing as a core element of a brand’s culture.

Everybody talks about those three circles: the brand, the retailer and the shopper. What we need is a fourth circle in the center that ties it all together — a plan for the strategy and execution that will result in purchases (see chart above).

To deliver execution excellence, we need to not only develop a strong brand idea, but think like a retailer from the get-go, begin with the end in mind, and then create a fully integrated marketing plan. This approach not only delivers results but also sets up the metrics that are typically lacking.

Here’s where I start: I take out a blank sheet of paper — a single sheet — and on it I write down what’s required to make integration happen within the brand organization itself and between the brand and the retailer (see sidebar).

I take a similar tack with measurement and metrics. Everyone has all these complicated metrics and measurements (I always wondered how you measure eyeballs in stores anyway, never mind why!). There actually are very simple things we can do to measure conversion.

For example, say there were ten people who had Pantene on their shopping list — either a written list or one in their heads. They go in the store, and sometimes 12 buy it, and sometimes 8 buy it. Why? Why not provide them with a “retail engagement” application that they can use on their mobile phone? The shoppers record their planned versus actual purchases in real time, upload the data and create a conversion database.

The point is to get us thinking about what the real problems are, what the solutions might be, and most of all making it simple enough so we can execute and then measure our efforts. We start with our brands and we create innovative platforms and programs based on shopper insights. When the execution succeeds, we have accomplished something — a purchase — and have something to measure.

It’s hard to be more innovative than that — and it couldn’t be easier.

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