Food: Value Network Issues

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

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No matter where you shop, Christmas tends to be a big old drain on the bank balance.

Lidl, the UK’s fastest-growing supermarket, has just launched a social campaign with this in mind.

‘Social Price Drop’ is designed to help consumers spend a little less this year.

Here’s a bit more info on it as well as a few reasons why it’s a great bit of social marketing.

Tweets for turkeys

Lidl’s new Twitter campaign offers a way for consumers to drive down the prices of products – simply by talking about them.

Essentially, the more people tweet about a product, the lower its price will drop.

The supermarket is kicking things off this week with a Christmas lobster, which usually retails at £5.99. In the three weeks that follow, three additional products will be put up for the drop.

A social first?

I could be wrong, but I’ve never heard of a UK supermarket partaking in this kind of activity on Twitter before.

I have heard of other brands doing it – Uniqlo launched a very similar scheme called ‘Lucky Counter’ a few years ago – but it’s being touted as a ‘social first’ for Lidl.

The details are a little blurry. Though we know the first item can be reduced to a minimum of £2.99, it isn’t clear how many tweets are needed for this to happen.

Despite this, the overall scheme demonstrates Lidl’s refreshing approach to social media.

When you compare it with Sainsbury’s or Tesco - neither are doing anything as interesting at the moment.

Inspires excitement

Each Wednesday, the final price will be announced on Facebook and Twitter, giving customers the chance to plan their shop before it becomes available in-store on the Saturday.

The campaign has already garnered a lot of interest on Twitter – and this is the reason it works so well.

By generating awareness and rewarding consumers at the same time, it is valuable for both the consumer and the brand.

Instead of counting on initial buzz, the fact that it continues in the run-up to Christmas means it is likely to sustain user interest and engagement throughout December.

Lidl are also clearly hoping that word-of-mouth will help this to increase as time goes on.

Rewarding customers

As well as being an innovative social marketing strategy, Lidl’s Social Price Drop taps into the brand’s core appeal, extending its reputation as a supermarket that cares about its customers.

Lidl is loved for being affordable – so why not make it even more so?

At a time when many people struggle with spending over the odds, it is the perfect opportunity to reward customers with even more value.

By putting the power into the hands of the public, it also makes customers feel like their input is important.

In conclusion

Lidl’s social activity nicely complements its current #LidlSurprises TV campaign.

Reaffirming the supermarket’s customer-centric approach to marketing, it's a good example of a brand utilising Twitter to reward customers.

With Unilever's recent price hike also resulting in a wave of negativity on social - it's certainly come at the right time.