CASE STUDY - LAVAZZA
Enhancing In-Store Product Presence with AI: Lavazza's Journey to Optimize Shelf Impact
Coffee manufacturer Lavazza faced a significant challenge: capturing consumer attention at the point of sale (POS). Traditional methods of product placement and consumer research were not efficient enough to meet the increasing demand for consistent evaluation within tight time and budget constraints. Lavazza turned to AI for a solution, discovering a transformative tool in brainsuite by aimpower, which has revolutionized their approach to category management and shopper marketing.
Challenge
Lavazza, a leading player in the coffee industry, launches numerous in-store marketing activities worldwide. To establish a common understanding of effectiveness drivers and support their teams at the POS, Lavazza needed faster, better, and more efficient methods to improve the quality and impact of all activities. Although consumer surveys were conducted, consistent evaluation of the increasing number of promotional materials was not feasible within the existing time and budget constraints.
"There is no way around AI anymore. It is here to stay."
Marcel Korb | Head Shopper & Category Experience
Solution
With the brainsuite platform by aimpower, Lavazza can now predict how the human brain perceives their designs and how effective their promotional materials are likely to be in stores. This is achieved through a combination of behavioral science, computer vision, and deep-learning models.
Marcel Korb emphasizes: "The fascinating thing is that not only the motif is viewed in isolation, but also the environment."
Brainsuite enriches the decision-making and optimization process throughout the design stages with unlimited testing capabilities. From the selection of initial drafts to the fine-tuning of variants and the review of final designs, brainsuite ensures that every element of promotional materials—whether key visuals, displays, or packaging—contributes to key effectiveness drivers.
Applying brainsuite is straightforward: upload the promotional material, define the essential context details (brand name, core message, areas of interest, and intended placement), and Brainsuite processes this information to produce a detailed report within minutes. All test data is stored, allowing the analysis of the effectiveness of promotional materials across brands and touchpoints. Additionally, experts can be booked directly through the platform to provide professional insights in conjunction with AI functionality.
Impact
The AI platform is now an integral part of Lavazza's category management and shopper marketing testing processes, implemented successfully within several months across multiple regions.
Marcel Korb explains: "We are currently rolling out a pusher system. We tested the appropriate color tags and found blue to be the best solution."
Promotional materials optimized based on AI insights have shown significantly higher purchase intentions, stronger branding, and better consumer reactions. With an objective, data-driven foundation and a clear decision-making process, Lavazza has shortened lengthy approval procedures and reduced subjective discussions.
Marcel Korb concludes: "Our new department should act independently and focus more on the shopper. We are finding more and more examples of what else could be tested."
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