Dieter Deceuninck – Danone

In this insightful interview with Dieter Deceuninck, Europe Head of Strategy, Insights and Analytics at Danone, we explore the intricacies of brand growth and promotion strategies amidst challenging market conditions. Deceuninck shares his experiences navigating promotions while driving category growth, emphasising the importance of a balanced approach towards promotions and long-term brand building.

Pressures are precious opportunities for Brand Growth

In his role, Deceuninck oversees a broad European portfolio encompassing various sectors like dairy, plant-based products, waters and specialised nutrition. His primary focus is to bring the consumer perspective into Danone’s strategy at European level to maximise opportunities and drive growth across Europe.

Reflecting on growth strategies, Deceuninck emphasises sustainable growth and understanding consumer behaviour; “We need to focus not only on what drives growth but also on what the driver behind the change is so it sustains,” he states. The pressures experienced during the pandemic and the cost of living crisis have forced consumers, shoppers and patients to make trade-offs. These choices have gradually led to a shift in the meaning of Danone’s categories and brands. “Within these turbulent contexts, it was critical for us at Danone to be agile and to capture a deeper understanding of how choices are made and what value people were giving to our categories and  brands.”

When market pressures are mounting, there are precious opportunities for brand growth that can be maximised through people-centricity, insights and strategic planning. “When shoppers start buying less or trading down, branded players must find a distinctive and valuable way to address the underlying need that gets gently redefined,” According to Deceuninck, the key to navigating such challenges effectively is to sustain penetration growth with stronger brand equity. “It’s about driving value-based pricing and finding the right balance in the value for money equation.” This holistic approach ensures that strategies are robust and adaptable to changing market dynamics.

“When shoppers start buying less or trading down, branded players must find a distinctive and valuable way to address the underlying need that gets gently redefined.”

The Role of Promotions in Brand Strategy

Agility and staying close to consumers in this changing situation are key ingredients in today’s business context. The ability to turn observations into insights that help to stimulate demand is an important skill and growth lever. Stimulating demand with promotions, in its broader sense, has a crucial role in driving brand growth. “In the context of the cost-of-living crisis where people are questioning the role or the added value of certain categories, promotions can play an important role for many reasons.” Promotions grab attention and remind shoppers of the category and brand’s essence. Promotions can also be the cherry on the cake for an activation idea, reflecting a win/ win/ win situation; addressing a key consumer need, driving traffic for retailers and amplifying the brand strategy whilst lifting value for money.

Effective promotional strategies in this current context go beyond the transactional nature of shopping. Investing in research & insights is critical to finding the right balance between what people are looking for in that moment with what will stimulate demand.

For brands with a higher price than average in the market, it is critical to show where you have an edge so that the value-for-money equation tips over in your favour. Effective promotional strategies contribute to this.

Whilst the focus should be on the consumer who pays the price at the end, an equal amount of effort should be put on the customer. “With your retail partner, it is important to understand how you can drive traffic to your category and how value is generated for flagship brands. Working out a collaborative promotional strategy is a way forward to drive a triple win for consumers, retailers and brands,” Deceuninck adds. Such promotions in partnership with retailers or customers can help in building stronger bonds as it shows that everyone is in this together.

“Working out a collaborative promotional strategy is a way forward to drive a triple win for consumers, retailers and brands.”

The Short and Long-Term Balance

Lastly, Deceuninck addresses the balance between short-term promotions and long-term brand equity building, he reiterates the necessity of a clear long-term vision. “Short- and long-term is a balance exercise that needs to happen across your growth levers. So promotional strategies are not an exception to this”. By understanding how short-term actions contribute to long-term goals, brands can use promotions effectively without undermining their long-term strategy.

“The beauty of all this is that our insight engine can push us one step ahead and can guide us to the best way forward to stimulate demand – even though there might be an overload of promotions in the market,” Deceuninck concludes.

“Short- and long-term is a balance exercise that needs to happen across your growth levers.”