Local Marketing Partners Media Pack (January 2025) by A_F_Blakemore

Media Pack 2025

Enabling brands to reach our customers and retailers, delivering key promotional messages where it counts.

Welcome to A.F. Blakemore Local Marketing Partners

As a valued Supplier, we are continually looking for ways to work with you to maximise product sales and grow our market share in every category, whether that’s within B2C or B2B retail spaces.

Since its hugely successful introduction in 2017, A.F. Blakemore Local Marketing Partners (LMP) has worked with over 200 Suppliers, helping to deliver impactful sales driving campaigns, build brand and promotional awareness, and strengthen our ongoing relationships with customers and retailers.

With the retail landscape constantly evolving, it’s more important now than ever to take advantage of new media channels and elevate your brand among the hundreds out there. The right marketing solutions really can get results, with customers and independent retailers alike.

Introducing: A.F. Blakemore LMP. Our offer has evolved to include an even wider portfolio of media touchpoints, together with the expertise to use them most effectively, all via one point of contact.

We’ll share with you the details on an extensive line-up of media channels that are now available, to maximise your brand exposure across all Blakemore Retail owned stores and Blakemore Trade Partners independent stores.

At A.F. Blakemore LMP, we provide our Suppliers with a cost-efficient and powerful way of motivating our customers and retailers, delivering key messages where it counts; in their homes, on their way to store and right up to the point of purchase. Communicating with our customers, retailers and in-store staff has never been easier.

Your A.F. Blakemore Trading team have a LMP Media Specialist ready to help you find new and innovative ways to showcase your products. Our team are committed to matching your objectives with our media, and together, shape a plan that delivers results. Get in touch to create a solution that works for your brands and objectives, within our stores, aimed at our retailers and customers.

We look forward to working with you!

Sarah Ellis Group Marketing Director

Who is A.F. Blakemore?

A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd, through their Blakemore Retail owned stores and Blakemore Trade Partners independent stores, are the largest shareholder within SPAR UK. We

Blakemore Retail owned stores

Accounts)

Why invest with us?

Maximise your brand exposure

A.F. Blakemore LMP presents our Suppliers with the opportunity to activate through-the-line campaigns, NPD launches and promotional offers, using our extensive variety of media channels.

Streamline your sales campaign

The A.F. Blakemore LMP team will co-ordinate between the Trading team, Trade Partners, and Marketing team to ensure we always deliver the best possible media campaigns to meet your brief. The team will provide an end-to-end service: creating a campaign plan, recommending the most effective media within budget, co-ordinating the marketing logistics, and ensuring accurate and timely execution.

Increase your in store impact

Your dedicated Media Specialist will act as a single point of contact for all brand communication activity, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge in retail, media, print and experiential marketing.

Suppliers

Suppliers confirm listings, promotional timings, pricing and all category-led campaigns with the Trading team. They can engage with LMP team to plan media campaigns to support these plans.

Note: All listing, ranging, space and commercial agreements must be completed via the Trading team – media agreements may not affect these agreements.

Local Marketing Partners

Local Marketing Partners works with Suppliers to plan and execute media campaigns, providing cost-effective strategies to reach our customers and retailers.

Stores

Our Stores work closely with Local Marketing Partners to ensure that all campaigns align with the A.F. Blakemore selling plan. This ensures consistent and effective communication with our customers.

Levels of Branding

80% of people remember what they see, compared to just 20% of what they read.

The human brain is built for visual information. It takes only 13 milliseconds for the human brain to process an image, which is around 60,000 times faster than to process text. This means that showcasing quality pack shots of your products on media channels can positively impact customer behaviour.

Local Marketing Partners offers two key levels of branding for highlighting new products, promotions, and campaigns. Both options are designed for visual impact, and can include pack shots

Pack Shot & Price

Pro-actively interrupt our customers’ shopping journey with a bold price promotion and product image. The inclusion of a pack shot will make sure your message stands out.

Fully Supplier Branded

Help customers engage with your brand message and ATL campaign by using your own look and feel. Fully supplier branded artwork allows you to communicate in a consistent creative format, right up to the point of purchase.

Please note that all prices will be displayed in accordance with the SPAR brand guidelines. Please be aware that some media options are only available at a ‘Pack shot & Price’ design level.

Available Media Channels

Choose from over 70 individual media opportunities, both physical and digital, to help you communicate with potential customers and retailers. Each media opportunity can be optimised to meet your specific marketing objectives, whether that be brand awareness, category consideration, or product engagement. Through single- or multi-channel activation, we’ll help you tailor the campaign to your timeline, budget and KPIs, giving you complete flexibility.

AroundtheStore

Touchpoints

Our media opportunities cover a wide range of customer touchpoints, helping you to keep your brand front of mind and influence the customers’ and retailers shopping journey, from in their homes right up to the point of purchase.

At Home

The customer journey begins before they have even stepped foot in store. That’s why we offer a variety of opportunities for brands to connect with customers in their own homes.

Facebook Page

Utilise our direct relationship with thousands of customers, connecting with them through Facebook posts showcasing promotions and NPD.

Customer Magazine

Increase brand and product awareness with our quarterly magazine. Supplied free to customers, it provides quality editorial content and inspiring imagery with a circulation of over 95,000.

Around the Store

Over 75% of decision making happens once customers are in store. It is therefore vital that marketing messages are communicated around the store, keeping your brand and offer front of mind.

Ambient & BWS Stack card

Side Rack Header

EPU Side Rack Panel

EPU Header

Attract customers and increase product pick-up with visual media designed for gondola ends.

Note: Fully branded option must be signed off before confirmation of booking.

EPUs and Side Racks

We offer media and pricing to match the merchandising for our EPU and Side Racks, plus full ‘Take-overs’ of the media to capture the eyes and minds of the customer

Event Stand / Red Stand

Enhance your event stand with brand messaging and event information, aligned to our selling plan each period.

Pop Up Standees / Totems

Capture additional customers by providing your own branded stand, to be positioned in high footfall areas of the store.

Floor Vinyl

Maintain your brand message throughout the customer journey with a promotional floor vinyl.

In-store Radio

Reach thousands of customers every day, increasing their brand and product awareness, enhancing their shopping experience and directing them to your products wherever they are in store.

In the Aisle

70% of all buying decisions are made at the point of purchase. Our media opportunities will make sure that your messages stand out where it really matters, capitalising on the last opportunity to influence customer decisions.

Aisle / Chiller Fin

Stand out in the aisle with a POS option that will enable you to signpost your offer from most places in the store.

Wobblers

Increase promotional awareness with wobblers, strategically positioned to stand out at the point of purchase.

Bus Stop

Catch the customer’s eye with bus stops that stand out at a 90˚ angle from the shelf, drawing customers towards the fixture from both sides.

Chiller and Freezer Vinyl

Disrupt the customer during their decision-making process with stickers that highlight the products inside our chillers and freezers.

‘New’ Enhancer

Draw attention to your new product and add a point of difference within the aisle, using non-branded, clip-on POS items.

Front of Store

Our till points are the most visited place by our customers, who will all pass through when making their purchase. This high-traffic area is key for brand messaging, influencing the 62% of shoppers that will pick up items on impulse.

Active Sell

Support our in-store staff who are communicating your promotion at the till point, with an informative A4 card.

Window Vinyl

Drive footfall, awareness and product sales with window vinyl that can reach both customers and passing traffic.

Chip and Pin Surround Communicate brand messages, taking advantage of the high and growing number of customers opting to pay by card transaction.

Counter Mat

Increase the visibility of your campaign with a counter mat that will be seen by every purchasing customer.

Till Screen Card

Drive impulse purchases with branding placed on or around till screens.

Instore Digital Media

Digital signage is an electronic display platform that can be used for advertising, building brand awareness, and delivering important information about products and services via high-quality graphics and videos*.

*(Christine Kendall, Content Marketing Manager, Poppulo, 2019)

Gantry Media Screens

Positively influence customers at the Point-of-Purchase. Situated behind the payment area in stores reaching each and every visiting customer.

Floor Mounted Digital Screens

Large 43” full motion digital units at strategic locations at the store entrance. Drive impulse purchases, brand awareness and point of decision.

Retailer Communications

As SPAR’s largest operator in the UK, A.F. Blakemore stores have over 1,000 store owners and managers, plus 13,000 members of staff who interact with our customers on a daily basis. Keeping everyone informed and engaged is just as important as speaking to customers when it comes to your success within our stores.

Retailer Communications

Reaching and engaging our independent store owners is a key challenge for all brands to ensure strong distribution across all AFB stores. We have recently updated our platform to increase the engagement with our retailers through improved look and feel, plus extended access to deeper analytics and customer-journey tracking. This is a closed website for those with log-ins, thus reaching retailers only. All advertising will now be seen by all log-ins irrelevant of device used.

A rotating banner at the top of the homepage, providing immediate impact.

BTP Homepage Full Page Pop Up

Seen once by each retailer, each 24 hours immediately after log-in. Once clicked on goes through to relevant product page.

BTP Homepage Carousel Banner

BTP

Large Advert Banner / BTP Small Advert Banner

Placed below the fold, in a combination of 4.

BTP Category Banner

A rotating banner that is seen on all Category, Department, Commodity and Sub-commodity groups, as the retailers shop the site.

BTP Push Notification

Pushed to all device types and desktop users as a notification

Retailer Communications

Promo X

Engage our in-store staff with a full-page advert in our merchandising booklet for AFB Retail Stores.

POS Pack Briefing

Highlight key information to our in-store staff by providing a branded leaflet within POS packs.

Shop Window

Engage our in-store staff with a full-page advert in one of our merchandising booklets, distributed to all A.F. Blakemore Retail or A.F. Blakemore Trade Partners stores. These are updated each promotional period.

How it Works

If you’re ready to get started with your media campaign, simply follow our three-step approach, from initial discussion through to expert execution.

Make a booking

1 2 3

Ready to kick things off? Get in touch with your Local Marketing Partners Media Specialist. They will take you through your media options and discuss with you any associated deadlines and rates. Then it’s time to make a campaign plan and agree everything in principle. Once media agreement has been reached, e-signature documents will need to be completed.

Create your marketing materials

The Local Marketing Partners Media Campaign team will get cracking with the campaign execution process. For all Pack shot & Price bookings, our team will manage the full creative process, including design and utilisation of relevant product shots. For any Fully Supplier Branded bookings, you will be provided with our corporate design templates and guidelines. In both cases, we will manage the full print and production process, unless agreed otherwise.

Activate your campaign

Once everything is approved by all teams within A.F. Blakemore, we will activate your campaign through the agreed media channels. Our field based teams, will oversee all implementation requirements alongside store teams, to ensure effective execution.. The Local Marketing Partners team will manage all communications and briefings for every campaign.

Key Supporting Documents

Artwork and creative should be supplied in the correct format and the lead times must be upheld for the campaign to go live on time. Missed deadlines may delay the campaign start date and/or incur additional charges. Once a media booking is complete, it is the responsibility of the advertiser to send in the relevant artwork in line with the specifications and deadlines

Get in Touch

Our Local Marketing Partners team come from a variety of backgrounds and bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience. They’ll work closely with you to plan and execute your campaign in order to meet your promotional objectives.

If you’d like to find out more and get the ball rolling with your new campaign, simply get in touch with the team.

We look forward to working with you!

Figures quoted in this Media Pack are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.

Commercial terms and agreements on space need to be conducted separately with the Trading team. Media does not guarantee space, and space does not guarantee any media.