5. Analysis
5.1 Brand Analysis – The Irma Brand in Denmark
5.1.4 Irma’s Culture
In placing the primary emphasis on people, the realization of the slogan is that without people Irma would not exist, and this is true not only for Irma’s employees but also for other stakeholders such as Irma’s customers (Josefsen 2004). In addition, the fact that Josefsen puts people in the center of things and thus recognize their importance sends a very strong and very clear message both internally and externally – namely, we trust our employees to do a good job and provide you with a superior offering and service.
In fact, Josefsen puts the primary emphasis on Irma’s employees rather than on Irma’s customers, which at first may appear a bit counterintuitive. The reason for this is that he believes that by creating a positive and open working environment for his employees, their resulting job satisfaction will shine through for Irma’s customers. This enthusiasm will create satisfied customers, which in turn will have a positive impact on store performance, further reinforcing employee morale. Hence the slogan and the management ideology supporting it function as a self‐reinforcing process.
5.1.1.2.1 It’s All About People – the Impact on Branding
According to Foster (2001), having a memorable slogan is very important both internally and externally. Irma’s slogan, It’s all about people, would appear to be memorable, however it is primarily communicated internally (see appendix 5). Indeed, in the interview with Gitte Matzen (2009) we got the sense that the It’s all about
people ideology does indeed thrive within the organization. However, internal brand awareness is only one part of the communication process, and we therefore strongly suggest that Irma should use the slogan more actively in the marketing of their stores (see section 5.1.1.3 Store Environments), as the slogan was not visible in any of the stores that we visited as part of our store observations (see appendix 5).
Communicating the slogan externally could also support significant differentiation, particularly considering the positioning of the vast majority of Irma’s competitors on this subject. In fact, it would be quite natural to highlight this element of Irma’s overall positioning as part of their offering is indeed superior service provided by knowledgeable and helpful employees. What makes the slogan strong is that It’s all about people can thus relate to both employees and customers. However, on the other hand, the slogan does not explicitly link to Irma, which can weaken the slogan significantly if consumers are not aware of which product or service is actually being advertised (Foster 2001).
5.1.1.3 Store Environments
In order to analyze the branding impact of Irma’s stores we need to include both the internal firm perspective, i.e. marketers’ efforts to create an environment that supports the brand experience, and the external customer perspective, i.e. customers’
own consumption experiences.
The retail store functions both as a distribution channel and as an environment where customers can experience the brand. In other words, the Irma stores are one of the brandspheres where Irma has the possibility to intensively expose customers to the Irma brand in a positive way. Thus, the stores are a vehicle for Irma to clearly communicate the Irma brand identity to their customers, as store design is a parameter that is completely controlled by the firm. Of course, having said this, it is vital that Irma actively measure and track the convergence between brand identity as they wish to project it and brand image as received and internalized by the customer.
Today Irma has 79 stores in Zealand (5 of them being Irma City stores), 1 in Fyn, and 3 in Jutland (www.irma.dk). With the penetration of markets outside of Zealand, the Irma brand is presented to a growing number of customers who meet and personally experience the brand. Due to the fact that the size of the stores vary from a large grocery store format to that of a small convenience store, customers’ shopping motives as well as the purposes of the stores can vary, ranging from a store that meets all of a customer’s shopping needs to a store that is meant to supplement a customer’s other shopping (www.irma.dk).
From the observations we conducted in five Irma stores (see appendix 5), it can be asserted that the diverging store sizes influence how the brand is perceived. The smaller stores (e.g. Irma Valby Langgade) appear much more compact and crowded, and one has an almost claustrophobic feeling due to the low ceilings and quite long and narrow aisles that you experience when navigating through the store. These stores are also darker and rather dated in their appearance. Conversely, the larger stores (e.g.
Irma Roskilde, Irma Oslo Plads, Kbh. Ø) have high ceilings, are lighter, and one is inspired to wander pleasantly in store due to the overall layout and spaciousness between the aisles. In particular, large departments for wine and organic vegetables and fruit are presented in a very attractive way and almost draw the customer in to take a closer look.
The size of the stores and the store design and layout thus influence how customers perceive the Irma brand, which accentuates the importance of the role of the stores in creating a positive brand image. The wide range of store formats thus risks causing some confusion about Irma’s identity and the brand because the customer experiences are so dissimilar in the different store formats. The unresolved challenge for Irma is thus to align the brand expression of their stores and ensure that each Irma store communicates the same brand identity to customers despite the diverging available space.
In March 2009 Irma launched their flagship store which is located in the basement of Illum on Strøget. According to Josefsen, this store represents the quality supermarket
of the future and the ultimate counterattack against the wave of discounting that is flourishing at the moment (www.irma.dk). Besides offering various specialties, a broad selection of wine, new health oriented products, delicious ready to eat meals, and fresh fruits and vegetables, the Irma flagship store contains an extensive cheese department, which is quite significant in light of the failure of many traditional cheese stores during the last few years (www.irma.dk). Overall the store is very inspiring, and in particular its offering, positioning and brand identity are diametrically opposed to those of the smaller Irma stores (see appendix 5). Clearly the flagship store draws much more fully on the experiential elements of brandscaping (Sherry 1998) and brand image development. Not coincidentally, the Irma brand is also exposed more extensively in comparison to the standard Irma stores, for instance through the use of large logos printed directly on the walls (see appendix 6).
5.1.1.3.1 Store Environments’ Influence on the Brand
Based on our observations, the broad variety in store standards, owing to variation in store size, spaciousness, lighting, the height of ceilings, product and brand presentation, sends diverging messages to stakeholders about Irma’s identity and brand in general. In particular, the brand expressions in store are misaligned causing unnecessary brand confusion, and the brand messages customers receive are dependent on the visited store. Clearly, this does not support the development of a unified and well communicated brand. In fact, it undermines the actual brand potential and we strongly recommend that Irma gives much more consideration to harmonizing its store experiences independent of the actual store format. This could for example be done through visual cues (the use of quality materials, lighting, etc.). Without a doubt, some of the stores we visited require a facelift if they are to correctly support Irma’s desired brand image.
Beyond the need to more fully align the presentation of the brand as based on store experience, we also feel that Irma is overlooking the importance of their control of the store environment to more firmly anchor the brand in the customer’s mind. For
instance, while the logo was prominently and intriguingly presented on the walls of their flagship store, we felt that the logo’s visibility was far too limited in the other locations. Likewise, as already mentioned, Irma’s slogan is entirely absent from the store environments (see appendix 5). As the It’s all about people philosophy is an underpinning element of both Irma’s offering and their brand identity, we feel that it could be used very advantageously in store to support and differentiate the brand. For example, if employees wore buttons with the slogan it would both send a certain very real message to the customers and give employees the potential opportunity to explain what it means to them if asked. See section 5.1.4.4 Irma’s Vision & Mission for a further discussion of instore brand experiences.
balance which offers a specially selected range of organic products with superior taste (www.irma.dk). The product assortment is thus utilized in expressing the retailer’s values of e.g. high quality and environmental and social consideration.
In fact, Irma was the first retail chain in Denmark to take a serious step towards endorsing organic products. Together with their focus on high quality, organic products are part of Irma’s ambition to offer a strong counterbalance to the heavy focus on discounting in the Danish grocery retail market (www.irma.dk). Nevertheless, it is important to underscore that one cannot necessarily always equate ecological products with quality. In this regard, Hans Christian Ipland, the purchasing manager for Irma, states that superior flavor and quality will always come before ecology (Børsen 2008.05.22), despite Irma’s strong focus on organic products.
5.1.1.4.1 The Product Assortment as a Brand Differentiator
The targeted positioning of the PLs in Irma’s product assortment differentiates the retailer in the fiercely competitive grocery market by supporting and reinforcing the firm’s strong values and thus providing additional congruence and meaning to the brand. Of course most other grocery retailers are also producing PLs, and consequently the extent of the differential effect of Irma’s PLs could be diminished. However, Irma is one of the few retailers who has positioned their PLs uniquely in the premium segment, thus further stimulating the quality dimension of the Irma brand and its differentiation.
Together with their other high quality products, Irma’s PLs function as a driver for building stronger and closer brand‐customer relationships (see section 5.1.3 Relationship) due to their uniqueness and unilateral means of distribution, i.e. the Irma stores. In fact, Irma’s PLs have become one of the retailer’s main points of differentiation (Matzen 2009), arousing increased customer loyalty which strengthens the brand and improves brand equity.
5.1.1.5 Irma’s Website and Weekly Advertisement
During the last few years Irma has experienced a doubling of online visitors and the interest in the retailer’s website has thereby increased significantly (Børsen 2008.03.11). This development should however be regarded in light of the fact that more and more people in the Copenhagen area want to be spared the barrage of weekly paper advertisements (www.irma.dk). In fact, as 46% of the residents of Amager no longer want to receive them, Irma has decided to end the distribution of the weekly advertisements there effective Mai 2009 (www.irma.dk).
However, Irma’s advertisements are still an important communication vehicle and they will not be abandoned. Rather, perhaps over time they will be distributed via another channel, i.e. exclusively online (www.irma.dk). This form of distribution will also be more environmentally friendly and at a lower cost. Irma expects that the weekly advertisements will become an outdated phenomenon within the next couple of years, which supports the retailer’s heavy focus on extending their online universe (Børsen 2008.03.11).
Due to these broader societal trends, Irma has done a lot to improve and expand their website (Børsen 2008.03.11) and the online focus of the firm has in general become more extensive. Besides displaying weekly promotions online, Irma presents its general product assortment, inspirational recipes, and other general information about the retailer, as well as the functionality for users to create individual shopping lists.
Despite these online improvements, online grocery shopping is not yet possible but it may be an option in the future (Matzen 2009). For the moment, Irma still recognizes the importance of the physical store (Børsen 2008.03.11) where the retailer is in direct physical contact with customers. This perspective enhances Irma’s possibilities for influencing the shopping experience that customers have, and in this manner Irma is able to more directly guide ‐ or manipulate, if you will ‐ customers towards subjective and memorable brand experiences through the utilization of various marketing activities and cues such as store layout, special offers, signs and banners, smells, lightning, and other techniques which stimulate the customers’ senses.
5.1.1.5.1 A New Brand Challenge
In relation to broader societal changes directing greater consumer attention online, the main challenge for Irma, as for other retailers, is that online services and features require customers to be personally active in selecting or clicking through to Irma’s website. This may require the retailer to create new channels of customer communication as the importance of offline weekly advertising diminishes. One example might include a personalized email each week of potentially interesting specials based on the customer’s past purchasing behavior. Such an email could actually be in a ‘magazine’ format and also include recipes based on the weekly specials, as well as stories highlighting the origin and quality of the products. Given Irma’s positioning, not only does the firm actually have stories to tell, but such a concept would fit well with their brand values of superior quality and service. In addition, such an approach could fit well with the expectations and online habits of the firm’s various target segments.
5.1.1.6 Krydderiet
Krydderiet is Irma’s customer‐focused magazine, which offers a broad selection of inspirational reading ranging from articles about Irma and the retailer’s products to new recipes and ads that emphasize Irma’s various priorities such as ecology and fair trade. The magazine is free of charge and can be obtained at Irma’s stores (www.irma.dk).
5.1.1.6.1 Leveraging the Brand
Krydderiet provides Irma with the possibility to promote not only certain products, but also much more importantly the image and identity of the Irma brand more generally.
From the customer’s perspective Krydderiet is a magazine with inspirational articles and ideas for new food experiments in the kitchen. The magazine thus functions as a
medium for communicating Irma’s identity and brand values in a more indirect and engaging manner. This is possible as the purpose of the magazine is less clearly promotional than, for instance, Irma’s weekly advertisements, and thus it can engage consumers at a different level, while at the same time potentially bypassing certain
‘brand defenses’. Thus, Krydderiet should not be underestimated as an Irma‐customer communication vehicle and as a means for leveraging the brand in the minds of customers by creating brand associations and recognition as well as placing the brand in customers’ consideration sets (Keller 1993).
5.1.1.7 The Brand Experience
Based on these physical elements of the Irma brand, it is possible to conclude that Irma communicates physically through various channels and thereby increases the possibility of reaching a broader spectrum of customers. The experience (Sherry 1998;
Pine & Gilmore 1998) that customers have with the brand is thus influenced by these numerous channels, e.g. retail stores and weekly advertisements, which accentuates the importance of communicating a unified brand identity. Thus, since the misalignment of store brand expressions creates extremely dissimilar brand experiences, it damages Irma’s brand by creating confusion over Irma’s brand identity and resulting brand image in the mind of the consumer. At the same time, we fully acknowledge that the larger Irma stores, e.g. Irma Oslo Plads, Kbh. Ø. and Irma Roskilde, do indeed successfully communicate Irma’s brand identity via inspiring store environments, nicely presented fresh categories, an emphasis on environmentally friendly and fair trade products, and other cues and brand elements. Therefore in order to establish a coherent brand identity, the smaller and less appealing Irma stores must be raised to Irma’s own internal standards. Together with the increased use of key brand cues, such as the logo and slogan, this will ultimately create a more unified and more firmly anchored customer brand experience (Sherry 1998).
As mentioned in section 2. Methodology, Irma’s brand personality is examined by applying association tests. The results are presented and discussed below.
5.1.2.1 Results of the Open‐Ended Association Tests
During the association tests it became obvious that customers have different perceptions of Irma’s personality. However, when asking the customers to explain their answers, most of them gave close to the same response – at least there was a tendency among participants to highlight very similar associations. Specifically, there was overall consistency among the 8 participants living in the Copenhagen area, although the answers of the two participants from Jutland (Århus) were somewhat divergent. We explain this based on the fact that Irma, until recently, has not been present in Jutland. Irma opened their first store in Århus April 15th, 2008. The customers from Jutland were, in all likelihood, therefore not as familiar as the Zealanders with the Irma concept, the store’s history or the retailer’s brand identity.
While we find it very interesting that even within a country as small as Denmark there exist such differing opinions, examining differences between Jutland and Zealand is not the focus of this paper. We therefore focus predominately on the 8 responses from the Zealanders since we find their answers more relevant for this thesis.
The five personalities listed below categorize the answers from the test, and they illustrate the fact that the participants’ perceptions of Irma overlapped substantially.
From the results of the test, it appears that the customers have assigned a personality to Irma based on their perceptions of a profile of the stereotypical Irma customer.
After each personality an explanation is provided which synthesizes the reasons given as to why each respondent associated Irma with the specific personality. The participants defined Irma’s personalities as presented in Table 11.
Table 11 – Irma’s Personalities
Personalities Explanations The Irma girl
(most likely because this is the visual element of the Irma brand)
She is very feminine, sweet and inviting (reflective of Irma’s superior service), trustworthy (partly because of Irma’s history and association with country values), and she is very quality aware (also reflective of country freshness and values).
An older woman from the upper‐class
She is older and well dressed, and a bit snobby (based on the fact that Irma for many years attracted the older segment of the population and most often people with money – as well as the fact that the majority of the stores in terms of layout and design were dark and old‐fashion looking). The fact that she is well dressed has, according to the participant, something to do with the high prices and the significant variety available at Irma – and these in fact drive why the participant chooses to shop at Irma, namely because she wants good quality and can afford it.
A connoisseur He does not necessarily belong to the high income segment; however, he is most often well educated. Most off all, he is very particular about quality and he studies the different products on the market in order to find the best.
He does not necessarily buy a lot; however, the few things that he buys are all within the category of ‘the best’!
A wealthy woman who cares about eating healthfully, trying new things and staying in good shape
This woman is very concerned about eating the right things (Irma’s core value is to provide the customers with superior quality). She is a big fan of organic, and she believes that you are what you eat. She is well educated. She only buys healthy products and she makes sure that the products she buys are fresh and ripe (also a must for Irma). Since she is
mostly concerned about eating well (low fat) and exercising, she only does her grocery shopping at Irma.
Other things such as toilet paper, toothpaste and cleaning supplies are purchased elsewhere.
The “hippie” This person (often pedagogue, teacher, environment activist, etc.) is not particularly well off, however she is very concerned about the environment (Irma has a large assortment of organic products) and she wishes to support and promote an equalitarian society where everybody is treated well. She therefore also buys many fair‐trade products (Irma wishes to support fair‐trade around the world and therefore they offer many products that are sold and produced under fair conditions). She does not believe in abundance and will only buy what she needs. Politically she is on the left (possibly SF).
5.1.2.2 Irma’s Personality
Based on the above described associations that customers have with Irma and her personality, some personal traits and characteristics can be linked to Irma’s personality. Especially, one characteristic appears to be defining the personality. In particular customers tend to see Irma as the essence of good quality, which as stated, is one of the retailer’s main goals. So Irma’s personality can particularly be linked to the personal trait of sophistication (McGoldrick 2002). As stated in the theory, creating a personality for a brand can be very effective (Aaker 1996), and on basis of the conducted association tests we can thus conclude that Irma has been relatively good at creating such a personality for their brand that corresponds to the retail offering.
In addition to surfacing and describing the personality of a brand, the association test can also help in understanding the ‘reflection’ and ‘self‐image’ facets of the Prism. In particular, as stated in the theory, this is because consumers tend to chose brands
whose brand personality fits most closely to both their own internalized self‐image and the personality they wish to project. All the participants in the brand personality association tests were very dedicated Irma customers, they all appreciated the high quality that Irma offers, and in describing the brand personality, it was clear that they had both internalized and resonated with Irma’s brand identity.
grocery retailer market. Irma has thus managed to create a distinctive retail offering in that customers know that quality is never compromised when purchasing groceries at Irma (Matzen 2009). Customers rely on Irma to live up to this promise as they return to Irma over and over again to do their weekly grocery shopping. Irma is thus trustworthy when it comes to delivering high quality groceries.
5.1.3.2 Brand Meaning
In the second step on the branding ladder (Keller 2001), Irma has to create brand meaning and communicate it to customers. Specifically, Irma must ensure that the brand performance lives up to customer expectations and that it creates a positive brand image.
When determining the brand performance especially the product assortment has a great impact. In particular Irma seeks to create brand meaning through a continued emphasis on superior product quality and through the expression of the retailer’s strong opinions concerning organic products (Irmas økologisk balance), environmentally compatible products (Irma tusindfryd – products that are Svanemærket) and ethics (fair trade) (www.irma.dk). These strong attitudes indicate that Irma cares – about the environment, people and animals – and that the sole purpose of Irma and the meaning of its brand is not pure economic bottom line profit but something much more (Matzen 2009) – despite the fact that it may seem a bit self‐
righteous. These durable beliefs form a solid foundation for creating brand meaning and ultimately sustainable customer‐brand relationship because Irma demonstrates that the firm cares about the wellbeing of her customers and their surroundings. Thus, Irma’s strong opinions clarify brand meaning, communicate firm values, and represent a solid element on the firm’s brand identity.
Another element that contributes to the creation of brand meaning, influence on the overall performance of the brand, and ultimately the relationship between a customer and Irma is the firm’s private labels. While these products support the values of the business they also function as a differentiator. As the PLs are only available at Irma, to
the extent that they meet or exceed customers’ needs they create the opportunity for establishing heartfelt and durable customer loyalty. The challenge for Irma, however, is that PLs have traditionally been of inferior quality and lower price compared to national brands (Anselmsson, Johansson & Persson 2007) – but this is not true at all in Irma’s case. In fact Irma’s PLs often represent just the opposite – i.e. superior quality at a price premium – and it is a challenge for Irma to help customers appreciate this (Matzen 2009). If this challenge is overcome, and so far prospects look promising, Irma’s PLs should help to promote both more loyal customers and unique brand‐
customer relationships.
Personnel are also an essential dimension in the creation of brand meaning and the brand performance as they represent the brand and interact with customers. Likewise personnel are vital to the service offering, and Irma is very aware of this as they are focused on hiring and developing helpful, friendly and service‐minded store personnel (see appendix 5). In particular, the check‐out assistants are very important as they are often the sole person that customers interact with during a store visit, and therefore they become both the face of the firm and the touchpoint with respect to the customer experience (Matzen 2009).
A part of crafting brand meaning implies creating a positive brand image in the customer mind (Keller 1993, 2001). As has been revealed in The Customer Value Hierarchy (appendix 18), it appears that there is relatively good consistency between how customers perceive the brand and how the retailers wish to project its brand. In addition, the conducted association tests also support this finding (see section 5.1.2 Personality). The general characteristic that describes the brand is superior product quality and this is also the element that customers tend to value and associate with the Irma brand. Additionally, brand meaning becomes further enhanced as customers regard the performance and social risks as low (see section 5.1.5 Reflection). The Irma brand thus becomes a parameter in which customers mirror their individual personality and self‐image, and express their values of exclusiveness due to the premium brand (see section 5.1.5 Reflection). The brand meaning is thus both