Executive Summary
The Challenge:
Reverse the natural 30–50% winter decline in beer sales and grow market share, against strong premium brand competition.
The Insights:
Relaxation moments in winter are spontaneous and mission-driven - shopping for gatherings, quiet nights, or socializing triggers purchases, not just seasonality.
The Strategic Build:
Use predictive AI and real-time retail media to activate relaxation cravings before shopping and convert them in-store through dynamic omnichannel engagement.
Bringing the Strategy to Life:
Tailored mobile, app, screen, and radio activations dynamically aligned with life stages, shopping missions, and daypart behaviors to capture spontaneous purchase intent.
The Results:
Sales of 6-packs soared +69%, portfolio share rose +14%, and a +35% uplift was achieved in targeted stores - all during winter’s toughest season.
Introduction: Flipping the Script on Winter Beer Sales
Winter is traditionally a dead zone for beer sales in Romania.
Colder temperatures and uptrading behaviors toward premium brands leave mainstream beers fighting an uphill battle - with some suffering drops up to 50%.
Yet the human need for relaxation doesn’t vanish with the temperature.
From spontaneous gatherings to winding down after work, people still seek moments of comfort - and Ciucaș saw an opportunity.
By using Footprints AI’s predictive audience profiling, in-store media precision, and real-time campaign optimization, Ciucaș redefined the beer season - making its iconic 6-packs the effortless choice for everyday relaxation.
This is the story of how real relaxation met real results - and how retail media became a powerful growth engine when it mattered most.
Challenge, Context & Objectives
The Challenge: Winning in a Losing Season
Winter traditionally hits beer sales hard in Romania, with declines of 30% to 50% .
At the same time, December shoppers tend to uptrade to premium and premium-plus brands, intensifying the competition for mainstream labels like Ciucaș.
The additional challenges:
- Minimal price gaps between budget and premium options (just €0.20 ).
- Crowded seasonal noise from multiple FMCG promotions.
- Shifted consumer mindset: holiday planning, premiumization, not spontaneous purchases.
Against this backdrop, Ciucaș set three bold objectives:
- Grow 6-pack sales volumes significantly.
- Expand overall category share across its full portfolio.
- Strengthen brand loyalty to extend off-season gains beyond December.
The mission was not just to survive winter - it was to transform it into a season of spontaneous relaxation and easy-choice purchases, led by Ciucaș.
The Insight: Relaxation Isn't Planned - It’s Seized
The big strategic unlock was recognizing that real relaxation moments are impulsive, not planned:
"Relaxation is emotional, not scheduled. The right reminder, at the right moment, converts a thought into a purchase."
Traditional December beer marketing focuses on festive planning.
Ciucaș broke that mold by priming spontaneous occasions - tying brand activation not to holidays, but to everyday mini-celebrations:
- A free evening.
- Friends dropping by.
- A weekend without stress.
Examples of mission-driven triggers:
- After-work impulse buys captured through 5-7 PM digital screens and in-store radio spots.
- Family bulk buys nudged via daytime weekend slots with clear, easy relaxation messaging.
- App promotions timed to online browsing surges (e.g., Fridays after 4 PM).
Strategic Build: Omnichannel Activation Rooted in Real-World Behavior
The strategy was clear and powerful:
Meet relaxation needs where and when they naturally happen.
Predictive, Real-Time Strategy Components:
- Predict:
- Audience profiling based on life stages, missions, and basket data.
- Dynamic identification of likely relaxation-driven shoppers.
- Target:
- Mobile apps, retail websites, and Sponsored WhatsApp ads triggers before store visits.
- In-store screens and radio precisely during peak relaxation-shopping times.
- Convert:
- Short, bold creatives linking Ciucaș 6-packs directly to moments of relaxation.
- Measure and Optimize:
- Real-time tracking of SKU sales at Profi (after-work spikes) and Auchan (weekend spikes).
- Mid-campaign creative and spend adjustments to maximize impact.
Every element was rooted in behavior - not assumptions - turning Ciucaș into the natural, effortless choice at exactly the right time.
Bringing the Strategy & Idea to Life
Predictive Activation: From Craving to Cart
Footprints AI orchestrated Ciucaș’s retail media journey across three precision stages: sparking desire, guiding in-store purchase, and optimizing live based on behavior.
1. Mobile & App Priming (Pre-Store)
Before consumers even left home, relaxation triggers were planted:
- Retailer app homepages (Auchan, Profi) featured Ciucaș 6-pack banners during browsing peaks.
- Mobile app push notifications targeted after-work hours, prompting reminders like:
"Wind down your day. Grab your Ciucaș 6-pack on your way home."
- Retailer website placements surfaced during weekend event planning searches, linking bulk-buy to group relaxation.
2. In-Store Real-Time Activation
When shoppers arrived, Footprints AI dynamically adapted messaging based on behavior and timing:
- Digital Screens at Profi ramped frequency between 5–7 PM during after-work surges, when consumers were most relaxation-driven.
- In-Store Radio at Auchan activated weekend messaging tied to family gatherings and casual hosting moments.
- Dynamic Content Updates mid-campaign at Auchan focused more aggressively on multipack convenience themes when basket analysis revealed larger family stock-ups.
3. Real-Time Optimization
Throughout the campaign, SKU-level sales signals drove live adjustments:
- More screens and impressions shifted to Auchan as bulk-buying proved stronger than initially modeled.
- Lookalike retargeting reinforced brand recall post-purchase, increasing repeat relaxation-driven sales.
- Creative refreshed mid-flight based on surge points - new lines like:
"Ciucaș: Your Reward After a Long Day."
Dynamic Creative: Always Timed, Always Relevant
Every touchpoint carried the vivid, recognizable green Ciucaș branding, tied to the relaxation mindset:
Examples of Mission-Aligned Messaging:
- After-Work Impulse (Profi):
"Real Relaxation. Ready When You Are. Grab Your 6-Pack Tonight."
- Weekend Family Stock-Up (Auchan):
"Relax Together. Big Moments, Bigger Packs."
- Routine Shopping (Apps):
"Turn Your Weekend into a Relaxation Win. Ciucaș 6-Packs Now Available."
Creatives were short, emotional, and mission-specific - cutting through holiday clutter by offering a clear, immediate reason to act.
Channel Strategy: Precision Across Contexts
Rather than relying on volume, Ciucaș prioritized behavioral relevance at every media touchpoint:
This orchestrated approach ensured Ciucaș was always aligned with shoppers’ emotional states and missions - maximizing conversion without increasing media spend.
Results
Real-World Impact: Relaxation Sold, Targets Smashed
Ciucaș didn’t just survive the winter slump - it rewrote the rules for beer sales seasonality. The predictive retail media strategy, rooted in real shopping behaviors, delivered outstanding, measurable results:
Key Performance Highlights:
- Sales of 6-packs skyrocketed with more than 68%.
- Portfolio share climbed from 4.96% in November to 5.65% in December .
- Targeted stores recorded 35% higher sales uplift vs non-activated control stores .
- Every ad touchpoint - from mobile to mall screens - was tracked back to SKU-level impact with second-by-second precision.
How the Results Were Achieved
These numbers weren’t lucky - they were engineered through:
- Real-time predictive profiling of high-propensity relaxation shoppers.
- Omnichannel alignment at every consumer touchpoint: app, web, screen, radio.
- Dynamic live optimization, shifting investment to highest-converting locations, life stages, and missions mid-campaign.
- Full-funnel performance tracking, connecting impressions to purchases, cart size, and SKU velocity.
The success validated a fundamental truth:
"Retail media, when predictive and data-driven, can grow brands even in their toughest seasons."
Why It Matters
In a market where many brands resign themselves to seasonal slumps, Ciucaș proved there’s a better way:
Own the emotional moment, predict the behavior, activate when it matters most.
- Real Relaxation became a competitive advantage.
- Data-driven omnichannel precision became the growth lever.
- Footprints AI’s real-time media-to-sales platform became the engine that turned winter into a winning season.
For brands seeking not just visibility, but measurable, profitable retail growth, this model sets a new benchmark.
Related Case Studies
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- How Amstel Beat a Declining Beer Market with Store-Segmented Omnichannel Retail Media
- How Coca-Cola Turned Streaming Night into a Measurable Growth Territory with Retail Media
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