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.
