ALDI

Challenge: ALDI prospects perceived the discount grocer as a provider of low-quality food because the brand positioned itself solely on price. ALDI’s shopping experience strengthened misperceptions due to eccentricities like selling only unknown store brands, requiring shoppers to “rent” carts with a quarter and making customers bag their own groceries.

Insight: ALDI never explained how it’s able to provide low-priced products without sacrificing quality, so prospects were making up the only story that made sense to them: ALDI’s prices were low because quality was too. ALDI needed to demystify the brand by owning its story.

Strategic Approach:

• Research Phase I: I conducted in-store research to gain deeper insight into prospects’ misperceptions. I leveraged these insights to create positioning territories for overcoming barriers, collaborating with a creative team to bring them to life in the form of brand stories that explained the magic of ALDI: the brand’s perceived eccentricities reduced operating costs, and it passed savings onto customers.

• Research Phase II: I shared the brand stories with prospects in focus groups, and their perception of ALDI immediately shifted. Before they were exposed to the brand stories, they described ALDI as a “dirty, cold and embarrassing grocer that sold generic, low-quality and cheap food staples.” After we shared the brand stories, they described ALDI as an “inviting, caring grocer that sold a variety of fresh, organic and high-quality products.”

• Validation and Creation: I worked with ALDI’s agency partners to validate and build on my focus group learnings, which served as the foundation of its new positioning. I then led go-to-market strategy and execution across digital channels.

New Positioning
Different for a Reason - ALDI adds care to deliver a unique shopping experience that means you don’t have to compromise

Positioning Territories/Brand Stories: