The campaign built to excite a consumer is almost never the campaign that gets a retailer’s buying team to commit real support. Those are two different audiences with two different questions, and most brands only ever build for one of them.
Consumers and buyers are asking different questions
A consumer is asking “is this for me?” A buyer is asking “will this move enough units, fast enough, to justify the space and the media I’m being asked to commit?” A beautifully emotive consumer campaign can leave that second question completely unanswered — and unanswered questions get a smaller commitment, not a bigger one.
What a retailer version actually contains
It’s shorter, blunter, and heavier on numbers: a forecast, a media plan with real budget attached, a clear launch week promotional mechanic, and a read on how the campaign will perform in search and on the retailer’s own site specifically, not just broad social reach. It’s built to be forwarded internally by the buyer, not just watched.
Build both from the start, not one adapted from the other
Retrofitting a consumer campaign into a retailer pitch after the fact almost always shows — the numbers feel bolted on rather than central. Brands that plan both versions from day one consistently get better first-week support, because the buyer version was built to answer their exact question, not repurposed from something else.
Planning a launch and want the retailer-facing version built properly from the start?
Steven Woodgate, Founder, Emmer Green — former Head of Category (Technology), John Lewis & Partners; former senior commercial leadership roles at Samsung, Dell Technologies and Microsoft.
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