The history of field marketing
The UK field marketing industry currently employs in excess of 15,000 staff through over 30 companies with a combined billing of approximately £350 million.
Field Marketing can trace its origins back to the 1930’s when independent retailers were still a major force in British retailing and the novel idea of ‘self service’ had yet to hatch.
Consequently, there were a few small companies that would visit these outlets on behalf of manufacturers to leverage the valuable space on the ‘counter’ over which all products were served. Placement in the prime position on the counter invariably led to increased impulse purchases, an entity that has now come full circle.
With the development of the major multiple supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsbury that grew rapidly during the l960’s and 1970’s, the emphasis switched towards representation at store level. This led to the establishment of four companies providing merchandisers, tactical salesforces and sampling.
It was in the late 1970’s that the multiples introduced planograms, which reduced the opportunity to negotiate for space locally, this also resulted in a shift towards more sales related activities. During this time, the number of manufacturers turning to outsourced sales and merchandising teams increased and so too has the number of Field Marketing.
The services of the industry further developed into auditing, mystery shopping and event management to name but a few, and large outsourcing contracts became common between the major FMCG manufacturers and the Field Marketing. As the ability of the field marketing industry diversified to encompass more disciplines, the emphasis moved back to the independent sector. Manufacturers realised this sector still has a significant contribution to make in terms of volume and profit. This caused exponential growth in the industry in value terms where the industry has been growing at a rate of 25% year on year.
A further milestone in the industry came in 1997 with the deregulation of utilities and field marketing moving into doorstep selling. This activity alone is estimated to have contributed in excess of £40m to the industry.
