With everyone apparently “feeling the pinch” discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have seen year on year sales rise by 13% and 20% respectively.

It’s the perfect time for Aldi and Lidl to increase marketing activity. With more of their shoppers coming from the middle classes, how can they market themselves to attract more of these affluent shoppers?

Press
Features in the media help Aldi and Lidl remove the stigma attached to discount supermarkets.

Over the past month Aldi and Lidl have benefited highly from analytical coverage surrounding their increase in market share due to the credit crunch.

Almost every article has mentioned the rise of the middle classes shopping in discount supermarkets; which certainly dispels the myth that Aldi and Lidl are the prevail of the underclass.

Note to Aldi and Lidl PRs - more of this please (especially in the broadsheets).

Television
Last week’s Dispatches: The Truth About Food Prices on Channel 4 saw one family save hundreds of pounds by shopping at a discount supermarket.

The homepages of Aldi and Lidl could have contained an article about the programme, and a link to the Channel 4 website to watch it.

A programme featuring discount supermarkets is publicity Aldi and Lidl can’t buy, although it is the type of coverage that will come and go. To keep the coverage alive it’s important that they shout about it online, as that lives forever.

Pay Per Click
Google now allows UK advertisers to bid on competitor names, so Aldi and Lidl should consider bidding on Waitrose, Ocado and Sainsbury’s.

Although Aldi and Lidl are yet to be transactional - and searchers are most likely to be looking for an online ordering solution - it would be a great opportunity for them to gain awareness at a time when shoppers are susceptible to cheaper alternatives.

Videos
Aldi and Lidl should move into creating content.

Nintendo DS – Why not make an interactive cooking guide for the handheld video game player?

YouTube – Simple recipes hosted on a dedicated YouTube channel.

VideoJug – More recipe ideas and also ‘how to save money’ style videos.

I would also put it out there that Aldi and Lidl should also be focusing on communicating clearly how they are able to provide cheaper produce.

As they grow market share rapidly they will be opening themselves up to the same kind of negative coverage that Primark has recently receiving.