Shopper marketing can be a high-stakes game, and if you’re still wrangling spreadsheets, you know exactly how frustrating it can be. In my 15+ years in CPG marketing, I’ve seen too many teams drown in Excel hell—overwhelmed by outdated trackers, endless email threads, and best-guess budgeting. That’s why I was thrilled to sit down with Jonathan Havlik, Director of Trade Marketing at Tropicana Brands Group, to hear how Shopperations flipped the script for his team.
Tropicana’s journey with Shopperations isn’t just about saving time—it’s about gaining control, earning credibility, and breaking down silos. Here’s how it turned trade marketing chaos into a well-oiled machine.
1. From Excel Overload to Instant Answers
Jonathan stepped into his role and inherited a nightmare: scattered spreadsheets, each team member with their own tracker, and no single source of truth. “We were constantly answering in generalizations,” he said. “We think it was about $500K. We think we activated at four or five retailers.”
With Shopperations, those vague estimates vanished. Real-time data, precision down to the penny, and instant filtering replaced the 20-minute Excel treasure hunts. “After just a few demos, we realized—this is exactly what we need.” For your team, imagine slashing wasted hours and answering complex questions with a few clicks. Game-changer, right?
2. Breaking Silos with Cross-Functional Visibility
Trade marketing doesn’t operate in a vacuum, but outdated systems made it feel that way. Before Shopperations, brand managers, sales teams, and finance were constantly pinging Jonathan’s team with questions—adding up to what he called the “dreaded 1500 emails a day.”
Now? Self-serve reporting has changed everything. Brand teams can track activations, sales can pull retailer-specific data, and finance has a clear view of phasing reports—all without clogging inboxes. “It’s more than just efficiency,” Jonathan explained. “It’s about visibility, alignment, and making sure every team is empowered with the right information at the right time.”
3. Becoming the Trade Marketing Experts
One unexpected perk? Shopperations didn’t just improve the workflow—it elevated Jonathan’s team’s credibility.
“When someone asks you a question and you can answer it instantly, you look like an expert,” he said. Before, a misplaced decimal or a mistyped number in Excel could send them spiraling into a frantic hunt for missing funds. Now? Data is centralized, accurate, and up-to-date, reinforcing the team’s position as trusted experts.
And the feedback speaks for itself: “Our sales team told us, ‘Wow, you guys are on top of this.’ That confidence shift has been huge.”
4. Adoption Was Effortless—Because It Made Work Easier
New software often comes with resistance, but here’s where Tropicana’s story takes an interesting turn—there was zero pushback. Why? Because Shopperations didn’t add work—it replaced tedious, frustrating work.
“We weren’t asking our team to do anything extra,” Jonathan said. “Inputting data was just as fast as Excel—but way cleaner, easier, and with automation built in.”
Instead of reconciling errors across multiple trackers, everything is housed in one dynamic platform. And for senior leadership, the decision was a no-brainer—fewer mistakes, faster reporting, and full cross-functional visibility.
5. The Future: Expanding the Shopperations Revolution
Now that trade marketing is thriving, what’s next? Jonathan sees Shopperations scaling across the entire marketing org—PR, social, national media—all in one connected system.
Even better? AI-powered budgeting recommendations. Jonathan envisions a future where Shopperations can flag anomalies, suggest optimizations, and help teams spend smarter. “Imagine a system that doesn’t just track your budget but proactively helps you make better decisions. That’s the next frontier.”
What Could Shopperations Do for You?
Tropicana’s transformation isn’t unique—it’s proof that a smarter approach to trade marketing is possible. From eliminating Excel nightmares to driving credibility and efficiency, Shopperations gave Jonathan’s team control over their process, their data, and their time.
So, here’s the real question: Are you still buried in spreadsheets? If Tropicana could ditch the chaos and become trade marketing rockstars, what’s stopping you?
Jonathan’s team isn’t the only one transforming trade marketing with Shopperations—yours could be next. Imagine cutting hours of manual work, eliminating budget guesswork, and gaining total confidence in your numbers.
We’ve gathered insights from five top CPG leaders who’ve redefined the way they manage shopper marketing. Now, you can watch their stories in a 30-minute exclusive webinar.
All these ideas take time to implement, in fact, it can be a full-time job! If you feel your actualization process needs help but you are strapped for time, reach out to Shopperations. We offer a range of software and consulting solutions to enable digital enterprise transformation for busy shopper marketers.
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