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| Director's Note: INFORMED IS FOREARMED |
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To: Store Managers
From: Corporate HQ
Re: Summer Feature Programs
"The display will come in two pieces, the stand and the
wire power wing. Stand should be discarded. [Header
card] is also optional."
With a single blunt memo, presented this month to
store
managers chain-wide, a leading food retailer rendered
much of a packaged goods brand's in-store
marketing program completely worthless. (We've
removed
the names to
protect the innocent and the guilty alike.) In just
three sentences, several hundred thousand dollars in
production costs were thrown away.
Add the fact that this chain doesn't require
franchisees to support any program, and you've got a
very shaky start to the brand's key summer-time
promotion.
Will this abridged program drive incremental sales
anyway? Perhaps. The brand still should get significant
secondary
display
space in a few thousand stores - assuming that those
untrashed power wings reach the aisles. The
resulting
sales lift should help
the chain, which according to those documents has
posted nine straight months of sales declines in the
category.
Maybe those discarded materials and messages
wouldn't
have improved this promotion's performance all that
much. But who knows how much more effective it could
have been had the two
parties simply worked on it together? At the very least,
the
brand would have saved some money if it knew the
retailer's plans before delivering 5,000 floorstands
straight to the dumpster.
Alas, lack of communication is commonplace in the
world of in-store marketing. Sometimes the problem is
the stubborn, habitual
unwillingness of retailers and brands to share the
information they have. Other times, quality information
just isn't available. Despite its long history, there are no
standard measurement tools
for the discipline of in-store marketing.
This failure to communicate not only makes it
more difficult for brand managers to garner support
from
retailers, but also to operate within their own
companies.
Many corporate executives still view the store merely as
a
distribution point, not as an effective channel for
marketing to consumers.
Enter the In-Store Marketing Institute, a
fledgling
trade
association whose mission is to establish new
communication channels for sharing the knowledge that
is available, and to develop resources for creating the
knowledge that's still needed.
You're currently reading one of the communication
channels for that knowledge, a monthly newsletter we'll
use to keep members informed about the Institute's
latest content initiatives. It highlights some of our initial
steps in gathering available knowledge and filling in the
gaps where necessary.
I invite you to visit us at
www.instoremarketer.org
to learn more about our mission and how it will benefit
you as a marketing professional. I then encourage you
to
send your comments, critiques, and content
suggestions
to us.
Sincerely,
Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
Learn about the Institute here... »
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| Consumer Attitudes About Displays |
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Given a choice, most supermarket shoppers would rather
have their hot dogs, buns, and condiments displayed
together, according to an exclusive consumer survey
from IMI International commissioned by the
Institute.
Overall, 63% of consumers at least "agree somewhat"
that they prefer when products are grouped by
usage
occasion rather than by category. The preference
varies
widely by generation: 47% of consumers 18 to 29
"strongly agree," compared with just 24% of those 50
and older.
Conducted in February 2003 by Toronto-based IMI, the
survey polled consumers on a variety of ways in which
displays influence their purchase decisions. Other topics
covered include the effect of displays on unplanned
purchases and new product trial, and the importance of
promotional offers and interactive design features.
Full Story »
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| Dollars Make Sense |
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Dollar stores used to be the realm of damaged shippers
and end-of-quarter inventory dumps -- a place where
you didn't want your products to be prominently
displayed.
But with consumer attitudes warming to the concept (in
large part because of the still chilly economy), brands
increasingly are finding that they must consider
marketing through -- instead of around -- this emerging
channel. And dollar store operators are learning the
benefits of gaining brand support for their merchandising
activity.
This special report from the Institute looks at the factors
behind the rise of the dollar store and the ways in which
packaged goods marketers are addressing the channel.
Our coverage includes profiles of the merchandising
and
marketing strategies at the top five chains, and dozens
of images from inside their stores.
FYI: Since our report was filed in April, Family Dollar and
Dollar General combined to open 190 stores. If these
chains aren't on your radar screen yet, they soon will be.
Get the scoop on dollar store formats now. »
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| The Creative Touch |
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Your last in-store program provided a nice bump in
incremental sales. But how much of that increase came
from the display, and how much was sparked by the
sweepstakes overlay communicated on the header card?
If your answer to that question is, "I have no
idea," don't hang your head in shame. Less than one-third of
marketers even attempt to measure the sales impact of
their creative elements, according to an Institute survey
of brand marketers. And among those who do, few have
reached any solid conclusions about what works and
why.
What is clear is that marketers are taking a lot more than
sell-through into consideration when determining the
creative elements of a display program. And most of
those other factors boil down to one objective:
gaining
retailer support.
The Institute this month begins what will be an ongoing
investigation into effective in-store creative strategies.
Check the website for details. »
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| RFID: The Future is Now |
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Wal-Mart said last week that it will be ready to "go live"
with radio frequency identification technology by Jan. 1,
2005, and will expect 100 key suppliers to be on board
for the launch. That announcement alone should turn
this futuristic technology into the capital expenditure of
2004. Read how the RFID concept is expected to
revolutionize the retail environment, and the vast
potential it holds for in-store marketing.
Learn more about RFID here! »
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| In the Library... |
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Retail
Profiles
Find in-depth overviews of the marketing and
merchandising
strategies of leading retailers. Our initial list, which will be
updated monthly, includes profiles of Wal-Mart,
Target,
Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Walgreens, CVS,
7-Eleven, and eight other supermarket, mass merchant, and drug
store chains.
Or, search through more than 200 articles on
retail
channel, chain, and category-specific activity.
Case Studies
The Hulk began taking retail aisles by storm nearly
two
months before the June 20 release of this Universal
Pictures'
film. In recognition of the summer's first
blockbuster marketing event, our Case Studies
department features a smorgasbord of licensed tie-in
campaigns.
Or, search through more than 2,200 articles, classified by
marketing tactic and product category.
Image
Vault
Search through more than 7,000 images of
in-store
marketing programs, classified by marketing tactic,
product category, and display type. This month, our
one-click search feature offers quick-trips through
product categories ranging from apparel to wine.
Legal
Corner
The accounting scandal at Royal Ahold has
inspired the
SEC to take another look into the practice of vendor
allowances. A recent lawsuit filed against Albertsons by a
small beauty care vendor tops our list of featured legal
cases affecting the in-store marketing world.
Or, search through our database of more than 1,300
patented designs on displays and signs, culled from
the
pages of P-O-P Design.
Lecture
Hall
Find dozens of presentations on a variety of topics
related to in-store marketing. Among this month's
featured lectures are "Utilizing Consumer Research to
Guide P-O-P Design," from Perception Research
Services,
and "Understanding the Vendor Selection
Process," from
Frank Mayer & Associates. Both presentations
include
audio narration.
Research
Library
New technology from Sorensen Associates tracks shoppers as they travel through the supermarket.
An early analysis of data collected through the
technology, called PathTracker, finds that displays
located in the middle of aisles are often in a "dead zone"
visited only by a small percentage of shoppers. Read an
exclusive overview of the initial findings.
Also: A Supermarket Close-Up Study of
consumer attitudes from Meyers Research Center, an
examination of the limited-assortment store format from
Willard Bishop Consulting, and more than 100 research
articles and more than 600 charts, tables, and diagrams.
See everything that's new...
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