Holiday Cheers

It may have been a bad year at retail, but it was a great year for in-store marketing.

Sure, some companies scaled back their spending as the economic crisis worsened during the year. But many others plowed ahead with their initiatives and finished 2008 with both their budgets and their optimism up. And despite continuing gloomy forecasts for 2009, many are planning to add to the in-store coffers again next year. (See our annual Trends Report below for a much more detailed analysis on what's been going on.)

Regardless of which direction marketing budgets headed, 2008 was a great year for in-store marketing because a practice that once was considered an obligatory expense on the ledger has been accepted as a strategic imperative. The store is now viewed as a venue in which brand marketing can thrive.

Here are a few of the stories we covered in 2008 that illustrate the point:

"Shopper Marketing" Takes Hold
The term had been around for a few years (Draftfcb's Jim Lucas used it in late 2005, the first citation in our archives), and became a hot topic in 2007. But the implementation of shopper marketing principles became common practice over the last 12 months.

There's still some debate as to exactly what constitutes the practice. But while the scope is much wider (at Kroger, for instance, it takes place far more often through targeted mailings than in-store displays) and the planning much better informed (in theory, at least), we'll still argue that the difference between "in-store marketing" and "shopper marketing" is like the Scarecrow before and after meeting the Wizard of Oz: even though no one realized it, the brain had always been there.

Wal-Mart TV Becomes the Walmart Smart Network
Some have questioned its extremely high price tag (asking, "If I score an endcap at Walmart, is an accompanying on-shelf video really worth the expense?") But no one can argue that the September unveiling of the Walmart Smart Network is, quite literally, the smartest model yet devised for an in-store media network. Why? Because it treats the medium as an integrated enhancement to -- not a distraction from -- the store environment.

Private Label Keeps Rising
Evidence that in-store marketing is at shopper marketing's core could be found almost monthly as savvy retailers continued to roll out new private label lines -- largely by leveraging the strength of their own real estate. So when the economy crashed and shoppers went looking for value, store brands were front and center.

Incidentally, although most respondents to the 2009 Trends survey don't think private-label escalation has had much impact on their own in-store activity, I'm guessing the marketers at Zyrtec would tell you otherwise.

Building Small
Shopper marketing entered the realm of store concepts with Tesco's Fresh & Easy, which actually launched in fall 2007 but spawned rivals in 2008 -- most notably Walmart's Marketside. The idea is to give the people what they want: quick, unencumbered access to healthy food, meal ideas and relatively low prices.

Merchandising "Solutions"
Evolving consumer lifestyles met the economy head on in the second half of the year, when supermarkets and other food purveyors began using national brand products as ingredients for pre-determined meal ideas -- that also, by the way, often played up private label.

Brands Still Score
Since it has invested so much in sustainability initiatives, Walmart was more than happy to hand over its laundry care aisle to Procter & Gamble for a media-infused campaign introducing environmentally friendly "2x" versions of detergent brands. The effort was proof positive that, as long as there's a payoff for both retailers and shoppers, brands can still make a strong impression in-store.

In another example, Kraft Foods earned itself an entire aisle at Walmart by helping the world's largest retailer jump on the "meal solutions" bandwagon.

Technology Is (Was) Ready to Roll
It would have been nice to say that the use of digital signage, interactive kiosks and other technologically infused marketing vehicles have now, finally, become commonplace. But if there is any casualty of the current economic situation, it will be the widespread deployment of shopper-facing technology.

We here at the Institute would like to extend warm wishes to all our members for a joyous holiday season and a happy -- and not too financially challenging -- new year.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

Members: More information here.

Shopper Marketing Trends Report 2009

How is the economy affecting marketing budgets? The answer depends largely on what size company you ask. The first-ever Shopper Marketing Trends Report -- but our 15th annual state-of-the-industry survey -- polls packaged goods marketers on spending plans and a variety of other industry issues: research, retailer relations, creative strategies and more.

Members, view the report.

Store Check: Fresh Fare by Kroger

Kroger's steadily growing chain (84 units over six years) of perimeter-focused stores headed south last fall to enter the Atlanta market. In-store intelligence agency Carroll Media Services provides more than 75 images for this visual walk-through of the site. (Viewer warning: Good luck finding brand-supplied P-O-P materials.)

Members: View the store check.

Store Check: CVS's Beauty 360

The neighborhood drugstore chain heads uptown with a smaller, high-end concept that leaves most standard categories next door (at the attached CVS/pharmacy) to focus on upscale beauty brands and "experiential service."

Members: View the store check.

Desktop Marketing Conference: "Consumer-Centric Solutions" by Patrick Rodmell, Watt International

The lip service previously given to consumer-centric planning is now turning into meaningful dialogue as retailers develop more sophisticated shopper marketing strategies, according to Rodmell, Watt's chief economic officer. In a highly rated presentation from the In-Store Marketing Expo, Rodmell explains the need to infuse customer centricity into every business touchpoint, and offers global examples of the theory in action.

Members: View the presentation.

Technology: In-Store Marketing Expo Overview

This year's trade show was alive with sights and sounds -- and occasional smells -- from a variety of new technologies designed to enhance the shopping experience. View a brief video montage of some of the more noteworthy solutions that were on exhibit.

Members, view the report.

Welcome New Institute Members

The In-Store Marketing Institute is delighted to welcome new and renewing members to the Institute family. Below is a list of the companies that signed up recently. Welcome aboard.

• Barkley
• Campbell Soup/Pepperidge Farm
• CJRW/NW
• Energizer Personal Care
• Fisher-Price
• H&R Block
• Harry & Co.
• HMT Associates Inc.
• Interscope
• Justman Packaging & Display
• Kellogg Company
• Levi Strauss & Company
• LifeLock
• Lingo Manufacturing Co.
• The Marketing Arm
• PFI (Presence From Innovation)
• Saatchi & Saatchi X
• Schering-Plough Healthcare
• Spring Design Partners
• Sunstar Americas Inc.
• Tool Box Store Metrics Brazil
• Visual Latina, LLC
• Walker In-Store