OCTOBER 2003 HIGHLIGHTS...
	Director's Note: Prilosec: One for the Record Books Research Studies: C-Store Purchase Decisions from Meyers Research Center (Almost) Live from The P-O-P Show: Lectures from Wallace Church and Draft Worldwide Channel Insights: Marketing to Do-It-Yourselfers by Perception Research Services Industry Issues: Category Captains and Antitrust

Director's Note Prilosec: One for the Record Books

When Procter & Gamble boasted that 450,000 displays and countless other marketing materials were prepped to make Prilosec the biggest launch in the company's history, we scoffed. Recent issues of this newsletter have examined the disparity between what a brand marketer intends to execute at retail and what actually happens inside stores. Even a major new-product launch can fizzle when the retail execution doesn't match the marketer's ambitious plans. So P&G's placement of 450,000 displays sounded more like a pipe dream than a realistic goal. With a cynical eye, we headed out on launch day (Sept. 16) to visit stores. An Albertsons in Colorado Springs, CO, featured a window cling at the entrance. The same store had a temporary display near the pharmacy. And another one in the pasta/tomato sauce aisle. And four more in front of the checkout lanes. Across town, a King Soopers offered two floorstands back-to-back in front of the pharmacy window. Behind the counter, a middle-aged pharmacist sported a purple Prilosec polo shirt and a branded button. Two endcaps carrying PDQ trays and merchandising strips were nearby. We kept looking, and we kept finding more, in every supermarket, drugstore, and mass merchant we visited. Power wings, pallets, counter units. Posters, shelf tags, metal-detector coverings. Heavy presence in pharmacy, clever placement elsewhere. (Our favorite: a merchandising strip next to Real Bacon in a Burbank, CA, Vons.) Pharmacists and even clerks who could talk knowledgeably about the product. The local mom-and-pop drugstore near our office -- you know, the kind that's still selling candy off a Holiday 2002 display -- has a Prilosec shelf tag. It's the only shelf tag in the entire store. P&G is spending a ton of money to advertise its new brand; the year-one marketing budget is a staggering $175 million. So the skeptical among you may sniff that the company simply may have bought its remarkable in-store presence. But consider this comment: "This launch is the best I've seen in gaining retailer involvement," said David Ball, president of Ball's Price Chopper, a 29-store chain in Kansas City, MO. "I think everybody could learn from that." We agree. Let us know what you think. Sincerely, Peter Breen Managing Director, Content Members: Log on for more. »

Research Studies C-Store Purchase Decisions from Meyers Research Center

The level of planned purchases at convenience stores is rising. The trend may be fueled (pun intended) by the increased presence of pay-at-the-pump services, which have many potential shoppers bypassing the store entirely. In "Purchase Decision-Making in the C-Store," Meyers Research Center interviews more than 1,000 c-store shoppers to learn what's motivating them to buy. The study finds shoppers who are extremely loyal to both the channel and their favorite brands and hard to entice into an unplanned purchase. Members: View the research here. »

(Almost) Live from The P-O-P Show Lectures from Wallace Church and Draft Worldwide

The Institute delivers highlights from September's P-O-P Show/Chicago through audio-enabled presentations featuring the agenda's most highly rated speakers. It's the next best thing to being there (although you still should have been). This month's lectures: "Retail Ecology: Leveraging In-Store Communications," by Jim Lucas of Draft Worldwide, examines the need for site-specific marketing strategies and zone-based messaging tactics. "New Methodologies for Evolving Equity Brands," by Rob Wallace of Wallace Church, uses case studies of Polly-O and Kodak to prove that brands must consider packaging and P-O-P as the cornerstone of marketing communications. Members: View the presentations here. »

Channel Insights Marketing to Do-It-Yourselfers by Perception Research Services

Standard product messaging is often worthless for the weekend handyman on a mission to find the best grout for his bathroom tile. "Herein lies the primary disconnect in home center shopping," explains Scott Young, president of Perception Research Services. "Shoppers think in terms of their projects; manufacturers think in terms of features and benefits." In an exclusive article for the Institute, Young examines the unique marketing demands of the home center channel, and offers expert advice on how best to meet the challenges they present. Members: Get the full article here. »

Industry Issues Category Captains and the Law

In June, the American Antitrust Institute invited policymakers, lawyers and academics to Washington, D.C., to examine the issue of category captains and "chart a course for further understanding" of the legal ramifications surrounding the practice. Our coverage includes detailed minutes from the event and overviews of research studies examining the topic (both courtesy of AAI), recent legal cases exemplifying the potential downside of this practice, and the current viewpoint of the Federal Trade Commission. Members: Read more here. »