Director's Note: Industry Landscaping

Have you seen the new TV spot from The Home Depot, the one in which the young husband can't decide which tractor brand to buy?

The voiceover in the spot proclaims, "Only The Home Depot has John Deere ... (slight pause) and the new tractors from Cub Cadet and Toro, all under one roof."

I may be imagining that parenthetical pause, influenced by recent events in the home improvement channel -- namely, Lowe's' February rollout of John Deere products, which ended The Home Depot 's "exclusive" relationship with the brand. (That word is in quotes because, in the home channel, "exclusive" typically means that you work with The Home Depot or Lowe's but not both; all three aforementioned tractor brands sell through independent dealers and other channels.)

But it wouldn't be surprising if The Home Depot were only reluctantly admitting that it now shares John Deere with its archrival. In a recent Bloomberg News story, a Wall Street analyst specifically cited "John Deere tractors" as a reason for the chain's fourth-quarter success.

John Deere's expansion of retail distribution, which has always been the goal of almost all product marketers, is something of an anomaly these days.

Take a walk through The Home Depot or Lowe's, or Kohl's or J.C. Penney or Target -- heck, look at the signs in 7-Eleven -- and it's obvious that exclusive product is becoming a linchpin of successful retailing. It may still manifest itself more often in the form of private label products, but it increasingly is involving national brands as well.

Last week, Advertising Age noted that Procter & Gamble's Max Factor "has been reduced to little more than a Wal-Mart house brand" now that the cosmetics line has been de-listed from Target, Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid.

But is the prospect of a national brand becoming a Wal-Mart "exclusive" truly a horrible notion, or just a concept that's a little ahead of its time? After all, the drugstore chains that just dumped Max Factor have devoted much recent attention to marketing exclusive cosmetics lines they've sourced from Europe, or the salon marketplace, or just about anywhere else they can find them. Will some other national brands someday be looking for a single "house" to call home?

That may sound like anathema to brand marketers right now. And from the viewpoint of traditional brand marketing, it is. But in a retail environment where even the biggest of the big-box chains is looking to rationalize SKU counts, it might be what many brands will need to survive in the future.

Do recent events mean the end of Max Factor as a "national brand"? Maybe. But does near-exclusive distribution through Wal-Mart mean the end of Max Factor as a product line? You know the answer to that one.

Then again, maybe I'm just imagining this, too.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

P.S. We'd like to thank the hundreds of members who responded to our recent "Pick the Next Retailer Profile" e-mail. The winner, Whole Foods, will be profiled this spring.

Members: More information here.

Store Checks: Big Changes at Wal-Mart

In a drive to improve the shopping experience and become a more "relevant" retailer, Wal-Mart plans to reduce its SKU count in a number of categories. It also plans to better leverage the consumer insights and other marketing resources offered by major vendors. Bolstered by a slew of recent hires, the world's largest retailer is dramatically altering its marketing and merchandising strategies, as its 2006 advertising campaigns have illustrated. These changes will benefit some brands, but more than likely hurt others. Our recent coverage of the chain also includes more than 36 photos of recent merchandising campaigns.

Members: View the articles here.

In-Store Media: CompUSA Goes Beyond the Spot

Product advertisers buying into the CompUSA TV Network now also get shelf signs, in-store radio spots, and even a crack at qualifying for upfront merchandising. The Institute speaks with In-Store Media Networks, which operates the chain's newly christened CompUSA Media Network and recently released findings from a new ad-effectiveness study. Our coverage also includes an update of CompUSA's profile in the Retail Handbook and more than 20 new images of displays and signs at the chain.

Members: View the article here.

Research: "Experiential Marketing Insights" from Event Marketer

One out of four consumers who attended a corporate-sponsored event immediately purchase the product being promoted, according to a survey commissioned by Event Marketer magazine. That fact explains one of the reasons why events have become a staple of the marketing mix and retail visits a regular part of the event itinerary.

Members: View the research here.

Desktop Marketing Conference: "Retail Theater" by Kevin Kelley of Shook Kelley

Retail designers in the U.S. traditionally have focused on back-end logistics and supply chain efficiencies. Unfortunately, this attention has come at the expense of more human, empathetic designs that better serve evolving consumer lifestyles and expectations, says Kevin Kelley, principal and co-founder of Shook Kelley and a top-rated member of the Institute's distinguished faculty. In a "SuperSession" from last December's Total Retail Experience in New York, Kelley discusses how the traditional retail "chassis" is ready for the chop shop and how great designs take more cues from movie sets than from rigid planograms.

Members: View and hear the lecture.

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.

• 141 Worldwide
• Alberto Culver Corp.
• ArchitecturePlus International Inc.
• Benjamin News Group
• Big Red Ltd.
• Catalina Marketing Corp.
• Clean Brands Inc.
• CokeM International
• Columbia College Chicago
• Dentsu Inc.
• Energizer
• Geoff Howe Marketing Communications
• Glaceau
• Healthnotes
• Hilti North America
• Horizon Fitness
• Longview Fibre Company
• Marketing Drive Worldwide
• Miller Brewing
• Movie Gallery US, LLC
• MTD Products/Cub Cadet Corp.
• OSL Marketing
• PetSafe
• Provident Distribution
• Samaritan Display Group
• TimBar Packaging & Display
• Trudi
• Unilever Foods
• Wahl Clipper Corp.
• Welch's