Insighting a Riot

Have you capitalized on any "shopper insights" this week?

On first blush, the term "shopper insights" sounds like the latest in an endless parade of marketing catchphrases, coined initially to explain a new trend succinctly, then soon after rendered meaningless through trivial overuse.

One noteworthy example is "integrated marketing," which originally conveyed a call for all marketing communications -- media advertising, consumer promotion, in-store marketing, events -- to be evaluated and developed as a whole, rather than as distinct programs. It wasn't long, however, before "integrated marketing" was cited whenever the same tagline was used in print ads and P-O-P signs.

Similarly, "shopper insights" refers to detailed analysis of consumer needs, shopping behavior and/or purchase data that results in more effective, more relevant marketing and merchandising programs. Or, it can be glibly summoned to explain why a certain brand's shelf danglers are offering free milk with cereal purchase.

On second thought, though, offering free milk with cereal is a good example of "shopper insights." It's a very basic example, but it counts.

In less-enlightened circles of in-store marketing, product manufacturers are intent on gaining prominent shelf and secondary display space. That typically requires them to offer the retailer a volume deal, which arguably meets a shopper "need" for cheaper prices but little else. Any marketing communication for that deal focuses on the offer, with any attempt at product branding relegated to the background (behind the price card).

Taken in that context, "free milk with cereal" exhibits a lot of insight: It gives shoppers a relevant offer on two products consistently purchased together, retailers a chance to cross-merchandise categories (and link a perimeter department with the center store), and brands an opportunity to build some of their own equity into the promotional message.

You'll find a lot of discussion about "shopper insights" at instoremarketer.org these days. The Institute has devoted an entire seminar track to the subject at this week's In-Store Marketing Summit outside Chicago. (The event is sold out, but Institute members will have access to many of its presentations in the coming months.)

This month, we've posted articles from The Hub examining, among other topics, the rise of shopper marketing as a vital discipline. We provide case studies from the Promotion Marketing Association's 2007 Reggie Awards that exemplify the true intentions of both "integrated marketing" and "shopper insights." We have a lecture from Diane Ridgway-Cross, an expert on the female shopping mindset. And we offer store checks on three new supermarket formats derived from extensive research into shopper needs.

We hope these resources will help you uncover some insight of your own.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

Members: More information here.

Case Studies: The Promotion Marketing Association's 2007 Reggie Awards

Best-in-class promotions give brands both a strong platform for reaching consumers and an effective vehicle for in-store marketing. With gratitude to the Promotion Marketing Association, the Institute presents 22 case studies of best-in-class retail promotions from the 2007 Reggie Awards competition.

Members: View the Case Studies

Store Checks: H-E-B Plus, Publix Sabor, Sweetbay Supermarket

The eyes of Texas are now upon H-E-B Plus, the Lone Star supermarket chain's emerging mass-merchant format. In Florida, regional grocer Publix targets Hispanic shoppers more closely with the demo-specific Sabor banner while, across the state, Delhaize America nears the finish line in its rebranding of Kash n' Karry as Sweetbay Supermarket. The Institute checks in on these formats, with more than 80 photos provided by Retail Image Consulting, Powell, OH.

Members: View the store checks here.

Desktop Marketing Conference: "Women's Retail Rituals" by Diane Ridgway-Cross, Frank About Women

As a female stereotype, the "soccer mom" has gone the way of Rosie the Riveter, June Cleaver and Mary Richards. In "Women's Retail Rituals," a presentation from last fall's Total Retail Experience, Frank About Women's senior vice president explains why marketers and retailers don't understand the people that are literally holding the purse strings on $2 trillion in spending.

Members: View the presentation here.

Best Practices: Highlights from The Hub Magazine

Recent articles from one of the marketing industry's premier publications examine the emerging discipline of shopper marketing, the development of the store as an effective ad medium, the effect of the supermarket channel's "fresh focus" on packaged-goods merchandising, and the evolution of the "reach and frequency" advertising model.

Members: View the articles here.

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.

• 20th Century Fox
• Alberto-Culver Corp.
• Benjamin News Group
• Black River Display
• COKeM International Ltd.
• Colgate-Palmolive
• Columbia College Chicago
• Distribution Economics Institute of Japan
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
• Hilti North America
• K'NEX Industries Inc.
• MARS Advertising
• Meyers Display
• New Customer Service Companies
• Nielsen In-Store
• Omnicom Management Services
• Premier Retail Networks
• Provident Distribution
• Rand McNally
• StoreBoard Media LLC
• TBWA/CHIAT/DAY
• TimBar Packaging & Display, Point of Purchase Division
• Virgin Mobile USA