Kidding Around

The Federal Trade Commission on July 31 kept its promise to further investigate the impact of marketing on childhood obesity by dropping a 53-page compulsory order on 44 consumer product manufacturers.

Within 90 days, these companies must provide analysis of their marketing practices and spending habits to a level of detail that they quite possibly have never undertaken before.

The FTC's order defines in-store marketing as, "advertising displays and promotions at the retail site, including the offering of free samples and allowances paid to facilitate shelf placement or merchandise displays." The companies are being required to "report expenditures on, and activities associated with, in-store advertising and promotions that, pursuant to a marketing plan or industry practice, were designed to appeal to children. Such design elements may involve the height of placement or display, and the use of licensed characters, images of children, and language, such as 'kid,' 'child' or similar words."

Gathering that information -- assuming it's even available -- will be a tall order, especially at companies maintaining those legendary silos of advertising, consumer promotion and trade promotion. The FTC has no such prejudices, and so has lumped all three together for its definition. (Now, if only the marketing world would follow suit.)

It might be relatively easy for Kraft Foods (as an example) to determine how much of its TV advertising budget is used to target children. A 30-second spot promoting an in-pack premium in Post Honeycomb cereal that airs during The Wiggles targets kids. A spot focusing on the nutritional benefits of Raisin Bran that runs during The Young & the Restless does not. All related expenses for the two campaigns should be identifiable. (It's not this cut and dry, but you get the point.)

But what about the legendary Nabisco school bus display? There's no question that its design appeals to kids. But is it specifically "designed to appeal to children" as a direct or indirect way to influence brand preference and purchase?

If the main purpose of the bus display (as opposed to, say, a generic shipper) is to attract children, then you can classify its design and production costs as "kid-targeting." But how do you define related activity? Do any promotional allowances paid for placement, or any concurrent temporary price reductions, also count as "designed to appeal to kids?" Does Kraft even have all these statistics at the ready, easily attributable to specific promotions?

I sympathize with the poor souls at these 44 companies whose task it will be to prepare these reports. When they're finished, though, I sure hope I can read them.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

Members: More information here.

Case Studies: Design of the Times Preview Gallery

The Institute offers a sneak-peak of nearly 400 entries from this year's awards program, which takes place Sept. 26 as part of the In-Store Marketing Expo in Chicago. The gallery includes contest declarations for each entry that outline the marketing objectives, design strategies and innovative thinking behind the displays and signs. That makes each image in the gallery a concise case study on effective in-store marketing. (Note: information on producers will be added after the winners are announced on September 26.)

Members: View the preview gallery.

Seasonal Overview: Back-to-School 2007

Our coverage of the 2007 back-to-school season includes overviews of marketing campaigns at 30-plus retailers and more than 160 related images of merchandising activity. Judging from the prevailing advertising focus, you might think that most U.S. children have skipped secondary school and are heading off to college.

Members: View the report.

Desktop Marketing Conference: A Classic Brand Makeover at Piggly Wiggly by Diane Colgan, Bruce Murdy

How do you energize a century-old brand whose mascot is a pig? By redesigning stores to meet contemporary consumer needs, modernizing features customers love most, and making sure that quality service remains the highest priority. In an audio-enabled presentation from last spring's In-Store Marketing Summit, Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. marketing director Diane Colgan and Rawle Murdy president Bruce Murdy outline the steps they took to turn Mr. Pig into a 21st century icon.

Members: View the presentation.

Store Check: JCPenney Leaves the Mall

On Aug. 3, legendary anchor tenant JCPenney opened 14 stores, and only three were connected to malls. The Institute presents more than 35 photos from a new store in Montgomery, IL, that illustrate the chain's off-mall concept and the way its new "Every Day Matters" marketing theme is incorporated into the design.

Members: View the store check 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.

• Alpak Display Group
• Atlas Packaging
• Black & Decker
• Blattner Brunner
• Bose Corp.
• Cascade Designs
• The Clorox Company
• Darko Inc.
• Dentek Oral Care Inc.
• Doner Advertising
• Eastwest Marketing Group
• Gilmore Group LLC
• GRM - Global Retail Merchandising
• Harley-Davidson Motor Company
• Inventive Media (formerly Marin's USA)
• The J.M. Smucker Company
• Kendal King Group
• LEGO Systems Inc.
• McCormick & Co.
• Michigan State University
• Midland Container
• OMI Industries
• PowerPact LLC
• Prime In Store
• Queue Creative Marketing Group LLC
• REMY Cointreau USA
• The Retail Communication Group
• The Royal Group
• Schering-Plough Healthcare
• Segal Communications
• Seismicom
• Skyline Retail Solutions Group
• SMP Display & Design Group
• Smurfit-Stone Display Group
• T-Mobile USA
• University of Arkansas, Sam Walton College of Business
• Valassis
• Vanguard Display Co.
• Visual Marketing Inc.
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
• Warner Music Group
• Watt International
• Weber Display & Packaging
• Wolverine World Wide Inc.
• Wyeth