Organic private labels increasing on your store shelves
The Wall Street Journal recently looked at how the organic farmers are trying to keep in the eye-line of their customers in these tough economic times. Private label organic products have become 22.7% of organic food sales from June of 2007-2008, this is a 13.6% from the same period of June 2006-2007. Read more about the increase of organic private-label foods here.
Reasons to care about your shopper
In a recent article at Retail Wire, they look at ten reasons you should care about your shopper. Here are just a few:
#1: Fifty percent or more of product and brand decisions are made in-store; numerous shopper insights studies agree.
#6: Shopper insights are currency for building strong customer relationships.
#7: Advertising agencies must master shopper marketing to have a complete offering: those who do not offer shopper marketing services will be viewed as incomplete.
Read the full list here. Is there anything you'd add to the list?
Kmart is Coming Back to Town
This latest article in retailwire highlights how Kmart, even though down 2% in sales this quarter,
has outperformed rivals Target and Wal-Mart which are down by a higher number. One of the reasons why Kmart might be bouncing back through the recession is because it offers its customers a layaway program so they have an opportunity to save for gifts, and this program is not available at Target or Wal-Mart. Kmart is also working with hundreds of designers to run a print campaign in Vogue, Glamour, and Lucky. It will be interesting to see how the Target and Wal-Mart will react to Kmart's recent success.
Driving Loyalty through Mobile Marketing
Jeff Weidauer, vice president of marketing, Vestcom International writes in Convenience Store News that we must use mobile marketing in order to keep shopper's focused during this economy. Weidauer refers to mobile marketing as "a virtual extension of the shelf edge." Weidauer also writes, by making use of this nearly ubiquitous way to communicate, convenience stores now have the opportunity to turn a simple communication device into an indispensable shopping aid that extends the shelf edge directly into the shopper’s hand. Mobile applications are poised to be the future of how retailers will communicate with shoppers in a way that’s most convenient for them.
How do you think that convenience store shoppers will utilize mobile marketing to their advantage? Will adding mobile rewards, games and discounts be the trick to gaining and keeping customers?
Private Label Is a ‘Hotbed for Creativity’
Alex Palmer of AdWeek writes, private label products are anything but cheap imitations of brand-name items, according to a new report. The retail consultancy Mintel GNPD finds that manufacturers of private label food products are staying up on current food trends, including the use of premium and healthy ingredients as well as convenient packaging.
Those of you who have followed private label brands know how hot they have become with customers and retailers during this economic climate.
From Palmer, new private label products are being introduced into the U.S. market at a rate far above that from just a few years ago. So far in 2009, almost 1,800 new private label foods have hit store shelves. This comprises 27 percent of all new food products that have been introduced this year. In 2005, private label made up only 13 percent of new food products.
We welcome to you this October to The Private Label Conference, which is the only event that tackles the new realities of the private label market and the business implications for manufacturers, CPGs and retailers.
The Conference on Marketing Keynote Speaker: Jim Stengel Retired Global Marketing Officer Proctor & Gamble
Jim Stengel
Retired Global Marketing Officer
Proctor & Gamble
Widely known for reinvigorating P&G’s marketing culture during his tenure as global marketing officer, Jim Stengel personally led the transformation that has firmly established P&G as one of the most admired brand building companies in the world. His reputation for evolving marketing and branding to make a positive impact on the lives of consumers has influenced his global recognition as a leader in the marketing community. His new venture, "Jim Stengel, LLC" is both think tank and consultancy – conducting proprietary research, generating thought leadership and applying a new framework to drive business growth in today’s global economy. The Jim Stengel approach is strategic and holistic, with a mission to “rethink marketing, branding and life.”
Stengel is widely known for leading innovation and for his commitment to building breakthrough marketing capabilities. As a result, he was recognized in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007 by Advertising Age as the number one “Power Player” in marketing. In 2005, he was recognized as Grand Marketer of the Year by Brand Week Magazine – that same year P&G was named Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age. A prolific speaker and writer, he has delivered dozens of keynote addresses around the world. His groundbreaking speech, “The Future of Marketing,” delivered at the American Association of Advertising Agencies 2004 annual meeting, has been quoted thousands of times and is considered a catalyst for changing the 50-year-old TV-centric brand building model. He has been published in The Harvard Business Review and has been featured in The Financial Times, The Wall St. Journal, The New York Times and Fortune as well as CNBC and many other print, broadcast and online media outlets.
In his seven years as P&G’s global marketing officer, Stengel helped guide the organization to creativity, innovation and optimal performance. He also lead implementation of systemic changes in the Company’s marketing organization that have positioned P&G and its leadership as a world-class leader in the marketing and brand building. Stengel brings this experience to his new venture as a consultant to help companies who are “seriously motivated” to embrace change and are open to rethinking their current approach. He offers consulting services on a range of topics related to purpose-based marketing and branding as well as organizational transformation, leadership and innovation.
Jim's biography courtesy of Washington Speaker's Bureau
About The Conference on Marketing 2009
THe is an experience that will come to life just once and never be replicated. The specific information represented and the dynamics of the group participating will draw diverse perspectives resulting in inimitable conversations and sharing of best practices and from that – the most unique outcomes will be delivered. Share your questions, your challenges, your biggest threats and through productive interaction, uncover solutions you would never have imagined on your own, at your desk, in your office.
Get out and think greater.
* Harness collective intelligence and bring back insight and innovation
* Make more informed decisions that guarantee measurable results
* Protect and ensure the future role of marketing in influencing business strategy
Whole Foods adopts new verification standard for private label products
According to the Pacific Business News, Whole Foods says it will submit its private label products to testing for genetically engineered organisms--a move that will add a new level of certification to what's on the organic and natural grocer's shelves.
Margaret Wittenberg, Whole Foods Market global vice president of quality standards said, "We searched high and low for years for a way to do this and now, thankfully, the Non-GMO Project has answered that challenge by creating a standard and a practical system by which manufacturers may measure their products. At last, shoppers concerned about foods made with genetically modified ingredients will be able to make informed choices."
Whole Foods adopts new verification standard for private label products
Shopper Insights in Action Conference 2009 Wrap-Up
Thank you all, those in attendance, and those of you who followed our online coverage for your participation during the 9th Annual Shopper Insights in Action Conference. We hope you enjoyed this year’s event and have taken the time to review all of our great coverage as we updated our event site, blog, and twitter with images, video and descriptions of all the great speakers at the conference. Below you will find a summary of all of that coverage during the three days of the conference. Even if you did follow our coverage closely, be sure and review many of our posts again, we’ve updated many of them with video clips of the presentations. Finally, be sure and subscribe to our updates on our blog, twitter, and event site as we continue to provide resources and information regarding the conference as well as the latest industry news and insights. Be sure and share and forward all of these updates to your colleagues who were unable to participate in this experience.
Click the link below to view our wrap-up newsletter from the event.
How Manufacturers Use Analytics to Brand Successfully, Ryan Monahan of Kimberly Clark Corporation
Everything has changed in the wake the Walmart's Project Impact initiative which began last year. It essentially evaluates categories and reduces SKUs while changing the rules of merchandising. That means less clutter in the aisles.
Ryan Monahan, who has been on Kimberly Clark's Walmart team for three years, said the change means that shoppers have to be engaged before going to the store. As a first step, Kimberly Clark Corporation obtained the analytic tools to tell who the shoppers are, how valuable they are to the brand and what needs to be done to succeed.
As an example, he pointed to a direct mail program for the recently-launched gender-specific Depend underwear at Wal-Mart. KC developed an off-line and online campaign to identify seniors in the local trading areas and provide them with information on what to look for in the store.
In brief, the campaign was a big success.