A Conversation with Craig Geiger, Director of Category Development at Barilla USA
Craig Geiger
Director, Category Development
Barilla America
Listen to the podcast or Read the Transcript
Craig Geiger is currently serving as the Director of Category Development at Barilla America. During his nearly 7 years at Barilla, he has built the Category Management Organization and infrastructure from the ground up, enabling Barilla to gain pasta category captain partnerships at several leading retailers.
Prior to joining Barilla, Craig worked at Kraft Foods where he was first trained in Best Practices Category Management, and was part of the team that successfully standardized category management tools and approaches across the Kraft, General Foods and Oscar Mayer Divisions.
Born in Chicago, Craig started his career in Sales at Del Monte, moving to Sales Management positions and also into national Sales Planning and Category Management roles over the last 28 years in the Consumer Products Industry.
Craig has been a Speaker in past IIR Conferences, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Illinois.
Join Craig for his presentation, "Category Management and Shopper Insights Defined! Align, Design, Mine and Consign for Success” at 11am, September 28th.
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The Category Leadership Conference Spotlight: “Today’s Marketer, Tomorrow’s Growth Leader?”
Join us NEXT WEEK for The Category Leadership Conference in beautiful Chicago. Meet with fellow category leaders as we revolutionize process to meet today's shopping economics.
We welcome keynote speaker, Scott Davis, Senior Partner, PROPHET & Author, The Shift as he presents, "Today's Marketer, Tomorrow's Growth Leader?" on Monday, September 27th at 8:45am.
About the session: The days of marketing strategies and business strategies being created separate and apart from one another are coming to an end. The best marketers are now creating integrated perspectives that start with the growth aspirations of the entire organization. Scott will discuss the increasingly important role of marketing in the boardroom and how it should have more impact on company growth. He will provide advice and practical tools which will allow you to devise new and better ways to win over new customers while building deeper and more meaningful relationships with current customers – all while keeping competitors at bay.
For more information about this event and to join us in Chicago, please visit the event website.
Target to open more in-store medical clinics
Target is set to open five more retail medicine clinics within its stores in Chicago and West Palm Beach. This is will bring Target's total in-store medical clinics to 36, according to MediaPost.com. The report says that the clinics, which treat patients for routine illnesses and injuries, will be open seven days a week, with no appointment needed. Fees for most services run $59 to $69, but out-of-pocket costs can be cheaper for those with health coverage. A co-payment can be $20 to $40 per visit, depending on health plans. The Chicago Tribune reports that, the Minneapolis-based retail giant launched its first health clinic four years ago but has not been as aggressive as rivals CVS/Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co., which have opened several hundred clinics in recent years.
Do you think that Target will continue to expand its in-store medical clinics? Ask Chris Borek, Senior Manager, Multi-Channel Interactive Experience at Target when you join him at The Category Leadership Conference, September 27-29 at Hotel Sax in Chicago. Meet Chris and other retail, brand and industry thought-leaders at at this premier event.
How will the art of Category Leadership evolve in the next 3-5 years?
We want to hear from category managers and leaders. How will your profession evolve within the next 3-5 years? Will we see an increased awareness in team members, growth opportunities, and a general restructuring of the craft? Simply comment on this post or let us know via Twitter @Shopper360.
You can be a part of this evolution by joining leaders from the industry’s best companies who'll share with you real-life case studies that will add value to your work and help you not only to prepare; but to design what’s next for category leaders. The Category Leadership Conference is a best in class experience for executives to spend two days exploring what matters, what's next on shelf. This event is not a platform for sales, it's a platform for discovery.
The Category Leadership Conference
September 27-29, 2010
Hotel Sax - Chicago
Download the Brochure
Register today and SAVE
-Register by Friday, August 27th to save $100 off the standard rates!
Best in class brands and retailers are sharing how-to details on these hot topics:
The Hershey Company – “Actioning Insights: Going from Good to Great through Cross-Functional Teamwork”
Sara Lee – “Develop Category Leadership Competencies: Keys to Behavior Change”
Diageo North America – “The Journey in Putting Shoppers First”
Barilla USA- “Category Management and Shopper Insights Defined! Align, Design, Mine and Cosign for Success”
Del Monte – “10 Mistakes to Avoid as a Category Leader”
Ace Hardware – “Strategic Clutter: Putting Product that Sells A Lot Where People Are A Lot”
The Kellogg Company – “Rewriting the Rules of Category Management and Shopper Insights using Virtual Shopping”
Kimberly Clark – “Mom-Based Category Management: Better In-Store Programs Based on Insights from Moms”
The Coca-Cola Company, ConAgra Foods, Sara Lee, Golfsmith International – “Next Generation Category Enables”
Microsoft – “The Art of Collaboration: How Retailers Can Partner to Form Deeper Consumer Connections”
Burt's Bees – “So You Have Distribution, Now What? Shopper Insights to Accelerate a Growth Category”
For more highlights on the program, view the agenda.
Don't miss this opportunity to take category management to the next level.
Register by Friday, August 27th and save $100.
The evolution starts with you, we look forward to meeting with you in Chicago.
Cheers,
The Category Leadership Conference Team
Can’t wait to connect? Join us today in the Category Management and Shopper Insights subgroup, Category Management Leaders
Category management leaders revolutionize today’s shopping economics to improve category growth and develop the most profitable, productive mix of store and national brands. The Category Management Leaders subgroup brings together category managers, developers and other retail activation executives from across the aisles to discover, network and create the best value for shoppers and stores.
The Category Leadership Conference and The Private Brand Movement Speaker Spotlight: Eli Getson
Eli Getson recently joined Golfsmith International as Senior Vice President/General Merchandise Manager, where he helps define the company strategies in areas such as private brand development, licensing, merchandising, channel strategy, and international business growth for the largest multi-channel golf specialty retailer in the United States.
Prior to his current role, he was Category Manager/DMM for Cabela’s where he managed the Men’s Tops division for the premier retailer in the outdoor space. He has also held positions such as Vice President/Divisional Merchandise Manager- Private Brand for Bonton Stores Inc., Senior Vice President Design for Perry Ellis International, and Senior Director Merchandising for Polo Ralph Lauren. He is also a frequent contributor to the popular men’s style blog The Selvedge Yard and has been featured on such on-line publications as Valet, Hype Beast, and Selectism.
Eli will be participating in the panel discussion, "Next Generation Category Enablers" at The Category Leadership Conference 2010, September 27-29, 2010 at Hotel Sax in Chicago.
Eli will also be participating in the panel discussion, "A Conversation with...Ideas, Stories, and Perspectives - Moving Beyond Value" at The Private Brand Movement, September 27-29, 2010 at Hotel Sax in Chicago.
Category Management Leaders – join us on LinkedIn
Category management leaders revolutionize today’s shopping economics to improve category growth and develop the most profitable, productive mix of store and national brands. The Category Management Leaders subgroup brings together category managers, developers and other retail activation executives from across the aisles to discover, network and create the best value for shoppers and stores.
We hope you join us!
The Category Leadership Conference: What Matters, What’s next on shelf
“Category management is not another new buzz word, nor is it something that is just nice to do for business. Rather, it is a strategic imperative if you plan to remain in business." -- Fred J. Lewis The Quaker Oats Company
Keeping up with shopper needs has never been more challenging. Transforming your management processes into a leadership role can help you turn your ideas into reality – implementing the most profitable/productive mix. Are you ready to take category management to the next level and craft agile strategies that stay relevant to the ever-changing shopper?
National brands and mega retailers leaders will come together at – The Category Leadership Conference. With insights as the backbone to transformational retail strategies, you’ll hear real world case studies for achieving new revenue through innovative merchandising, assortment, pricing and shelf management practices. Join senior-level executives from Kimberly Clark, Barilla America, Microsoft, The Coca-Cola Company, Burt's Bees, Ace Hardware and many more.
The Category Leadership Conference
September 27-29, 2010
Hotel Sax – Chicago
• Brochure download
• Register today
- Join our LinkedIn group for exclusive discounts!
A PREVIEW OF THE PRACTICAL & ACTIONABLE PRESENTATIONS:
10 Mistakes To Avoid as a Category Leader
Bob Wong, Director of Category Leadership, DEL MONTE
People are not typically born with all the necessary skills and perspective to do category management well. It usually happens over time… through trial and error, along with some training, mentorship and even luck. As a seasoned veteran and an industry leader, my hope is to give back some words of wisdom. This session will provide some helpful guidance to both new and experienced category management professionals.
From the Shopper to Shelf: How Shopper Insights Drive Targeted Marketing and Merchandising
Solutions
Dard Neuman, PhD., President of Insights, SMARTREVENUE
By working back from the point of purchase, manufacturers and retailers can understand the “why” behind the “what” of purchase decisions and effectively and efficiently drive targeted marketing and merchandising strategies. Based on a recent in-store study, this session illustrates how new shopper-centric shelf and aisle strategies are built on understanding the “why” of purchase decisions and how best to identify the why:
• Capture shopper behaviors ethnographically at the shelf, aisle, and store levels to drive optimized shelf sets and store layouts
• Link shopper segmentation to existing consumer segmentation to develop strategies that optimally target pre-store and in-store decisions
Strategic Clutter: Putting Product that Sells a Lot Where People are A Lot
Chris Huot, Director, Category Management, ACE HARDWARE
Hilary Bloch, Category Manager, ACE HARDWARE
In a retail world dominated by mass stores with cavernous power aisles, endless end caps and robust stack outs of product, smaller independent hardware stores struggle to present their consumers with a relevant assortment of products at a perceived value in the stores’ high traffic zones. Ace Hardware has taken a unique approach, utilizing innovative category management techniques, to fill the power aisle space with everyday core merchandise that catches the eye of the mission-based customer and gets them to add one more item to their basket.
We look forward to meeting you in Chicago!
Cheers,
The Category Leadership Conference Team
The Category Leadership Conference Speaker Spotlight: Marc Gobe, Emotional Branding
An innovative brand design pioneer, Marc authored the bestselling book Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People. In 2002 he followed up with Citizen Brand: A Treatise on Corporate Responsibility and in 2007 he released Brandjam: Humanizing Brands Through Emotional Design. Marc's books champion the role of design and creative collaboration in building successful brand innovation that taps the roots of human emotion. In Emotional Branding Sergio Zyman, then the CMO of Coca-Cola is quoted saying, "Over the next three years, the aid Marc gave me was instrumental in helping us take the volume of The Coca-Cola company from nine billion to fifteen billion cases a year."
Marc's biography courtesy of Emotionalbranding.com
Join Marc and other amazing speakers at The Category Leadership Conference - September 27-29, 2010 at Hotel Sax in Chicago. Download the brochure for more event details.
Marc will be presenting, "From Brick to Click, Designing to Peak Emotions: Using Social Media to Re-connect with Consumers On and Off-line" at 8:30am, Wednesday, September 29th.
About the presentation:
Retail is but a platform for people to engage in a sensoral way with brands. The dialogue is happening off - shelves. With the help of technology the consumers are in the driving seat, able with a cell phone to compare prices, review promotions, ask their friends for advice or order online for a better offer. Retail needs to be part of this conversation to compete and leverage their teams to respond.
ShopLocal gives circulars a digital life
Retailers Canadian Tire, CVS, JCPenney, Michaels, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Save-A-Lot, Sports Authority, Staples, True Value and Walgreens are using an innovative marketing campaign aimed at making circulars digital on Facebook. Allfacebook.com reports that the retail marketing software, ShopLocal, allows Facebook users and customers to see the most relevant and personalized circular offering based on their location and demographic data. The suite includes a Deals Tab, Deals Widgets, targeted ads and Become a Fan’ widgets for third party websites. Facebook users must ‘like’ the corporate page or agree to allow the retailer to view their basic details before the customization can take effect. The report notes that the JCPenney page already has 917,000 fans.
What benefits do you feel that retailers would have by implementing this technology?
The Category Leadership Conference Speaker: Dan Heath
Dan Heath is a Senior Fellow at Duke University's CASE center, which supports social entrepreneurs. He is the co-author of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, which debuted at #1 on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. The Heath brothers previously co-wrote the critically acclaimed book Made to Stick, which was named the Best Business Book of the Year, spent 24 months on the BusinessWeek bestseller list, and has been translated into 29 languages, the last of which was Slovak.
Heath is a columnist for Fast Company magazine, and he has taught and consulted with organizations such as Microsoft, Philips, Vanguard, Macy’s, USAID, and the American Heart Association.
Previously, Dan worked as a researcher and case writer for Harvard Business School, co-authoring 10 case studies on entrepreneurial ventures, and later served as a Consultant to the Policy Programs of the Aspen Institute. In 1997, Dan co-founded an innovative publishing company called Thinkwell, which continues to produce a radically reinvented line of college textbooks.
Dan has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BA from the Plan II Honors Program from the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Rare, a conservation organization. Two proud (sort of) moments for Dan are his stint driving a promotional car called the "Brainmobile" across the country and his victory in the 2005 New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, beating out 13,000 other entrants.
Join Dan as he presents, "Implementing Change When Change is Hard" on September 28, 2010 at 8:30am as part of The Category Leadership Conference at Hotel Sax in Chicago.
The primary obstacle to changing is a conflict build into our brains. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems - the rational mind and the emotional mind - that compete for control. In Dan's presentation, you will learn:
- Turning a natural need to rethink, retool and change into the full-fledged process of innovation.
- How to trigger a genuine change process inside the company building upon past change experiences.
Dan's profile courtesy of Heathbrothers.com