Retail Marketing

Lately I have been acutely aware that I am getting older (before you roll your eyes at the 26-year-old calling herself “old” hear me out) – everywhere I look I see kids and teenagers doing, wearing, saying and watching things that both amaze and unnerve me. When did I begin criticizing “teenagers” in such a blanketed fashion?

Before I begin pointing my boney finger or kick-off some grand theory on the downfall of our youth, I think it is equally important to consider how technologically skilled and proficient this group has become (which has undeniably fueled some of my previously mentioned concern). I would be willing to bet that my 12-year old neighbor, and perhaps even his 8-year-old sister, could teach me a thing or two about my iPod, laptop and/or smartphone.

When I got my first cell phone as a teenager, it was a big deal. Only 3 or 4 of my friends had cell phones. When adding ‘Contacts’ to my phone, I added home numbers, not cell phone numbers. Today, I automatically assume that 90% of the numbers in my ‘Contact’ list are cell phones because, well, they are. Today, I just immediately assume that just about everyone has a cell phone. In fact, I cannot think of anyone over the age of 12 that doesn’t have one (and that includes my 71-year-old, technology-phobe father).

To say that times have changed is an understatement. The way in which technology has engrained itself in our youth’s lives is particularly astounding. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found that children aged 8 to 18 spend as more time with media on a weekly basis than the most adult spends at work (53 hours)! 

Mobile adoption is a huge contributor to this. Over the past five years, there has been a huge increase in ownership among 8 to 18 year-olds (from 39% to 66% for cell phones and 18% to 76% for iPods and MP3 players.) The possibilities of mobile local advertising just astound me. When I think about the future of mobile advertising, I do occasionally feel a little nervous that I might get bombarded more than I care to; however, I also predict that I will be receiving useful coupons, messages, facts, etc. from companies that I provide my number to, and what's more, receive them based upon my real-time, physical location. Can you imagine receiving an automatic coupon for Target when you are actually IN TARGET? That possibility for retail marketing is cool (and useful) to me both as a consumer and a marketer.  

So I will end my ramblings with this - if you are a business, engaged in local store marketing that has refrained from looking into new, interactive advertising mediums, you had better take note. First, you are likely already missing out on a large majority of your target demographic and second, today’s teens are tomorrow’s coveted early 20’s, college-aged demographic and you had better believe they will be turning to the web, their smartphones, their iPods, etc. Will you be there? Local internet marketing not only works today but will increasingly be seen as a necessity for marketing success.

Public Television.  Although it may not be the most popular media vehicle for advertisers in this age of Twitter, a burgeoning blogosphere, and increasingly interactive outdoor advertising, it’s still a perfectly viable, albeit decidedly un-sexy, medium to consider in media planning strategy when attempting to reach a more…   how do I put this delicately?  Distinguished audience.  It’s fairly well-known in media circles that PBS reaches an audience that tends to be older, more affluent, and thus more likely to purchase luxury goods and services.  We think. 

Because of the rules that surround ‘advertising’ on Public TV, advertisers aren’t technically ‘advertising’ at all, they’re underwriting or sponsoring given programming—“Nova this evening is brought to you by Lear, specializing in all of your private jet setting excursions.”  These sponsorships are not allowed to feature calls-to-action or pricing information of any kind—additionally, (or perhaps interestingly is a better word) if you’re selling personal products, soap, etc., you might be out of luck: they’re reviewed on a case-by-case basis and if your ad features any “waist-to-knee” footage, you’ll receive a large “REJECTED, OVERT PBS VIOLATION” stamp on your sponsorship submission.  The collateral damage that results from these stringent FCC-enforced rules is a complete lack of ratings information.  Without ratings information, media planners are acting on a gut-feeling when recommending PBS to those dedicated to retail marketing.  “Well, we feel like this is a good fit for your Nantucket-based-boutique-400-thread-count-seersucker-robe business, but you’re just going have to trust us as we have NO data to back up our feeling.”

Until now. I found recently via MediaBuyerPlanner that PBS recently signed with ratings company Nielsen in an attempt to hopefully shed some much-needed light on what we’ve suspected all along: the Antiques Road Show has a lot of viewers.  Kidding aside, this is a very good thing: PBS is helping us planners to be surer about our choices, in turn allowing us to make our clients and their local advertising more successful.  Armed with the appropriate ratings data, we can either abandon previously-recommended PBS sponsorships or—and PBS is hoping it will go this way—ramp them up.  Don’t be surprised to see luxury goods producers/Centrum Silver clamoring for PBS underwriting in the coming months.  I just hope I can get through Masterpiece without constantly being reminded of the fact that I’ll probably never own a Rolex; amid my frustrations, however, I will thank them for “bringing me that programming”.  

Like most people in Boise, I’m an outdoor enthusiast. It’s a big part of why I chose to live here. With a love for outdoor activities comes the insatiable thirst for top of the line gear. Sure, call me a gear-head. Self admitted.

When it comes to purchasing the latest and greatest outdoor gear, I automatically gravitate to REI for two simple reasons. One, their customer service is second to none. And two, I’m a member of the REI co-op program. REI was established as a co-op providing members with an annual dividend check formulated from the member’s total purchases throughout the fiscal year. The use of co-op for retail stores is a simple concept that has worked incredibly well and is best seen by REI’s history of steady growth in a crowded retail sector.

So if it is so simple, why aren’t more brands using co-op for their retail distributors the way retail distributors use co-op for their customers? Easy answer. It’s too damn complicated. The paperwork and filing process associated with co-op reimbursement for distributors has been so cumbersome that, oftentimes, retailers will leave eligible dollars on the table at yearend simply because the co-op marketing program wreaks havoc on the retailer’s cash flow by the time they are finally reimbursed. The concept of co-op advertising works so long as it is easy to use and straight-forward.

Enter Balihoo’s new Integrated Co-op Marketing Solution: An easy solution to enable effective co-op marketing at a local level. For fun, let’s play out a brief scenario to show just how powerful co-op marketing can be.

Brand X releases a new lightweight soft-shell jacket with state of the art fabric technology and happens to offer a 75% co-op for all advertising dollars spent by retailers promoting the product. Brand X does this via Balihoo’s new solution. Retailer, REI in this scenario, decides to run a strategic local advertising campaign at their Boise location that features a co-branded advertisement with Brand X’s new product and REI’s logo. And for the sake of this story, the ad happens to be localized via Balihoo’s local marketing automation tool (yep, all located in the same online portal). Brand X loves this because their product is being marketed at the local level. REI loves this because it is simple and Brand X is helping pay for the ad real-time, meaning that there is no waiting or messy paper work associated with receiving reimbursement. Co-op is applied at the time an order is placed and full transparency is seen by all parties involved.

…Along comes a gear-head such as myself. I see the ad, and go to REI to check it out because I trust the retailer and the products they sell. Oh, and did I forget to mention that I go to REI because I love the REI member co-op program? I purchase the product, and go figure, I use my REI Visa to purchase the coat because it increases my eligible co-op amount on the product and thus results in a larger yearend dividend. I then receive my dividend check and the whole process starts over when I see another co-branded REI ad promoting a new Brand Y cycling shoe that REI just started selling. And guess what? Brand Y is offering a 90% co-op.

To sum it up, much like retail stores can drive consumer behavior via co-op, brand’s can drive retailer behavior using the same simple concept.

Co-op advertising. It’s a beautiful thing.

Tags:  Channel Marketing Software, Co-op Advertising, Co-op Marketing Software, Co-op Marketing Solution, CRM Marketing Automation, Retail Marketing, Sales Promotion Marketing, Trade Promotion Marketing

For those of you involved in Co-op advertising or co-op marketing programs, I wanted to make you aware of a new whitepaper we have entitled, "Integrated Co-op Marketing." 

You can access the whitepaper here:  Integrated Co-op Marketing

The overall concept of the whitepaper is that organizations who integrate the creative and financial components of their co-op marketing solution see significantly increased results from their channel marketing program.  We believe that by deploying sophisticated co-op marketing software an organization can dramatically increase reseller participation and success in their co-op marketing solution. 

Marketing software tools, specifically co-op marketing software, have made significant strides in recent years and this whitepaper will help you understand how to identify and deploy the most effective co-op marketing solution. 

Would love to hear any feedback! 

Tags:  Channel Marketing Software, Co-op Advertising, Co-op Marketing Software, Co-op Marketing Solution, CRM Marketing Automation, Retail Marketing, Sales Promotion Marketing, Trade Promotion Marketing

Sales promotion marketing, using co-op advertising funds, has typically been a very promotional-based type activity.  The brand builds the ad, in which the retailer plays a minor role, then a print ad builder is used to customize it for the retailer. 

However, as suggested by this Ad Age article, Walmart is taking a unique spin on these ads.  They're focused more on the product itself, with the retailer taking the back seat in terms of visibility.  It suggests that because Walmart has established a positioning of low-price leader, they're able to run these more brand-based (or product based) ads without the need for a heave dose of sales promotion marketing messaging. 

While interesting in and of itself as a general trend, I think it's important for product manufacturers to consider how this could play out in their co-op advertising programs.  Specifically, manufacturers need to consider the role their creative and creative templates play given this information.

Our recommendation to clients of our co-op marketing solution is that they need to develop creative templates that allow for a spectrum.  At a very basic level you can create two versions of your product ad - one where the retailer plays a starring role and one where the retailer plays a minor role.  Then, fund these templates at different levels (for example, 25% co-op for one version and 50% co-op for the other).  Approaching it in this fashion allows the retailer to implement their sales promotion marketing efforts in the manner the best suits them and they're rebated at a level that is comfortable to the product manufacturer. 

Of course, this approach assumes that you have a print ad builder (or other mediums) implemented in your co-op advertising program that can manage this level of specificity.  Balihoo's channel marketing software can handle that, I hope yours can too.   

Tags:  Channel Marketing Software, Co-op Advertising, Co-op Marketing Software, Co-op Marketing Solution, CRM Marketing Automation, Retail Marketing, Sales Promotion Marketing, Trade Promotion Marketing

Note:  This post originally appeared on Balihoo's old blog on 11/25/09 by Alex Fascilla

Black Friday, as the retail marketing industry dubbed it, has grown to gigantic proportions in a race to determine the most materialistic day of the year: a rat race of overspending; a gluttony for new debt, a general desecration of the modern civilized shopping experience. Okay, I apologize; perhaps that was a snap judgment. In most cases, people participate in Black Friday to score an unbelievable bargain on a gift for a loved one en route to getting a good portion of their holiday shopping out of the way.

The author, however, sees this as a day to score himself a 32″ Sony Bravia for $379 simply by being quick on his feet and unafraid to throw elbows at invading soccer moms that roll like a hurricane through helpless mega-stores like Target. But has it ever worked out like that for him? Absolutely not. You ask, more importantly, “does that deal exist?” Yes, it was recently in a leaked Kmart ad. That isn’t the point, however. The point is that after three attempts to conquer the ‘doorbuster’ deals that are the foundation of the Black Friday ideal, the author has been left empty handed, walking aimlessly through a store featuring regular prices until eventually settling on his third and most indifferent choice for Mom for H/K/C*: sorry Ma, no 10″ digital picture frame for you this year… another pair of ‘Mom jeans’ it is; and you don’t have to lie, I know they’ll eventually burrow to the bottom of your jeans drawer–No returns either, the author doesn’t believe in gift receipts. And he got up at 4:30 am for that? 4:30 am? Is that even a real time?

The reality is, this is what your local retail marketing superstore wants to happen. They want you to enter on the premise you’ll be walking out the front door, a hair past 5:22 am, $4 Blu-ray player in hand, well on your way to the best and most affordable gift-giving ceremony ever, when in reality, you drag yourself out of bed at Satan’s hour to end up with Mom jeans at regular price, surrounded by people that are seemingly grumpy we’re nearing the happiest day of the year, made even crankier by the lingering Thanksgiving hangover. This author has to admit, these retailers are pretty darn good at what they do.  Is this the pinnacle of local marketing ideas? 

So to all those that are going to brave the extreme temperatures, long-lines, and a chance to get one of three $7 Wii’s that are “* Per Location“: good luck. To all others, I’ll see you at noon. I hear there’s a special on musical ties.

*(Hanukah/Kwanza/Christmas)

Note:  This post originally appeared on the older Balihoo blog on 10/27/09. 

JUST in case you missed our announcement on PRweb or our News section (we like to be thorough) I wanted to let everyone know that we have some pretty exciting news today - we’re announcing the wide availability of our Integrated Co-op Marketing Solution. 

This is a big deal for us - we’ve had co-op functionality in our system for awhile, but for the first time we’re packaging it up nicely and making it widely available to all of our customers (and potential customers).  I’ve seen firsthand the delight on a reseller/distributor/franchisee face the first time they log into this co-op marketing solution and realize that they can manage both the creative and financial ends of their co-op advertising spend through one easy system.  The time savings and cost savings they realize are immediate and significant. 

And for the national brand running the co-op advertising program - the biggest deal here is the visibility they have into what’s going on at a local level.  Imagine being able to completely understand the local support of a product launch BEFORE it’s launched.  Or, view marketing activities at a local level to understand what’s working for your affiliates.  Invaluable. 

If you want to learn more about using a centralized system to manage a co-op program, check out our Integrated Co-op Marketing Software whitepaper at:  www.balihoo.com/icm

OK, enough about us, back to our regularly scheduled programming……

Tags:  Channel Marketing Software, Co-op Advertising, Co-op Marketing Software, Co-op Marketing Solution, CRM Marketing Automation, Retail Marketing, Sales Promotion Marketing, Trade Promotion Marketing

NOTE:  This was originally posted on the older version of the Balihoo blog on 10/20/09 by Marcie Blagden. 

Here’s an interesting blog posting - Co-op or MDF: Who cares? in which the author discusses the differences between Co-op advertising and MDF advertising programs and analyzes the current trend of  manufacturers to move more towards MDF-based programs. 

I agree with the author here – who cares as long as it’s successful? 

Regardless of the format of the program, more time and attention needs to be placed on building programs that are easy-to-use (both for manufacturer and distributor) and ultimately successful in the marketplace.  The MOST successful co-op advertising programs minimize the administrative efforts required by both parties while maximizing the return-on-investment (and time) of dollars placed into the system.

Tags:  Channel Marketing Software, Co-op Advertising, Co-op Marketing Software, Co-op Marketing Solution, CRM Marketing Automation, Retail Marketing, Sales Promotion Marketing, Trade Promotion Marketing  

Co-op marketing solutions and co-op advertising program can be incredibly valuable and effective; however, unless they are clearly executed by all involved parties they can be reduced to simply an additional headache that never seems to perform quite as desired.

Consider the following:

• Do you really believe your co-op advertising budget is being well spent?
• Can you guarantee coordination of timing and messages for product launch marketing efforts?
• Are your resellers spending more time complaining about delayed reimbursements than working to achieve results in your upcoming key selling season?
• Have your competitors started to outflank you with more effective co-op advertising program - even though they offer an inferior product?
  
  
  Co-op Marketing Strategies: Building a Better Co-op/MDF Program

  View more presentations from Balihoo.

  

  

  Tags:  Channel Marketing Software, Co-op Advertising, Co-op Marketing Software, Co-op Marketing Solution, CRM Marketing Automation, Retail Marketing, Sales Promotion Marketing, Trade Promotion Marketing

Note:  This post originally appeared on Balihoo's old blog on 11/17/09

The Trade Promotion Marketing Association (TPMA) reports that there are approximately $50B in co-op/MDF dollars available in a given year, while only $30B are actually used. This means that 40% of the dollars that manufacturers make available to their channel to drive local demand generation go unused.

Let me rephrase that - manufacturers offer free money to resellers to drive their business and it’s only accepted 60% of the time. Does that sound right to you?  Does that sound like an effective co-op marketing solution?

As channel and trade managers, you should not accept this as the due course of business. My belief is that adoption rate - the % of your resellers eligible for your co-op program who actually engage - should be the key front-end metric you measure to understand the value of your overall co-op marketing solution. No, it certainly won’t replace the key back-end metrics of revenue and ROI, but on the front-end it is the main thing you should be looking at in your co-op marketing software. Why? Because your adoption rate can tell you so much about your program.

Getting a deep understanding of your adoption rate (over time) can help you understand:
- Are my salesforce engaged and being ambassadors for the program?
- Am I effectively communicating the program?
- Is the program easy-to-use?
- Am I providing enough flexibility within the program?
- Is the creative valuable to my partners?

So - tip of the day - track your adoption rate. If you see it anywhere below around 80%, you should be taking a deep dive to understand why your resellers are not taking advantage to move their business forward.  FYI - your co-op marketing software should be able to help here! 

Tags:  Channel Marketing Software, Co-op Advertising, Co-op Marketing Software, Co-op Marketing Solution, CRM Marketing Automation, Retail Marketing, Sales Promotion Marketing, Trade Promotion Marketing