Author: John Karolefski

CPGMatters: How Do Brands Benefit from Frequent Shopper Programs?

What key benefit do CPG brands derive from retail frequent shopper programs? There was no consensus among manufacturers who took an Instant Poll on the home page of the January edition of CPGmatters. Do you think the success rate of frequent shopper programs is being hampered by varying goals between suppliers and retailers? Do you agree that part of the problem is that many vendors are only looking to drive trade promotion rather than increase brand awareness?

CPGMatters: P&G Changes Rules for Product Development

P&G’s new product process now relies on Internet-based, interactive, collaborative communication internally and with its own suppliers and retail customers. Deploying these concepts has resulted in a doubling of the innovation success rate at P&G. What do you think of P&G’S goal to reach 50 percent external innovation by 2010? What do you think of the potential of Web 2.0 to drive innovation and explore ideas internally as well as externally with consumers, retailers and other partners?

CPGmatters: Cadbury Schweppes Plans to Collaborate with Retailers on Pricing and Promotions

Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages is planning to start collaborating with retailers on pricing and promotions. Its first trading partner in this new effort will be Food Lion, the operator of 1,300 supermarkets largely in the southeast. What do think of extending category management beyond space and assortment to pricing and promotions? What challenges do you see in suppliers and retailers collaborating around pricing and promotions at this level?

CPGmatters: Schering-Plough Aims to Develop Custom Shopper Marketing Programs

Schering-Plough Consumer Healthcare aims to maintain the loyalty of shoppers by developing special promotions for them with the help of retail partners. As part of the process, the firm wants to take trade relationships beyond transactional conversations about price to a higher level discussion about total value to the shopper. What do you think of Schering-Plough’s push to work closer with retailers on “the last 10 feet of the marketing plan”?

CPGmatters: How are illegal “coupon trains” hurting CPG brands?

More consumers are hopping on the “coupon train,” an increasingly popular way for them to share coupons distributed in different parts of the country. The problem is that such a practice hurts brands and is illegal. Should practices such as “coupon trains” be a serious concern for retailers and vendors? Should the retail industry be aggressively policing such practices?

CPGmatters: Crayola Connects with Consumers Using New Assortments, Merchandising

Crayola is transforming the Children’s Art Supplies (CAS) category by leveraging shopper insights to improve assortments and retail execution. The result is a stronger connection with consumers and increased brand and category sales in several trade channels. What do you think of Crayola’s move to transform the Children’s Art Supplies (CAS) category to Children’s Creative Expressions (CCE)?

CPGmatters: Makers of Ethnic Cosmetics Need To Increase Business Intelligence

Ethnic cosmetics are severely underdeveloped in food, drug and mass channels where they post only two percent of category sales. Obviously, product manufacturers must take a fresh look at their
go-to-market strategies and how they use market intelligence to gain strategic advantages. Why do you think FDM’s share of ethnic cosmetics is so low? What have been the challenges in tapping this apparent opportunity?

GHQ: Brand Builder

When Shelley Broader presided over the ribbon cutting for the new Sweetbay Supermarket in Crystal River, Fla. on Aug. 29, the ceremony was more than another store opening. For the president and CEO of the 103-store chain in southwest Florida, it also meant converting the last store in the Kash n’ Karry chain to the new brand. What do you think of Grocery Headquarters’ choice of Sweetbay’s Shelley Broader as its “Retail Executive of the Year?”

CPGmatters: Study of Hispanic Shopping Behavior to Enhance J&J’s Go-to-Market Strategy

A landmark study of Hispanic shopping behavior will enhance Johnson & Johnson’s go-to-market strategy for health and beauty care (HBC) products. The largest in-store study ever done on the subject took place in 13 main Hispanic markets and involved 12 HBC categories. Meyers Research conducted the interviews in English and Spanish. Does anything surprise you about the core findings of J&J’S Hispanic study or their approach to the Hispanic market?