Given the right mix, tie-ins are an extremely effective way for multiple brands to team up. Not only are brands sharing cost in development and production, but they are also strengthening their brand message. And finally, retailers desire them because of cross-category purchases.

A Triple Win

Retailers Win:
Stimulated cross-category purchases
Increased store traffic

Consumers Win:
Saving money
Increased awareness

Overall, there is a high opportunity cost from delisting items. The estimated percent sales lost due to delisting has historically been greater than the new item dollar share. In highly marketed categories, roughly 30% of category sales are generated from SKU movement. With such a substantial chunk of category sales tied to listing and delisting decisions, the accuracy of assortment management is critical.

Good real estate comes at a price - and the aisles of a retail store are no exception. When a manufacturer launches a new product, there needs to be room on the store shelf for its placement. To make that room, the retail buyer will notoriously ask the manufacturer to delist an item from the portfolio. But which item gets the ax? Is there a compelling story that identifies what item to delist?

The survey, conducted by IDC Global Retail Insights and titled “Being Consumer-Centric: A Retailer and Manufacturer Update”, shows companies are seeing benefits from the concept, but more opportunities are available. Consumer centricity was defined in the survey as any strategy for which an organization uses shopper data to develop insight as a driver for decision-making.

“This survey confirms that retailers and consumer products manufacturers have become more consumer-centric for several years and are serious about committing to this type of initiative,” said Marc Dietz, vice president of marketing at DemandTec. “Given the difference between top-performing retailers and the rest of the pack, it is interesting to see the tremendous opportunity for additional investment and improvement.”

Marketing a product to a consumer necessitates getting the word out to the public – buy our product and you will get the best bang for your buck. In today’s economy, consumers are not handing out their bucks so quickly. People are being more thoughtful and cautious before parting with their dollars.

Many economists have declared a recession is already here, thus fueling a critical change in thinking for millions of consumers. We have witnessed gas prices across the nation climbing toward or over the $4.00 a gallon mark, the volatility of the stock market, and the soaring number of home foreclosures due to the subprime mortgage financing crisis. With all these conditions preying on us, we are forced to take a more introspective and analytic approach when it comes to personal buying habits.

Advantages of Price Packs

• Allows price differentiation at point-of-purchase.
• Allows manufacturer to control liability.
• Can be used to promote a particular size or flavor.

Disadvantages of Price Packs

• Are regulated by the FTC. (Brand must have an established price, no more than 50% of annual volume can have price packs, only 3 price pack events per year are allows, there must be at least a 30-day period between each price pack.)
• Have long lead times.
• May downgrade a brand’s image.
• Can be unpopular with the trade. (Generates a new SKU, but no new traffic.)

Source: PMA

On-pack and In-packs - Premiums or coupons inserted in or attached to a product.

Advantages of On-packs and In-packs

• Can differentiate the product at point of sale.
• May serve as a future reminder to buy.
• Can allow costs to be determined in advance.

Disadvantages of On-pack and In-packs

• Can be expensive to manufacture and distribute.
• May be refused by the retailer.
• Can be pilfered.

Source: PMA

After going through all of the internal preparation and coupon creation, you're ready to make your coupon promotion happen. These are the functional parties to consider.

Now that you've planned the execution of your coupon promotion, your next step is to put the actual coupon together.

Large retail, chain stores are a necessary channel of manufactured, consumer goods. Having the widest selection and best prices, these stores offer consumers most every product desirable. A fundamental promotional tool in the marketing mix is to promote products with Free Standing Inserts (FSIs) which publicize new product features usually with cents off coupons.

Last Labor Day, there were three times the normal amount of FSI coupons in our local paper. With the decline of the newspaper industry, you would think that FSI's wouldn't be so prevalent. And yet, we see more demand than ever from consumers to use these types of promotional programs.