Chiquita Standee Achieves 88 percent Store Placement Rate

A life-size Miss Chiquita standee distributed last summer to 8,600 supermarkets in the U.S. and Canada effected an 88 percent store placement rate for Chiquita Brands International, Cincinnati, the leading producer, marketer and distributor of bananas.A study conducted by Promo Edge, Neenah, Wis., designers and manufacturers of the standee, showed that 72 percent of the stores surveyed placed the standee in the produce department, where it was intended to go. For Chiquita, the promotion resulted in a 60 percent increase in retailer participation over the previous year's program, which led to double-digit sales increases in key markets, according to the study released by Promo Edge's Retail Research Center.To help ensure the displays would make it to store floors, Promo Edge's pre-promotion survey identified requirements such as acceptable size specifications. For example, the standee could not measure more than 6 feet tall because it would obstruct the view of prices in the produce aisle. Other P-O-P components initially considered were eliminated based on the pre-promotion research. The study also identified the stores most likely to use the standee, and only those locations received the unit.According to David Lund, Chiquita Brands' director of marketing, "The pre-promotion survey was key in determining the acceptability levels of various sizes of P-O-S. Accordingly, it helped reduce design costs by enabling us to focus our time and efforts only on those formats that were acceptable."The 1998 Chiquita Banana Summer Fun Promotion, which encouraged heart-healthy eating and energetic family activities, also included a tabletop standee, chart holder, charts and tear pads with sweepstakes entry forms. The promotion's objectives were to generate excitement for the brand by involving both consumers and retailers; to sell the promotion into as many stores as possible; and to increase banana consumption.Because of the program's success, Chiquita is developing a similar promotion for this month and next, the centerpiece of which will again be an oversize, high-impact P-O-S unit, according to David Botsford, president of The Botsford Group, Atlanta, promotion marketers for Chiquita.Chiquita primarily relies on retail staff for its display placement. Sometimes, however, the company works with local merchandising forces to place its display units. Chiquita used Merchandising Corp. of America, Charlotte, N.C., to help establish the 1998 program.

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