Viewpoint

Bill Schober, Editorial Director,

Contestants and viewers of NBC's

Was Fred Astaire a good actor? You might say yes. You might say no. Or, you might say, "Fred Astaire made movies because he was a great dancer, not because he could act."

The voice on the other end of the phone announced, "Professor Schultz would like to talk to you." My first thought was, "Wow! We really are making headway with this in-store marketing stuff." Prof.

P-O-P does a lot more than drive product sales at 7-Eleven, according to Doug Foster, the retailer's vice president of marketing.

William Schober, Editorial Director, P-O-P Times

Procter & Gamble this summer offered yet another textbook example of how to collaborate with retail accounts.

One of the most common phrases used by trade publications covering the marketing world is, "P-O-P supports."

During a break at an industry seminar, I sat down next to a saleswoman from a leading P-O-P company. When she said she had to check her Blackberry, I asked if a day out of the office was a hassle client-wise.

Ford Motor Co.'s latest campaign to reach men who might buy their pickup trucks doesn't feature a NASCAR tie-in or a 30-second spot during

Two arch-competitors -- Intuit and H&R Block -- coexist on the same shipper display

"Retailers that facilitate quick trips -- through high-impact displays, located in high-visibility areas and filled with items shoppers replenish frequently -- will be the most in sync with the pace of shoppers' lives and have their stores resonate as solution destinations."