Molehill Enhancement Exercises

I don't communicate on Twitter, mostly because I have a tough time limiting myself to 140 words, let alone 140 characters.I don't maintain a blog, either, largely because I'm still a bit concerned that the format is expediting the information world's steady migration from fact to conjecture.Both social media platforms have their benefits, for sure. There are a few high-level marketing executives at leading retailers who we've never been able to reach by phone or email, but who now have become astoundingly accessible through Twitter. And we get some of our best information leads through the numerous blogs tracking various aspects of the retail industry.They also are both great venues for simply, briefly airing your thoughts on random topics -- kind of like a universally adaptable Larry King column. So, if I did tweet or blog, here are some of the random thoughts I may have tossed out recently. If, as is sometimes suggested, the Super Bowl showcases the pinnacle of advertising creativity, then the ad industry has fallen off the mountain. With only a few exceptions, this year's crop was neither entertaining nor informative. While we're on that subject, do you think the marketers at Motorola were thinking "store back" when they decided to put sultry actress Megan Fox in a bathtub? As for in-store marketing, the apparent plan for most grocery retailers was to hand the front end over to PepsiCo (after allocating a little space for Kraft, Kellogg and Anheuser-Busch's "Bud Bowl"). This year's representative P-O-P element was a stanchion sign advertising discount party platters. As a tentpole merchandising event, the Super Bowl sure could have used a few center-ring acts to put inside the tent. As Walmart steadily rolls out "Project Impact," it's hard to judge whether the brand-driven merchandising programs we still find in stores are no more than vestigial organs that will soon disappear completely. But those aforementioned displays from PepsiCo, et al., that found their way into at least a few Walmart stores seemed to create a "big game" atmosphere much better than the chain's own P-O-P materials did. Being a fly on the wall at the Retail Commission on Shopper Marketing meetings has been a fascinating experience. While it's frustrating to hear that corporate prejudices and resistance to change are still major stumbling blocks for many organizations, it's energizing to learn retailers and manufacturers agree that collaborative planning is the key to future success. For brands, collaborative thinking is now necessary not just for success, but for survival. It's going to be awfully hard to build your brand in the store if it's not even on the shelf, and recent reports about delistings at Walmart, CVS/pharmacy and other retailers are proving that even top national brands can no longer be complacent about their status. I still think the move toward shopper marketing is as much about returning to the pre-mass media days of retailing as it is embarking on a new era of consumer communication. If Sam Drucker or Nels Olesen were alive today (and, of course, actual people), they'd make a killing as consultants. It's 2010. Wasn't Tesco's Fresh & Easy supposed to have conquered the FDM industry by now? Have any of the industry pundits who made that prediction back in 2007 been given a demerit?Peter BreenManaging Director, ContentIn-Store Marketing Institute

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