Store Tours Add Legs to Advisory Council Meeting

The In-Store Marketing Institute's Executive Advisory Council (EAC) met in January for the first of two meetings to be held this year. The executives, recruited to provide guidance and support for the Institute, came together at Kraft Foods' R&D facility in Glenview, IL. Patrick Hare, Kraft's senior director of in-store merchandising and sales communications, hosted the meeting.The council kicked off the day with tours of nearby Walgreens and Costco stores. Walgreen Co.'s Pam Orlando Gangware, manager, creative services, and Lyle Lamont, creative director, advertising, led the tour and Q&A session. Gangware touched on display standards and how Walgreens store managers interact with Walgreen headquarters.Costco's Caton Frates, vp, midwest regional operations manager; Bill Hanson, vp, GMM foods, midwest region; and Dave Dugan, asst. GMM foods, midwest region, led two separate groups of council members through a Costco store. They discussed how the store's customer demographics compared to the rest of the chain; recent pallet and cut-case design innovations; and Costco's use of countertop and demo displays.The council returned to Kraft, where Peter Hoyt, executive director of the Institute, gave a brief overview of the state of the association. Council members also heard a presentation on consumer trends from Chris Hogan, Kraft's vp-sales information and technology. Bob Michelson, ceo of Goliath Solutions provided an update on the continuing development of RFID technology and its use in tracking display effectiveness. Lunch featured cuisine developed for Kraft's new line of South Beach Diet foods. The next EAC meeting will be hosted by the Anderson Corporation, Bayport, MN, in June. For more information on the Institute's Advisory Council, visit instoremarketer.org/advisory.

Store Tours Add Legs to Advisory Council Meeting

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