NEW PROMOTIONAL METHODS A DOUBLE AGE SWORD FOR TRADE MARK OWNERS

AdAge reports on the “arsenal” of new promotional devices being used by marketers and retailers within supermarkets. The overwhelming choice of TV and print-based fora for advertising products has led to marketers seeking to turn the shopping experience itself into a branded experience. Examples include floors that talk, messages that swoop down from the ceiling and motion sensors that trigger on-shelf light shows, such as those piloted by the drinks brand Mountain Dew, which caused individual containers of the drink to light up bright green as consumers walked past the refrigerator in which they are stored.

This isn’t all good news for brand-owners though. Some shops, keen to promote their own-brands and afraid that an excess in marketing will cause the messages of the promotions to be lost in a form of “instore spam” have implemented “clean store” policies, strictly regulating promotions by brand owners. Nonetheless, such promotions are valued in view of the widely cited fact that 70% of buying decisions are made at the point of purchase which translate into profits not only for the brand owner but also for the retailer. Moreover, promotions that push a particular brand often end up stimulating sales for the product category as a whole.

The IPKat is fascinated by the ever more innovative ways brand-owners find to use their trade marks, though he warns that, as certain supermarkets have recognised, over-promotion could negate the effect a trade mark has if everyone else is using the same methods to promote their goods. The message will simply get lost in a sea of advertising that consumers will just blank out.

Floors that talk here and here
Instore spam here
Some promotion Mountain Dew could do without here