Trade Promotions

It's good news for Shopper Marketing agencies like birdsong gregory when national brands declare the continued need for increased spending on advertising, in-store promotion, shelf signage, coupons and packaging. Turns out the recession has persuaded many shoppers to "trade down" to private label store brands and the big guys are feeling the heat. We'll see increased spending on traditional advertising, but I suspect investments at the shelf level will see the biggest jump as brands employ shopper marketing strategies and increase consumer promotions to lift sales.

Good question. Especially since the use of trade promotions by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods continues to soar. As largest expense companies face (second only to the cost of goods and accounting for approximately 70% of a manufacturer's marketing budget), manufacturers rely on trade promotions to counter the popularity of lower-priced store brands, to pass along a discount to a price-sensitive segment of shoppers (e.g., through a frequent-shopper program), to enhance brand exposure with target consumers, or simply to provide additional stimulus to move excess inventory or counteract competitors.

Retailers, in turn, favor trade spending because it builds store traffic, improves retail margins, and, in general, the majority of the costs (and risks) are borne by the brand manufacturer.

So as consumer products companies continue to spend a significant chunk of revenue on trade promotions, here at birdsong gregory, we're  excited to see how innovative technologies from companies like Siperian are now helping consumer goods companies make more informed, holistic decisions when it comes to marketing spend in the trade channel.

Check it out.

 

 

 

Whether you’re marketing, branding, or advertising in Charlotte, NC or Dongguan, China, it’s important that you protect your company’s distinctive brand elements like a logo or a tagline.

A trademark is any phrase or symbol that functions as a brand, that is, it tells the public that there is a particular source or manufacturer for products or services (e.g., “Mattel” is a trademark for the toy company; the Apple logo is a trademark for the computer company). The scope of what can be a trademark is very broad — words, images, sounds and colors can all function as trademarks. Even packaging and promotional concepts for products or services can be protected as “trade dress,” which is another form of trademark rights (e.g., Apple’s iPod ads).

So North Carolina advertising agencies take note, trademarks must be distinctive, which means consumers recognize the mark as a designation of source, rather than just a phrase or decoration. Unfortunately, what makes a mark “strong” from a legal standpoint may be the opposite of what Charlotte graphic designers and their clients might think of as a strong mark. Under trademark law, marks that describe or suggest some feature of the goods or services are “weak.” For example, “Apple” would be a weak mark for a bakery that sells apple pies. Other food businesses would be able to use Apple marks without infringing the bakery’s trademark rights.

The strongest trademarks are made-up marks, or words or images that don’t suggest the goods or services. Xerox is a classic example of a made-up mark. Apple and the Apple logo for computers are also strong marks.