Management
Solutions : Measuring Ad Effectiveness
(Source:
Chain Store Age, July 2006)
While
on-line and other alternative forms of marketing are picking up steam,
traditional advertising, including weekly flyers, still accounts for a hefty
chunk of most retailers’ advertising budgets. But measuring the effectiveness
of advertising and its return on the marketing investment can be challenging.
To better ensure that its print ad dollars are on target, Sears Canada uses an
automated marketing-intelligence solution that provides a quantitative and
ongoing measurement of the impact of its advertisements on sales of individual
goods.
“Our weekly newspaper ad supplement will promote dozens of items, and it’s
essential that we are able to track the incremental sales that each ad
generates for each product,” said Miguel Pereira, director of marketing
analytics, Sears Canada,
Sears Canada tracks its media performance with the help of a “marketing
dashboard” (developed by FLW International, Chicago). A Web-based reporting
format with easy-to-understand graphics, the system allows the chain to monitor
the incremental sales generated by each individual item advertised in its
flyers as well as in its television and radio ads.
“We know which type of media works best in terms of the return on investment
for a specific offer or category, which allows us to target our spend much more
effectively,” Pereira said. “We are focusing on whatever gives the biggest
payback.” Full Story: Click Here
Xandros
releases new Linux desktop solution, offers new channel program
(Source
eChannelline.com July 9, 2006)
Xandros Inc., which has carved out a niche providing easy-to-use
Linux alternatives to Windows desktop and server products, has upped the stakes
with a new version of its consumer desktop products. The company is positioning
its new Xandros 4.0 Desktop Home Editions as combining the security and
stability of Linux with the user-friendliness of Windows and Mac OSX.
Xandros'
new Partner Program offers the channel opportunities to increase sales and
break into new market, for both Windows and Linux resellers, according to
Andreas Typaldos, Xandros CEO.
"For
Windows resellers, we eliminate the Linux learning curve and offer innovative
value-added layers around the Debian/GNU Linux kernel, enabling them to offer
the benefits of Linux to both new and existing customers," he said.
"And since Xandros is substantially cheaper than Windows, partners can
pass some of those savings on to their customers and keep some for themselves.
For Linux resellers with a traditional focus on data center and custom
deployments, Xandros empowers them, at long last, to break into vast SMB and
enterprise department markets dominated by Microsoft Windows."
The program
offers Registered, Gold, and Platinum levels of membership, with benefits
including sales and engineering training, technical support, sales enablement
kits, and a lead generation program.
"Windows
resellers have been operating in an oversaturated market with very small
margins, sometimes as low as 0.2 per cent," explained Kanfer. "For
them, Xandros offers Windows-like functionality with all the benefits of Linux.
Windows resellers can expand their portfolio, and become immediately
profitable. They can differentiate themselves from other Windows resellers
before the launch of
GM's
Alternate Reality Game Yields Real-World Results (Source: Adage.com July 10, 2006)
Carmaker's
Offbeat Online Effort Hypes Ethanol Campaign, Logs 1.8 Million Page Views
For four
months, Christopher Love was plagued by a nagging question: Who is Benjamin
Stove?
'Four-month commercial'
"Who knew a four-month commercial could be so fun?" Mr. Love told
Advertising Age in an e-mail. For GM, the feeling is mutual. The automaker's
first trip into the world of alternate-reality gaming nabbed the company a
small but highly engaged audience for what ordinarily might have been a mundane
message: the benefits of ethanol. More than 1,000 players came along for the
four-month romp through "a modern-day mystery," said GM's Bob Kraut,
director-brand marketing and advertising operations.
Alternate-reality games, or ARGs, are catching on with marketers. ARGs ask
players to solve mysteries by seeking out clues online and, increasingly,
offline as well. Microsoft used an ARG in 2004 to market Halo 2, Audi launched
its "Art of the Heist" game last year, and ABC is using an ARG to
keep "Lost" viewers intrigued throughout the summer.
1.8 million page views
GM's effort attracted 1.8 million page views through mid-April, with 383,829
consumers spending an average of nearly 17 minutes per visit, according to
Stefan Kogler, senior VP-creative director of new media at Campbell-Ewald,
which designed the game. (To put that into perspective, a niche cable network
such as the Travel Channel might snag about 400,000 prime-time viewers on an
average night.) GMD Studios -- the
It launched in early January at whoisbenjaminstove.com. There, fictional
29-year-old Tampa, Fla., resident and Newton, Iowa, native Tucker Darby asked
for help unraveling the mystery of an antique painting of crop circles he
bought in the sale of the Stove family's farm estate in Newton. Benjamin Stove,
the farm's last owner, had disappeared without a trace. (Tucker Darby's online
picture is actually the ad agency's Brad Fairhurst; other Campbell-Ewald execs
appear as well: Christine Wilson posed as Sarah Randall, cynical publisher of
debunkette.com, a website on the paranormal and Chris Zientek was Benjamin
Stove, who spent his life trying to solve the crop-circles mystery.)
Real-world destinations
The story unfolded over 12 weeks, with twists and turns including alien
appearances and conspiracy theories. One discovery: The crop-circle painting
and other clues nearly matched ethanol's molecular makeup.
Mr. Love, who owns a Mazda Protégé and diesel Dodge Ram 3500, said he
"didn't really have any opinion at all about GM before" but now has a
favorable, if not yet strong, impression of the carmaker. "It's nice to
know that a large corporation will take the time and spend the money to spread
awareness of a noble cause." Full Story: Click Here
SAP
Acquires Partner Praxis for SMB E-Commerce Solution
JULY 10,
2006
SAP AG
announced July 10 that it has acquired Praxis Software Solutions, a former SAP
partner, to provide an integrated e-commerce and ERP solution for small and
midsize businesses.
Praxis
software, which will be integrated with SAP's Business One enterprise resource
planning solution, enables users to set up online stores and deploy CRM
(customer relationship management) software via the Internet—SAP currently
offers the latter capability through its on-demand CRM service announced earlier this
year.
The knitted
solution, Business One and Praxis' e-commerce storefront, gets SMB customers
over the pitfalls many might encounter when they hang their shingle on the
Internet, said Gadi Shamia, SAP's senior vice president of solution management
for small business solutions. Many SMBs and partners had been hitching
e-commerce and ERP solutions together for the intended effect, but with greater
effort and failure, Shamia added.
SAP
inherits the 53 partners who had been selling Praxis' solution and expects to
build the channel as ISVs grow interested in adding to Business One. Full
Story: Click Here
Events
TPMA’s
Annual Conference, September 25-27, 2006, will share advanced strategies and ready solutions
for your greatest performance measurement challenges. This conference will
highlight case studies and implementation strategies from manufacturers and
retailers, including those that have integrated TPM with their Supply Chain. It
will also provide the perspective of both CPG and Dealer Channel based
programs.
Don’t miss
this opportunity to learn from:
CAS and Coty how to take an integrated approach to demand side
management
ACB and Verizon how to collaborate effectively with dealers to
optimize promotions
Google to effectively use of trade funds
in alternative media
The first 100 people to register for the TPMA Annual
Conference in September receive a complimentary copy of Bob Houk’s new book,
“Trade Promotion Marketing”
VCF
Global Conference – Retail Trading Partners Unite!
This year’s
VCF Global Conference will be held at the Camelback Inn in
Don't
forget to make your hotel reservations now because rooms are already being
booked! To make your hotel reservations, call the Camelback Inn at
1-800-242-2635 for the negotiated rate of $245/night. Reference the
Vendor Compliance Federation to secure your special room rate.
Our
updated agenda is available to download right now. To view and register, click here!
Career
Opportunities:
TRADE FUNDS COORDINATOR: Diamond Foods, Inc., is looking for a Trade Funds
Coordinator to assist and administer internal processes and documentation of
promotion fund. This position will be based in Diamond's
Diamond
Foods, Inc.
Human Resources
jobs@diamondnuts.com
Reference
Code: 105626MON