7 minute read
Merchandise promotion scores on a triple play
qROMOTION,an essential step in F merchandising, has evolved in many instances into a three way partnership between manufacturer, distributor and dealer.
Applied at the grass roots level, a program is often implemented and orchestrated through the wholesale distributor who qualifies for drawing rights on a pool of funds based on purchases. In most situations the coop funds are passed along to the local dealer in the form of support of special sales event promotions. Verification of advertising and claims for reimbursement are channeled through the wholesale distributor.
Two timely examples, utilizing redwood co-op promotion offered by Simpson Timber Co., were staged recently in Idaho and Utah by two retailers working through Imperial Wholesale Supply of Salt Lake City, ut.
The first promotion on Memorial Day included 2l stores of the
Anderson Lumber chain in Idaho and Utah. Amid sparkling sunshine, colorful fluttering pennants, free balloons, free soft drinks, 250 hot dogs and a spirited golf putting competition, an appealing assortment of sale merchandise was featured including redwood.
A golf theme format was used to add animation to the four-color l6-page tabloid supplement that received mass exposure in 22 Idaho and Utah newspapers covering Anderson's trading area. Co-op funding was applied on advance TV spots specifically promoting redwood on sale.
Live remote radio spots were beamed from the West Jordan, Ut., store on a three per hour frequency during peak sales hours on Memorial Day and the Saturday preceding. During interviews with floor manager Jeff Fowden, a local radio personality devoted several spots to invitations to listeners to drop by any of the participating Anderson stores to pick up free redwood seedlings and a copy of the Simpson Redwood Book of Wood/Could.
Imperial Wholesale which had a representative on hand, contributed the seedlings and books. Success of the event was reflected in reorders placed with Imperial Wholesale before the end of the sale. A duplicate event already is on the promotion calendar for later this year.
The second special promotion was a repeat, for the third year running, of a highly successful redwood deck sale by Colonial Building Supply at its two suburban Salt Lake store locations.
GIFTS, f reebies and carnival atmosphere attracted customers to Anderson Lumber's Memorial Day sale. Cooperation between dealer, wholesaler and manulacturer makes such events oossible.
This promotion employed advance newspaper ads and radio spots as well as in-store remote broadcasts during the sale by a popular local radio personality.
As a special customer convenience, the store preprogrammed a number of deck packages into their computer along with optional accessory items. In a matter of minutes the prospective customer had a complete list of materials all priced out with optional choices included for comparison.
Imperial Wholesale contributed personnel, literature and redwood
Story at a Glance
Combined efforts of retailer, wholesaler and manufacturer, tied together with a co-op pro. gram, prove a success for two Rocky Mountain dealers in a recent summer sales pro. motion.
seedlings. Customers accounted for sales of two truckloads of redwood before the sale was officially underway, reported Fred Hale, Colonial's vice president and general manager of operations. During the promotion 22 decks were sold along with aU the companion items that go with a deck project. Based on previous experience, the store predicted that followup sales would come close to equaling the results of the original sale.
Imperial Wholesale Supply's philosophy of promotion support pays off in situations where larger chain yards with direct mill buying connections add up the service, advertising and promotion support costs and discover that the combination offers a better total value than mere low price by itself.
helps take the product out of the inventory pipeline and convert it into a sale. "That is extremely important to the dealer," says Wayne Turner of Imperial Wholesale. Service provided by his company includes a representative on the premises during the sale and providing advertising and promotion support, using Simpson Timber Co.'s co-op program.
"In order to earn a stake in marketing, we must contribute value to the sales transaction," Turner emphasizes. "We do this by offering the best prices we possibly can, but most importantly, we include the service plus advertising and promotion support that provide an irresistible combination for the buyer with a sharp eye for total profit value."
The manufacturer involved in both examples, Simpson Timber Co., has spent the past ll years developing its co-op promotion program. In addition to sharing promotion space and time costs on a 50/50 basis, they provide a professionally prepared arsenal of supporting promotion tools.
Included in the package are 24 pages of repro art featuring end use illustrations, headlines, ad formats and suggested sales event themes ready to clip and paste into ads. TV spot slides and scripts, radio spots, product literature, Book of Wood/Could proj*t ideas, sale banners, labels and seedlings for handout are additional materials.
The most recent addition to the program is a co-op promotion guide which describes the support program and gives step by step instructions for implementing it.
When asked for advice based on the co-op lessons Simpson has learned along the way, Greg Lambert, redwood product development manager, responded "Plan your promotion carefully and then work your plan. We learned early on that with co-op, as with any kind of promotion, it is not how much you spend but how well you spent it that really counts."
Co-op offers a triple threat when it employs the triple thrust of retailer, wholesaler and manufacturer. The powerhouse of knowledge, support and action can't be beat.
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