Word Play

Please send us your feedback.

The In-Store Marketing Institute ends a lot of emails with that request, but it has never been an afterthought. We value the thoughts and opinions of our members, who now represent more than 500 companies whose success (or failure) is made at retail.

I'm leading with it this month because we've launched a new content initiative for which we really need your assistance: The In-Store Marketing Institute's Shopper Marketing Glossary.

Since its launch in May 2003, instoremarketer.org has benefited greatly from member contributions, whether it was actual submissions of lectures, case studies, Image Vault photos or other content, or even just suggestions on what information we should provide or how we should present it. To all those who've helped us fill the archives with 10,000 articles and 30,000 images, we offer a very sincere thank you. (For those of you who haven't, the door is always open.)

Obviously, 5,000-plus minds are smarter than a few. And it will take more than a few to put together a comprehensive, definitive glossary for the emerging discipline of "shopper marketing," which combines the practices and processes of numerous segments of the marketing world.

We got the ball rolling in June with a definition of "shopper marketing," and take things further this month by unveiling a glossary of more than 500 terms related to this new discipline. The list includes definitions from the practices of product merchandising, media advertising, marketing research, consumer and trade promotion, display manufacturing, packaging, retail design -- all of the areas that are converging to form this vital new industry focus.

This initial glossary is designed to establish the parameters that have been set for "shopper marketing" and offer at least a few definitions from each area within them. But it's a work in progress, and we'll be adding new terms and refining old ones on a regular basis. Our member roster couldn't be more qualified to help with the task, because it contains experts in all of the aforementioned fields.

I strongly encourage you to take a look at what we have, then let us know what else we need. The more feedback we receive, the better the glossary will be.

So please, send us your feedback.

P.S. I'd like to extend a special thanks to Institute member Eastman Chemical Co. for underwriting our efforts to create the glossary.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

Members: More information here.

Resources: The In-Store Marketing Institute's Shopper Marketing Glossary

From "Account-Specific" to "Wobbler," the Institute presents a glossary of more than 500 terms related to the emerging discipline of Shopper Marketing. But Webster didn't write the dictionary by himself, you know: Our glossary is a growing, evolving work-in-progress -- a Wiki-ossary, if you will -- and we need your help in policing our definitions and identifying additional terms to be included.

Members, view the glossary.

Lecture Hall: "Collaborative Brands: Working Creatively on a Shared Objective" by Chris Conley, gravitytank, inc.

The balance of power has shifted from manufacturer to retailer, and the rise of private-label brands has added insult to injury. Although manufacturers and retailers both want to build loyalty and sell products, you'd never know it based on how poorly they often work together. In a presentation from April's In-Store Marketing Summit, gravitytank founding director Chris Conley explains how to achieve true brand-retailer collaboration that will benefit both parties.

Members: View the presentation.

Research: Purchase Influences at Kroger and Safeway

Shoppers at Kroger are influenced more by coupons than shoppers at Safeway. Maybe that's because Safeway shoppers are too busy reading product labels to notice the coupon dispensers. Using in-house data first presented at the Promotion Marketing Association's Shopper Marketing Summit in May, BIGresearch examines shopping behavior at the nation's two largest supermarket chains and the impact that rising gas prices are having on purchase decisions.

Members: View the research.

Store Checks: Supermarkets in Arizona

The Institute presents an overview of supermarket merchandising in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area, with more than 150 images from Albertsons, Bashas', Fry's, Safeway and Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

Members: View the store checks.

Welcome New Institute Members

The In-Store Marketing Institute is delighted to welcome new and renewing members to the Institute family. Below is a list of the companies that signed up recently. Welcome aboard.

• Active International
• Basic Research
• Carhartt Inc.
• Catalina Marketing
• CVS/pharmacy
• Frontline Marketing
• Hawver Display
• Hunter Douglas Inc.
• Integrated Marketing Services
• Kohl's Corporation
• Leggett & Platt
• LG&P In-Store Agency
• Lopez Negrete Communications
• Malone Advertising
• New Creature
• Philip Morris
• Rémy Cointreau USA
• Red Bull North America Inc.
• Rich Products Corp.
• Symantec Corporation
• The Home Depot
• T-Mobile USA
• Uniprint
• Visual Marketing Inc.
• Weber Display & Packaging
• Wrigley Canada