Medallion Retail Unveils Audit Findings: Marketers Missing Huge Brand-building Opportunities At Retail

NEW YORK, June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- After an extensive audit of more than 200 retailers and brands at retail, Medallion Retail, a New York-based retail marketing consultancy, is making the case that most marketers drastically under-utilize the point of sale as a tool for enhancing and even creating strong shopper connections to their brands.

According to the analysis conducted by the agency, which counts SEARS, Barnes & Noble, Destination Maternity, and Foot Locker among its clients past and present, the extensive focus on pricing (and in particular on deep discounting) actually dilutes brand value at the last moment of shopper decision.

"So, here's the scenario," says John Krubski, Medallion's Director of Shopper Intelligence and Planning.  "A marketer spends tens or hundreds of million dollars actively promoting their brand outside the store. Then, at the very last moment before the shopper's decision, the active expression of that brand is simply not there – at least not overtly."

Krubski says Medallion Retail's audit findings show that brand presence at retail is passive and generally presumptive. "The typical 'look and feel' branding at the point of sale assumes that the consumer is already strongly connected to the brand and will 'get' the connection. That's no longer realistic in the choice-rich retail environment of today," he said. "You can't be overt enough with branding, right down to the moment a product is selected off the shelf.  Subtlety is a no-win strategy."

 Based on its analysis, Medallion Retail recommends a two-pronged retail marketing strategy -

1. Think and act as if the point of sale were the only medium available to build your brand. Approaching POS as the starting point for brand-building requires rethinking everything a marketer does there. Both the purpose and the nature of the language and the shopper communications would be about elevating the brand rather than just generating a sale.
2. Take your point of sale communications to a new level – Brand Activate them! Traditionally, the point of retail has been thought of as the place to make sales happen. A Brand Active Shopper Environment does that, but it also creates excitement about and builds loyalty to the brand. It can also serve to maintain margins and profits.

For more about Medallion Retail, visit www.medallionretail.com

MEDIA CONTACT
Jennifer Davis
Medallion Retail
212-929-9207 
[email protected]

SOURCE Medallion Retail