Critics say the store is really assembling a cacophony of messages that draw attention from the brands on the shelf. “The truth is that you can paint the sides of cows with ads if you want, but that doesn’t mean you have an effective medium. It means you have a glut of worthless ad space,” counters Rob Frankel, a branding consultant and author of “The Revenge of Brand X.”

“Examples are extensive,” he says, “but what remains important is that consumers live through the experience. It helps them decide what product to pick from the ever-growing smorgasbord of choices. What it all gets down to is one thing: differentiation.”

Sixty percent of all in-store purchases are unplanned, according to James Maskulka, associate professor of marketing at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “These impulse purchases are likely motivated by a variety of in-store marketing communications: coupons, sampling, end-of-aisle displays, etc. In-store advertising also complements today’s hectic consumer lifestyle. Consumers simply don’t have time to ‘study’ ad messages. They want relevant brand information when and where it is convenient for them.”

Mark Kamen, executive vice president of Saatchi & Saatchi Collaborative Marketing in New York, believes that all of these in-store communication vehicles are “a fabulous idea. The more, the better. The more flat-screen TVs, floor decals, shelf talkers and other ways to talk to shoppers, the better.”

Kamen’s colleague Korn adds that manufacturers and retailers need to work together to orchestrate the random assortment of ad vehicles and create a “symphony” in the store. Manufacturers have the marketing expertise needed to coordinate, say, floor decals and display signage with electronic panels and at-shelf coupons. “Apply this symphony to an important category and watch what happens!” he says.

Not everybody is enthusiastic.

“Retailers have to think of what messages they want within their four walls,” says Clair D’Amour, vice president of corporate affairs for Big Y Supermarkets, a chain based in Springfield, Massachusetts. “There already is a barrage of messages. Do you want to add more – whether it’s something on the shopping cart, something on the floor, or something on the ceiling?”

At the Manchester Business School, Professor Sanghavi says there is evidence to suggest that food buying is still semi-impulse driven, and there are still opportunities to influence consumers on the final choice of brands at the point of sale. There are surveys indicating that in-store promotions have been useful in persuading consumers to buy targeted brands. However, he cautions, “There are limitations in terms of scope and manners, especially when a store begins to appear much more like a street market, and when these tools are not managed properly.”

Frankel, the consultant, sums up the thinking of those who reject the notion that in-store marketing builds brands: “The only contribution these new media produce is ad clutter, which actually serves to reduce ad effectiveness. The average person is subjected to at least 3,000 ad messages a day, which means the clutter is blurring ad messages into electronic wallpaper that nobody notices.

“Think of the last time you went to the market for a dozen bagels. Were you swayed by any commercial message? Probably not. Most shoppers are on a mission, with lists in hand, to get what they need and get home. They’re not cruising the aisles and stopping to review dopey commercials,” he says.

Marketing medium or dopey commercials? The debate goes on.    

[8-Jul-2002]