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By Gregory J. Pollack
Walk down any supermarket aisle and what do you see? Brands, brands, and more brands. And individually, each has its own equity -- equity, along with consumer appeal, value, unique brand-defining characteristics and a brand essence that truly evokes loyalty among target consumers.
The smart marketer uses strategically planned distribution to enhance brand equity. Although less common, gaining new distribution with an alliance partner however, can be extremely powerful. As an example, Starbucks began as a retail coffee shop where it had instant credibility by way of its venue when it provided authentic, high quality original coffee.
Through a unique and well-placed strategic alliance with Kraft General Foods, Starbucks was able to gain grocery store distribution in a more expeditious and cost effective way than it could have achieved on its own. Starbucks gained by utilizing Kraft's existing grocery distribution strength, and Kraft gained by leveraging with retailers the addition of a new "power brand" coffee to its own coffee brand lineup that includes the Maxwell House brand.
Another well-known brand, California Pizza Kitchen, did the same thing in that it started by creating a unique pizza product offering and establishing a stronghold as a restaurant chain. CPK built a well-known brand and then utilized its strength in the pizza category with the sales and distribution strength of Kraft Foods to launch a California Pizza Kitchen brand of frozen pizzas in the supermarket.
While it is a known fact that targeted distribution is a very clear and successful strategy for ensuring success for a brand, fewer brands are actually capitalizing on ways in which to utilize marketing alliances to obtain alternative distribution for their brand.
Creating marketing alliances doesn't just present an opportunity to create promotions, they also establish a base in which to create distribution opportunities, providing a great chance to leverage either geographic distribution or merchandising within a store.
As an example, while we at PBM Marketing Solutions have been working with Sony Wonder, a leader in childrens' audio and video entertainment, we created a marketing alliance with Nestle NesQuik, offering a means to bring videos to "non-entertainment," yet relevant, locations for expanded distribution.
The program featured Sony Wonder's Easter brand of eight videos and NesQuik's newest 6.2 ounce pouch offering. Nestle's objective was to gain distribution quickly in places that made direct sense to their new pouch product which played more to impulse purchases combined with entertainment, such as videos and music. Thus Nestle was able to obtain access to key retailers in the music, video, and childrens' arena without having to build a salesforce, or a specialized distribution network.
In turn, Sony Wonder benefited, since its objective was to gain incremental distribution in grocery and similar key outlets where Nestle maintains a strong foothold. Therefore, both Sony Wonder and Nestle were able to jointly utilize the marketing alliance to capture the interest of new consumers in alternative channels, without the necessary complication of building a unique infrastructure to penetrate these new points of distribution -- essentially, creating a program that was both cost-efficient AND effective.
And most important, the consumer wins at all levels enjoying their favorite brands within arms reach. One of the best ways to communicate these marketing alliances is through in-store promotions, discount coupons, self-liquidating offers, and the like. Consumers are treated to favorable offerings that entice them into displays or to look at new products that otherwise might be lost within the supermarket clutter.
As corporate and brand budgets are constantly scrutinized, one of the best ways to generate awareness and trial, create consumer interest, and deliver value-added offerings to consumers, is through ongoing strategic alliances. In fact, often times a brand can tap into the equity of characters and personalities that children and adults can best identify with.
Think for a moment as you search through the Sunday newspaper coupons and notice just how many brands are partnering with well-known characters such as Sesame Street, Arthur, Nickleodeon, etc. More than providing eye-catching images, these programs deliver well-known and recognizable characters and personalities that further deliver credibility for your brand. And it1s not just for children. Adults are interested in older properties they identify with, or even characters or personalities from a particular timeperiod -- so stretch your mind, as creativity can go a long way.
Sure, licensing characters for use on other brands is not new, but being able to parlay such a marketing partnership into an ongoing alliance to help gain further distribution and sales takes this to a higher level. In fact, often times a marketing alliance can have more than just one promotion built into it -- it can feature multiple program layers that can transcend beyond the supermarket including the internet with web-site links, on-pack messages and co-branding placed in alternative channels, as well as unique locations where consumers are most apt to see your product.
In today's busy world of brand marketing, utilizing the strength of marketing alliances to get product into new channels and venues is an essential marketing tool to generate incremental sales.
Gregory J. Pollack is founder and president of PBM Marketing Solutions, Los Angeles, whose clients include Kodak Themed Entertainment, MGM Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Wham-O, and Sony Wonder. Pollack has more than 17 years of combined marketing and brand management experience. He can be reached at (310) 889-0049 or via e-mail at > gpollack@pbmmarketing.com.
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