POI Pulse: March 23, 2015

P&G Continues to Simplify and Focus – Brands
Source: (Cincinnati.com March 19, 2015)

Rochas joins half a dozen other small fragrance brands that P&G has said it will exit. The company has also sold or exited another half dozen mostly European laundry labels as well as Iams pet food and has plans to sell Duracell batteries. CEO A.G. Lafley said last month most of the brands P&G wants out of would be known by summer. Learn more

Tyson Foods Leveraging Hillshire Innovation
Source: (Food Bus News March 20, 2015)

Expanding boundaries is a key element of Tyson Foods’ innovation strategy, as exemplified by the effort to take the Ball Park brand beyond hot dogs. “We are going to disrupt this category with a product that is flame grilled which is differentiating within the category,” Andy Callahan said. Learn more

Record Attendance Expected at POI Summit in 2015!

The most advanced and relevant agenda is taking shape.  Capacity will be limited, so register for the POI Spring Summit “Collaborative Marketing to Execute at the Rate of Change” Summit – Predicting promotional outcomes in-Store, online, and everywhere!”
Teams who have registered include:

Ahold USA, King’s Hawaiian, Dart Container, General Mills, Arla Foods, Prestige Brands, Mcilhenny, FR&B Foods, First Quality, Reynolds Brands, Mars, Mead Johnson Hershey’s, Nutrition, Johnsonville Sausage, Huhtamaki, Turkey Hill, Mead Johnson, Organic Valley, Tyson, Flowers Foods, Norseland, Kind Snacks, Hain Celestial, Diageo, Land O’ Frost, Red Gold, Pilgrims, Kao USA, Kraft Foods, Pictsweet, Jennie-O Turkey Store, Pacific Foods, Wells Enterprises, White Wave, Mars, Carl Buddig, Pfizer, Pinnacle Foods, CVS Health, Topco, Organic Valley, Morton Salt, Danone, Energizer, Red Bull, MillerCoors, Keurig Green Mountain, Norseland, Walgreen’s, JM Smucker. DPSG, Windsor Foods, Bush Brothers, Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Johnson & Johnson, JBSS, Musco Olives, Unilever, Del Monte, Popcorn Indiana, Post Foods, Starbucks, Giant Eagle, Hormel Foods, PepsiCo, Ainsworth Pet, Grupo Bimbo, Dean Foods, 7-Eleven, Michael Angelos, Hillshire Brands, Jarden, and many more. April 12-14, 2015 — Learn more  If you need assistance with accomodations, contact Susan McHenry (POI Events Director atsmchenry@ovationtravel.com)

Data-Driven Marketing Fuels Customer Connectivity
Source: (Baseline Mag March 20, 2015)

“Everywhere around the globe, across virtually all vertical markets and business functions, one marketing truth has emerged as universally clear: Data matters,” according to the report. “It enables insight into customers and prospects, and it’s a tool for targeting messages, offers and content that drive response. Learn more

Tostitos Promotion – Free Dip to People Named Chip
Source: (Ad Age March 19, 2015)

With its newest campaign, Tostitos is going after people named Chip, or anyone living in a city with “chip” in its name. “We all know that chips and dip go together perfectly, but we began to wonder if we were somehow neglecting some of the most important Chips out there,” Jeff Klein, VP-marketing for FLNA, said in a statement.Learn more

POI Webinar – TABS Group 8^th Annual Vitamin and Sports Nutrition Study

Join the Promotion Optimization Institute, Supermarket News, and TABS Group for an engaging hour that will certainly deliver actionable insights and opportunities as you seek to gain knowledge in the VMS industry and influence shopper/consumer behavior. Learn more and register today!

Instacart to Implement Surge Pricing During peak Hours
Source:( Supermarket News March 23, 2015)

Instacart announced it would institute “Busy Pricing” during popular delivery times to ensure delivery is always available.  During peak delivery times, such asSunday nights, the San Francisco-based company will charge a minimum fee of $1 extra. The actual surcharge may be higher. Learn more

Economist Says – Consumer Spending To ‘Surge’
Source: Bloomberg Business March 23, 2015)

Ian Shepherdson, the Chief Economist at Pantheon MacroEconomics, says that the jump in the savings rate is only temporary, and that the next few months should bring a surge in spending. The firm cites a lag effect between low gas prices and their impact on the consumer. Learn more

“Learn more”, a simple phrase that we use often at the Promotion Optimization Institute, but never take for granted. We’re just that serious about our mission of advancement!

The best and brightest are gathering at POI on April 12-14in Chicago to learn more, and here are the reasons why…

For manufacturers and retailers to effectively collaborate, they need to understand the effects of decisions beyond soledependency on promotions, reactive pricing, whether through even more, deeper discounts, or ineffective offers.

You’re coming to POI to learn with your peers and trading partners to determine (based on which type of pricing strategy) how a much different (and more intensive) modeling/analytic approach must be taken.  You’ll improve your ability when considering the many variables (including elements of price decisions) associated with consumer behavior in order to accurately predict the cause and effect of raising or lowering prices on volume sold, and profitability.

Even as retailers struggle to end dependency on promotions, pricing fever continues, whether through even more, deeper discounts, dynamic pricing, or new responses to price transparency. Retailers seek the right price strategies to both maximize margin and meet consumer price expectations. All attendees will gain greater insight into how retailers and manufacturers can begin to wean consumers off of deep discounts.

The focus of POI is always on advancement, and will begin with the critical success factors across the people, culture and technology dimensions because change is not easy, but having a solid methodology and knowing what the common pitfalls are can be great facilitators.  This will be demonstrated in part by how companies like General Mills, Church & Dwight, andConAgra leverage analytics to facilitate mutual growth with their teams and trading partners.  Attendees will learn and improve capabilities via an in-depth look at the five key success factors for optimizing the return on your trade investment as the rules and tools continue to change delivered by Strategy&. You’ll learn more about mobility, asPepsiCo demonstrates how predictive trade promotion models with customer POS data can be used to build a simple, intuitive application that can be accessed from a workstation or a tablet.Collaborative Marketers know that a complete learning experience includes a cross-functional approach.  You’ll gain insight from a leading retailer on how the grocery supply chain is evolving, as formats, and shopper needs change.  And, by the 2^nd day, you’ll gain a greater understanding of how digital coupons are leveraged, and measured in an Omnichannel world. Those of you who are already registered are in for another sensational learning experience, and I anticipate seeing you in Chicago.  If you still have not registered, reach me, or my team, and we will assist with your needs.

Registration for manufacturers and retailers is available at POI Event Registration. View the complete, and advanced agenda, and register today!

Michael Kantor
CEO & Founder
Promotion Optimization Institute, LLC
mkantor@p-o-i.org

www.POInstitute.com