POP Is the Prescription for Cough/Cold Sales

Combining different forms of POP advertising to reinforce key messages is the cure for flat sales in the cough/cold category, according to study results released recently by the industry's trade association, Point-Of-Purchase Advertising Intl. (POPAI).

The study of POP use in supermarkets is part of a five-year study conducted jointly with the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) and is intended to quantify the impact of in-store advertising as a measured medium, similar to print or broadcast advertising.

In the second wave of the supermarket study, which measured responses to in-store advertising in the cough/cold category, advertising materials were found at the main shelf in only 9 percent of brand placements. In those instances in which ads were found at the cough/cold product displays, only 13 percent were tied to advertising on the main shelf.

"It shows there is a lot of room to boost in-store advertising in cough/ cold," says Joe Casper, vice president of corporate communications for POPAI. "We ought to be executing POP better at the main shelf."

Marketers are savvy, however, about seasonal trends — IRI audits showed that POP at the product display and shelf increased significantly as fall and winter approached.

The most noticeable increases in sales occurred when several forms of POP were combined to emphasize messages. When signage and a display were used in conjunction with a standee, sales increased by approximately 35 percent. Pairing a display with a standee or pairing signage with a standee still yielded increases in sales of 27 percent and 21 percent respectively.

Use of additional forms of POP in conjunction with signage promoting a retailer's loyalty program delivered incremental sales as well. When a brand display was paired with a retailer's loyalty program signage, sales increased by approximately 20 percent. Signage promoting either a brand or a retailer and accompanying loyalty program signage yielded a 15 percent increase in sales.

The study was conducted during a 20-week period from Labor Day to Christmas 2000 in 250 supermarket outlets in 22 cities. IRI was responsible for data collection, and sponsors included Anheuser-Busch, Frito-Lay, Procter & Gamble, Pfizer/Warner-Lambert, PepsiCo and Ralston Purina.

For more information about POPAI's study, visit www.popai.com.