Adcomm's first two issues Adcomm August 2013 Relaunch issue | Page 24

Retail Publishing

Theta Media Sales

Getting it wrong?

Warren Hickinbotham of Thetha Media gives a convincing argument as to why marketers should include traders/retailers in their mix.
To ignore this market will result in your campaign not reaching its full potential, he says.

Sales reps do NOT get to ALL their supplier stores every month! To
think they do is madness. Your brand activity however, does not wait.
When its go time, its go time and any store not in the rep’s current call
cycle will not get the information they need at the time they need it. It
is essential they have this information in order to make the most out of
your marketing activity.

Hand-in-hand

Has anyone looked into the trade industry as a marketing option?

Consumers the focus

A few years ago marketing degrees and diplomas focused on marketing
to consumers and only consumers. Mediums such as TV, newspapers
and outdoor received all the attention. With their status and price tags to
boot they posed a much more handsome proposition to agencies and a
far more glamorous environment for brand managers.

Trade ignored

Marketing to the trade was, to a large extent, deemed to be the ugly
stepsister of marketing. Something that should be handled by the sales
department. The same sales department whose budget didn’t allow for
toilet paper let alone full-page print advertising.
A decade or so ago I would contact brand managers asking about their
respective trade communication strategies, only to be told to speak
to sales. The sales staff welcom