Source: Supermarket News
By JULIE GALLAGHER

PHOENIX — Wal-Mart’s sampling program not only drives an average sales lift of 124% on the day the item is demoed, but also improves movement of the product four weeks afterwards by an average of 29%, according to Terry Nannie, senior director of marketing for Wal-Mart.

He shared the details of its revamped sampling program here last week at the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s Merchandising, Sales and Marketing Conference.

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PHOENIX — Wal-Mart incited a lift in sales of Easter cookies (260%), ham (1,000%) cakes (6,000%) and pineapples (245%) by distributing samples of the items as part of a program tied to a circular promotion. The retailer used the previous year, when the items weren’t promoted, as a baseline, according to Terry Nannie, senior director of marketing for Wal-Mart.

“Sampling reduces negative new purchase experiences,” he said here yesterday at the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s Merchandising, Sales and Marketing Conference.

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A closer look at the event marketing program at Walmart and its partnership with Shopper Events.

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Tanya Domier

Domier will speak at the conference’s general session Shopper Marketing at Work: Collaboration for Success along with Crossmark President Joe Crafton and Walmart’s Senior Director of Marketing, Terry Nannie. The team will discuss the success of the joint collaboration in-store demo events company Shopper Events.

“Known for its efficiency, shopper marketing is capable of helping brands and customers grow their businesses even during challenging economic times,” said Domier. “But it’s an evolving discipline. I look forward to sharing our passion for innovating and elevating around the traditional models to drive even better outcomes. We recognized that enhancing the age-old demo model at Walmart could send a dramatically different message to shoppers – and play a pivotal part in improving and differentiating the shopping experience there.”

Shopper Events — the only authorized in-store event-planning company for all Walmart stores – has revolutionized the in-store marketing industry by introducing a consistent brand presentation platform that is integrated with Walmart’s marketing strategies.

The conference will take place at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, Ariz. from Nov. 2-4. The event is open to GMA members, retailers, associate members and non-members.

About Shopper Events LLC
Shopper Events LLC is the sole authorized planning and coordinating company of all Walmart in-store events. The strategic partnership between Shopper Events and Walmart was created to improve in-store interaction between brands and the Walmart shopper. The sampling events executed by Shopper Events reach nine percent of the U.S. population each week. Shopper Events is financially backed by two of the largest sales agencies in the consumer products industry: Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC and Crossmark, Inc. Visit www.shopperevents.com today.

About Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC
Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC (ASM) is a premier consumer packaged goods sales and marketing agency, committed to building brand value for our clients and customers. ASM’s cradle-to-cart—post-manufacture to consumption—customized sales and marketing solutions include headquarter sales, retail merchandising and marketing services, specializing in client and customer events, publications and assisted-selling services for the grocery, drugstore, club, convenience, natural/specialty, consumer electronic and home center industries. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., ASM has 66 offices in the United States and Canada. Visit www.asmnet.com today.

Shopper Events and Marketration highlighted when evaluating the value of event marketing.

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