Sales and Marketing Agencies Expand in Down Economy

Source: SupermarketNews.com

While food retailers and their suppliers have been resilient in the weak economy, one would be hard-pressed to say they have thrived.  

That description, however, does fit the sales and marketing agencies that act as go-betweens among retailers and vendors.

Following the path predicted in a 2006 report by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, sales agencies have benefited from a shift toward outsourcing a variety of the functions that traditionally had been performed by suppliers.

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The company that Wal-Mart chose to take over promotions at its Sam’s Club stores, at a cost of about 10,000 jobs, is already almost exclusively devoted to serving the Bentonville, Arkansas, retail giant.

Shopper Events LLC already manages events like product demonstrations and tastings at Wal-Mart’s flagship retail stores. According to its website and LinkedIn profile, its mission is: “to apply a standard of excellence to the in-store event in order to increase customer demand, align with key branding initiatives, and enhance the shopping experience at Wal-Mart.”

The privately-held company, founded in 2008, has been handling promotions in Wal-Mart Supercenters since Super Bowl Sunday, 2009. Now, it will be doing the same kind of thing for Sam’s Club.

Sam’s Club announced over the weekend that it would be off-loading 11,000 employees and outsourcing its in-store demonstrations to Shopper Events LLC, based in Rogers, Arkansas, not far from Wal-Mart’s Bentonville headquarters. Sam’s officials said employees losing their jobs would have the opportunity to apply for similar positions with Shopper Events.

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BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Sam’s Club eliminated 10,000 demo associate positions and appointed third-party marketing company Shopper Events to facilitate product sampling, it announced here Sunday.

Its new “Tastes and Tips” demo program will include integrated demo stations, signage, uniforms and product selling.

Affected employees will have the opportunity to apply for positions with Shopper Events, which expects to hire the same number of people, said President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell in a letter to associates.

Shopper Events is the company that manages Wal-Mart’s “Bright Ideas” in-store demo program. Shopper Events requires that personnel responsible for executing these demos are W-2 and I-9 employees who’ve underground background checks and are food safety certified.

The company that was formed by competing sales agencies Advantage Sales and Marketing and Crossmark, took over the task at Wal-Mart to improve the in-store experience.

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Connecting Northwest Arkansas interviews Brian Pear, Shopper Events Vice President, General Manager.

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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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