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Kidding Around

The Federal Trade Commission on July 31 kept its promise to further investigate the impact of marketing on childhood obesity by dropping a 53-page compulsory order on 44 consumer product manufacturers.

Within 90 days, these companies must provide analysis of their marketing practices and spending habits to a level of detail that they quite possibly have never undertaken before.

The FTC's order defines in-store marketing as, "advertising displays and promotions at the retail site, including the offering of free samples and allowances paid to facilitate shelf placement or merchandise displays." The companies are being required to "report expenditures on, and activities associated with, in-store advertising and promotions that, pursuant to a marketing plan or industry practice, were designed to appeal to children. Such design elements may involve the height of placement or display, and the use of licensed characters, images of children, and language, such as 'kid,' 'child' or similar words."

Gathering that information -- assuming it's even available -- will be a tall order, especially at companies maintaining those legendary silos of advertising, consumer promotion and trade promotion. The FTC has no such prejudices, and so has lumped all three together for its definition. (Now, if only the marketing world would follow suit.)

It might be relatively easy for Kraft Foods (as an example) to determine how much of its TV advertising budget is used to target children. A 30-second spot promoting an in-pack premium in Post Honeycomb cereal that airs during The Wiggles targets kids. A spot focusing on the nutritional benefits of Raisin Bran that runs during The Young & the Restless does not. All related expenses for the two campaigns should be identifiable. (It's not this cut and dry, but you get the point.)

But what about the legendary Nabisco school bus display? There's no question that its design appeals to kids. But is it specifically "designed to appeal to children" as a direct or indirect way to influence brand preference and purchase?

If the main purpose of the bus display (as opposed to, say, a generic shipper) is to attract children, then you can classify its design and production costs as "kid-targeting." But how do you define related activity? Do any promotional allowances paid for placement, or any concurrent temporary price reductions, also count as "designed to appeal to kids?" Does Kraft even have all these statistics at the ready, easily attributable to specific promotions?

I sympathize with the poor souls at these 44 companies whose task it will be to prepare these reports. When they're finished, though, I sure hope I can read them.

Taken to School
Last month, I criticized the retail world for adhering to its own merchandising calendar and launching the back-to-school season too early. A couple of Institute members rightfully suggested that I had regional myopia:

In Cincinnati, where the new school year begins around Aug. 21, an early July start to the merchandising season is right on time, one reader suggested; in Atlanta, where the bell rings on July 30, it's practically too late, noted the other.

My first inclination was to respond that, in this era of targeted marketing and "store of the community" merchandising strategy, retailers should consider local needs when planning their seasons. But after I visited a Wal-Mart on July 19 in Norwalk, CT (where school starts at the end of August), and noticed all the near-empty dump bins of school supplies, I didn't even feel justified making that argument.

I gained new resolve for the critique, however, when an Institute editor visited Kmart on Aug. 7 and found a candy display with graphics of skeletons and spider webs. That was 86 days before Oct. 31, which is Halloween on everybody's calendar.

So let me rephrase last month's complaint: Can't we at least get the kids back to school before we roll out the Halloween candy?

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute



Published: August 2007

Source: In-Store Marketing Institute

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