Registered for another October event but wish to attend Fusion? We’ll pay your cancellation fee.

That’s right, we’re so confident that you’ll find all you need at Shopper Marketing Fusion 2009, that we’ll pay your cancellation fee if you’ve signed up for another October 2009 event.

Check out our event website: http://bit.ly/4bl1V4

In today’s fast-paced world, everyone’s making split second decisions. We recognize the challenge in breaking through the clutter and “popping out at desk” and that many events often look quite similar on the surface. Fact is, ours is quite superior and we’d like to highlight the premium benefits for you right now.


What makes Shopper Marketing Fusion different from any other conference or trade show?

Large Shows...what you can expect
The needle in the haystack. Having to navigate through hundreds of attendees, most of whom AREN’T RELEVANT TO YOU
Large WAREHOUSE LIKE SPACES that are conducive to rows of booths, but not to connecting on next generation learning
TRANSIENT ATTENDEES that come and go, depleting connectivity and in-depth conversations
NO REAL ENGAGEMENT
TACTICAL-FOCUSED professionals
The star of the show is the BOOTHS, not the content
RECYCLED presentations, overused speakers
Pay per session that can lead to you MISSING crucial breakthrough IDEAS
VENDOR-LED presentations that come across as SALES PITCHES.

The difference with a PREMIUM event…Shopper Marketing Fusion
SENIOR-LEVEL ATTENDEES who want to discuss STRATEGY and co-create real solutions
The star is the CONTENT that elicits the RIGHT CONVERSATIONS.
Not about fixtures, pop-ups or lighting, but instead on strategy, ACTIONABILITY and insights
Continuity in your experience, develop long lasting relationships with THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS
An isolated, retreat-like venue that lends itself to OPTIMAL LEARNING with minimal distractions.
COMFORTABLE MEETING ROOMS to set the mood for strategic conversations.
Walmart Smart Network session at NO EXTRA CHARGE sharing new, never-heard before information
Answers to your MOST PRESSING ISSUES within category management and in-store marketing.
NO COMMERCIALISM from the podium, just real case studies, by client-side leaders
ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS with speakers.
NEW TOOLS to assist you in executing on your ideas including a post-conference report, user-generated report, return on attendance toolkit and more.

Join our LinkedIn group for 15% off the standard rate.

To learn more about the content that drives the right conversations, visit http://bit.ly/gge13

Brochure: http://bit.ly/Y6igx
Registration: http://bit.ly/8O1Hy


Cheers,
Shopper Marketing Fusion
CMSI LinkedIn Group

*Updated* Think Green. Act Green. Convey Green. Sell Green.

videoclip below

Greentailing in Tough Times…
How are Consumers Reacting and Retailers Responding?
Neil Stern, McMillianDoolittle
Author, Greentailing

“Earth Friendly products won’t save the Earth if they don’t save people money.” Wal*Mart (1997)

Green-tailing is broad-based.
Drivers of change
“An Inconvient Truth”
External factors
Wal*Marts move in 2005 to use 100% renewable resources
Competitive Factors
Embracing green because its been success for competitors
Internal Factors
Demographic and behavioral shifts

“It Isn’t Easy Being Green…”
“Greenwashing” is a danger, the act of misleading customers.
Cadillac Hybrid Escalade
Frozen food vendors using a green factory but not green ingredients

The Consumer’s View on Green
Green began gaining real traction with consumers in 2007. Green continues to grow in importance to consumers. Importance of environmentally-friendly stores and products since economic climate has changed. The green performance stigma is disappearing.
Supermarkets and discount stores made headway in 2008 in communicating green—especially supermarket/grocery stores and discount stores. Apparel specialty retailers are not keeping up with other industries to appeal to green focused customers.
Greentailing 2.0: conscientious retailing built on environmentally sustainable, socially responsible and economically profitable business practices.
Think Green. Act Green. Convey Green. Sell Green.
Think Green
Green as a mission or core value, it will not happen in a company unless its built into the mission of the company. Greentailers set tangible goals.
Mark’s and Spencer’s Plan
1. Become carbon neutral
2. Send no waste to landfills
3. Extend sustainable sourcing
4. Help improve the lives of people in our supply chain
5. Help customers and employees live a healthier lifestyle
In your companies, who has a green officer—sustainable officer? Sustainability experts polled predict that 25% of Fortune 500 will appoint executive level Chief Sustainability Officers in 2009.

LEED certified retail buildings and using green technology within the retail space can prove to be beneficial to the consumer retail experience and the customer understanding of the retailer.
Greener packaging, smaller size, less transportation, less for the consumer to haul home has started to pop up on retail shelves.
Sustainable packaging to grab 32% of market by 2014.
Politics of plastic bags. CT, NYC and Seattle may impose five to twenty-cent tax on plastic bags. Tough, as we’re trying to change 50 years of habits with people, will take time.
Recycling programs have been nearly over-successful as they try to deal with the demand that retailers have to recycle products. Best Buy and Crocs dealing with these issues and supporting recycling efforts now. Staples is offering rewards for people to recycle items with them—
Green Housekeeping “Green” Seal of Approval, stepping in where the Gov’t has yet to regulate green products. Tesco, product labels shows a figure that measures the total emission of greenhouse gases during the production, distribution, storage and use of item.
Organic products growing double digits; but economy has taken an impact, consumers have moved away from organic products as they tighten their belts during rough economy.
Green cleaning, companies like Method have bridged the gap between cool, effective and green—a trifecta of branding.
Local has become the new organic. Local implies small, natural production process. Local means supporting fellow neighbors and the local economy.
Sears will begin selling men’s suits made of fabric blend of wool and polyester spun from recycled fabrics.
Conveying Green:
“We believe in being a good neighbor who cares about the environment” says Fresh & Easy in the UK
Buffalo Exchange
The clothing retailer donates to local nonprofit agencies in the community through its Tokens for Bags program, generating nearly $285,000 for local charities.

Updated

Global Consumer Trends: Individualism

Good trend-watching is about taking the bigger-picture approach. Adopting a broader global perspective to trend-tracking facilitates better decision making by overcoming 'category myopia'. Monitoring the broader FMCG environment will enable bigger picture learning that can be applied more specifically.

Today’s increasingly individualistic consumers place considerable value on self-expression and asserting their individual identity. This also includes exerting their power and control as consumers. The Individualism mega-trend represents consumers’ desires to be themselves and be recognized as having personal needs rather than being part of the mass market. Consumers seek products that make them stand out from the crowd and provide them with (or at least reinforce) a sense of personal and social identity. This mega-trend represents values such as “being me”, “trusting myself”, “finding my own answers” and “making my mark on the world” in a world of opportunity and liberating freedom where people can live their lives as they please. The desire for individuality is not new. It has just become more attainable for more people due to rising prosperity in society and the fact that technological advances facilitate easier, more cost effective personalized products and services. With rising prosperity there has also been a growth of post-materialist societies where values emphasizing self expressing and individuality have grown.

Individualism is one of 10 mega-trends Datamonitor has identified as having a substantive impact on the marketing landscape. An intuitive understanding of these mega-trends is fundamental because they set the pre-conditions for marketplace success. Use this report to understand global consumers’ individualistic and self expressive attitudes, behaviors and lifestyles and how this translates into marketing opportunities.

The IKEA Shopper Experience

Tim Manners from the Hub Magazine recently sat down and interviewed Bill Agee, the marketing director of IKEA U.S., in which Bill described IKEA’s key to success. An interesting concept that I took from the pdf of the interview is that the “IKEA shopper” does not just reflect a certain segment, but a very broad audience. Young families and people moving out for the first time though are segments that will always come to IKEA more easily than others. IKEA also gets its insights from shoppers by conducting proprietary research, asking questions related to the in-store experience and the home experience (living with the product.)

Take a few minutes to browse the interview as I am sure you will find it informative. Enjoy!

Read the article

Kraft's iPhone App Draws Shoppers

According to RetailWire.com, The iFood Assistant from Kraft Foods now ranks among iPhone's top 100 paid apps, and number three in the lifestyle category. Consumers have to pay a one-time 99-cent fee for the app, sit through ads and even provide Kraft with real-time selling data. But Advertising Age said the app has clearly caught on because it's "actually useful."

"When we look at consumers, we think that they're busy and they're looking for food-planning tools that can make their lives easier," Ed Kaczmarek, director-innovation, new services at Kraft, told Advertising Age. "We developed iFood Assistant as a downloadable app so they can use it anytime and anywhere."

Have you tried this app? We'd like to hear your experiences.

Segregated shopping in neighborhoods

In a recent blog at Reveries, they look at how shopping experiences have become more segregated than ever. Neighborhoods with strong concentrations of different ethnicity lead to segmented shopping experiences.

An example is provided in the post about a shopping experience in Queens, New York.

If you were to take the 7 subway line to the 74th Street stop in Queens, you might think you were in "a South Asian neighborhood. There are shops selling saris and Indian jewelry ... Yet nearby flats are mostly occupied by immigrants from Central America. The shops are patronized by South Asians who travel into the neighborhood."

Deloitte Says Retailers Must Invest or Close Up Shop

According to Inside the Aisle, Deloitte has said that the current economy provides an opportunity for retailers to be more competitive and take a market share that has been well segmented up to now. According to Deloitte, retailers that offer the greatest customer experience will be among the few who survive. What retailers do you see that are offering the best in customer experience? Share your thoughts with us here or on our LinkedIn group.

Consumers Opt for Quality Time with Loved Ones Over Traditional Gifts This Valentine’s Day

According to the National Retail Federation, we'll see a dip this year in Valentine's Day spending. This isn't too surprising as the economy has weighed heavy on customers.

Traditional gifts, such as candy, flowers and jewelry will see a slight decrease in popularity this year with more consumers preferring gifts of experience and gift cards. Almost half (48.2%) of all consumers plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day with a special night out, compared to 45.3 percent last year, and 12.3 percent will give a gift card, compared to 11.3 percent last year. Greeting cards still remain the most popular choice, though the number of people planning to purchase one is down from last year (56.8% vs. 62.8% last year). Nearly 48.0 percent of consumers will buy candy, 35.9 will buy flowers and 11.8 percent will buy clothing.

How will your company cope with this change in consumer spending?