Backstage at PLMA Live! | Insight and Information in Private Label

Backstage at PLMALive!

Takes you behind the news with information about the commentators and guests presented this month.

James Russo, Vice President Global Insights, The Nielsen Company
Tim Simmons, Vice President of Communications, PLMA
Carol Angrisani, Special Report Editor, Supermarket News
Gary Giblen, Financial Analyst
David Merrefield, Commentator
Kurt Goldschmidt, PLMA Commentator
Brad Edmondson, Commentator
Dr. Kantha Shelke, Commentator
Marc Levinson, Economist, Historian & Author
Len Lewis, Commentator

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Online Advertising: Boon for Store Brands

Online advertising is expected to exceed magazine and newspaper ads for the first time. David Merrefield looks at the implications for store brands.

David Merrefield
Online Advertising
February 2012

The fact that advertisers are expected to channel more revenue this year into online media than they will into print media may seem like academic stuff. In reality, the change has strong implications for how private label marketing will play out against branded-goods marketing in the future.

The estimate is that this year’s ad spending will reach $39.2 billion from online and $33.8 billion for all forms of print, according to the research firm eMarketer. For many years, it has appeared inevitable to media watchers that this would happen, but few thought it would happen this quickly.

One reason for the ad-spending change is that consumers’ near-universal access to the internet, whether by computer or mobile device, has also happened quickly.

So, what’s fading is print media, long the domain of branded manufacturers. Meanwhile, spending on television advertising, also branded territory, remains robust at more than $80 billion annually, counting broadcast, cable and spot. It seems to have been less affected by internet spending.

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2012’s Top Store Brands Category Gainers

New Nielsen data reveals which private label categories were the biggest gainers last year. Kurt Goldschmidt tracks the winners.

Kurt Goldschmidt
Top Private Label Gainers
February 2012

In this season of Grammys and Oscars, it’s a good time to look at private label’s winningest categories and perhaps learn a lesson or two about what it takes to be one of Nielsen’s top category gainers.

As I am sure we all know, Nielsen keeps track of literally thousands of individual products and over 500 billion individual purchases each year. They then divide these sales into seven-hundred-plus categories and subcategories, and report the results year to year for PLMA’s annual Private Label Yearbook.

In the household products department, for example, private label light bulbs did very well at US supermarkets. Consumers have largely been reluctant to break with the more familiar incandescent bulbs and embrace the newer energy-saving, longer-lasting, but also more expensive compact florescent bulbs.

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Older Americans Could Be The Market of the Future

The 75+ aged consumers are not only living longer but spending on food, health, and wellness. Brad Edmondson reports.

Brad Edmonson
75+ Consumers
January 2012

The aging of America is a critical trend for private label companies. But a lot of business people are still prejudiced toward elderly people, and this is especially true in the advertising and entertainment industries. You don’t have to look hard to find geezer jokes in ads and on TV. Well, please look past these stereotypes. Americans aged 75 and older are a profitable and growing market. They should not be ignored.

Right now there are about 18.7 million Americans aged 75 and older. That’s roughly the same as the number of teenagers aged 14 to 17. Businesses fall all over themselves to make movies and clothes and music and food for teenagers. But how many products and services are made specifically for elderly consumers? Not that many. The funny thing is, products that do meet the special needs of seniors are selling as if the recession never happened.

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Technology is Transforming Packaging

Innovation is shifting packaging from making things look good to helping shoppers get the most out of their purchases. Dr. Kantha Shelke explains.

Kantha Shelke
Packaging
January 2012

Question: What attracts shoppers and influences their purchase decisions, makes things appear even more valuable than they really are, but once bought, is often discarded and not used? If you said packaging, then you are right.

Science and technology, however, are transforming packaging beyond its role as seductress into becoming a fully integral part of the product.

Packaging for this new role requires trading naïve expectations and archaic short-term superficial dressing up of products in favor of new behavior that includes understanding the state of the environment and not just the marketplace, future needs of shoppers, and taking advantage of this newfound knowledge to dramatically change the store/shopper relationship.

One of the most profound issues is that of packaging convenience.

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PLMALive! Archives:

the Best of the Year Past

Wine Emerging as Store Brands Growth Category in the U.S.

Store brands wine may be a big winner in the year ahead. Len Lewis offers a taste of the vines.

Heralded as a revolution in customer service, self check-out is still waiting for its day in the sun. David Merrefield reports on the lessons to be learned.

Women in Private Label

The role of women in retailing and private label has been greater than many men realize. And companies may be missing out on natural competitive advantages. Kurt Goldschmidt looks at some of the industry's heroines.

President's Notebook

How has the private label business changed since the 1950’s? PLMA president Brian Sharoff spoke with Don Spellman, who remembers a time when a handshake between buyer and seller meant something.

New Flavors Making Store Brands Competitive

Coke and Pepsi may dominate the cola business, but new flavors are making store brands competitive. Len Lewis examines where the beverage category is going.

Green Guide Is Changing Rules for Environmentally-Friendly

The FTC is changing the rules governing phrases like recyclable and eco-friendly. David Merrefield examines the new do’s and don’ts.

Young Americans May Be Hardest Hit By Recession

Recession woes have affected many consumers, but Brad Edmondson says that younger Americans may actually be the hardest hit with serious implications for their purchasing behavior.

What Are National Brands Up To?

The list of new store brands products keeps growing, but national brands have made launches of their own, too. Kurt Goldschmidt reports.

If We Could Talk To The Animals

Animals may have more to teach us humans than we realize. Dr. Kantha Shelke finds lessons for store brands from the way zebras and elephants behave.

Can Store Brands Connect With Latino Shoppers?

Hispanics are the fastest-growing demographic group in the U.S. Series host Tim Simmons interviews Latino marketing expert Stephen Palacios about the best ways to reach them.

Don’t Wave Goodbye to Baby Boomers Yet

The Baby Boomer market may not be gone after all. Brad Edmondson looks at new demographic data that shows their best spending years may be ahead of them.

QR Codes Could Change Your Life

QR stands for quick response and these little rectangles could fundamentally change the way people learn about products and stores. Dr. Kantha Shelke explains what it is all about.

Marketing Store Brands To Kids

Everyone knows kids represent one of the biggest markets for food and snacks. They are also tomorrow’s adult consumers. Len Lewis looks at the market potential and how retailers are trying to target the younger generation.

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