CROSSMARK

Protected: CROSSMARK Headlines

phil — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:28:07 +0000

Protected: Jim Rose to Lead Marketing Services

phil — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:07:09 +0000

Protected: CROSSMARK Joins Other Industry Leaders in Publishing New Trends Study

phil — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:00:19 +0000

Protected: A Word from Our CEO

phil — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:44:12 +0000

CROSSMARK Names Jim Rose New President of Marketing Services to Lead Acceleration and Expansion of Marketing-Driven Solutions

phil — Mon, 06 May 2013 20:06:42 +0000

CROSSMARK has announced the appointment of Jim Rose as President – Marketing Services. CROSSMARK CEO Joe Crafton previously had been leading this growth area.

As the largest in-store marketing services company in North America, the addition of Rose to the leadership team at CROSSMARK is a significant move that bolsters the company’s strong position and expertise in marketing services.

“We are excited to have Jim join our team to lead the further development and integration of marketing services that deliver value and growth for our clients,” said Crafton.

CROSSMARK drives profitable brand growth for clients through its portfolio of marketing services that include in-store events, experiential marketing, shopper marketing, consumer engagement, and field intelligence. Rose will oversee these services and is charged with expanding capabilities to benefit the company’s business partners.

Rose brings marketing thought leadership and a world-class discipline in creating strategies and ROI-driven solutions that drive brand activation and consumer engagement. This includes specialized expertise in the areas of data analytics, insights, shopper engagement and experiential marketing, as well as digital and social media.

Prior to joining CROSSMARK, Rose was Chairman and CEO of Mosaic Sales Solutions based in Irving, Texas where he significantly grew the business by implementing value-added solutions for clients. He also held leadership positions at The Nielsen Company both in the U.S. and Europe, and MPG (Media Planning Group, part of Havas Worldwide – a global advertising and communications company). In addition, Rose led QXLricardo, a large publically traded e-commerce and digital company headquartered in London. He began his career as a consultant at Deloitte based in Chicago and received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

“Jim is the right person to lead the continued expansion and effectiveness of marketing services at CROSSMARK,” Crafton said. “He brings an exceptional track record of client success stories and a wealth of practical knowledge, as well as strong leadership and an innovative vision for the future, for us and our clients.”

New Food Retail Industry Outlook is Personal, Digital and Virtual

phil — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:17:14 +0000

Food Retailing 2013: Tomorrow’s Trends Delivered Today Offers Insights into Food Retail Growth Strategies

ORLANDO, FL – APRIL 30, 2013 – Food Retailing 2013: Tomorrow’s Trends Delivered Today, unveiled by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), is an analytical expression of the future of the supermarket experience through the lenses of grocery demand; consumer trends; merchandising and marketing innovation; and technology.

Champions of retail analytics and consumer insights – Booz and Company, Catalina, CROSSMARK, and Nielsen – convened a “think tank-approach” to their findings, which debuted at FMI’s professional development conference in Orlando, Future Connect. FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin presented an overview of the analysis, which will be further explored by the research team in a panel discussion on May 1.

Sarasin shared a sobering reality, yet one poised for market possibilities, offering data analytics from interviews among CPG executives and retailers. While consumer demand has remained flat, which is modestly disproportionate to population growth over the past 15-20 years, the industry has witnessed an explosion in its capacity. Sarasin suggested retailers will be evaluating alternative ways to address consumer need for value, convenience and safe foods by focusing their growth strategies on the overall shopper experience. Sarasin said, “[Through this analysis], the leaders in our industry kept coming back to three key words to describe the future food retail experience: Personal, Digital and Virtual.”

Food Retailing 2013: Tomorrow’s Trends Delivered Today evaluates the reported cornerstone changes shaping the food retail industry and the shopping experience. These themes will also be further explored in a series of webinars slated for late spring through summer 2013.

In-Store Merchandising and Innovation
There are a broad range of key drivers that will determine the success of in-store marketing and merchandising programs over the next decade. Today, price and convenience continue to trump other consumer trends in garnering shopper attention in store. Outside of HBC and Pharmacy, health and wellness-based themes are the third most common platform for displays behind price-only and snack/meal solutions.
“Food retailers have an opportunity to better leverage health and wellness to appeal to the growing demand among shoppers. Enhancing fresh food offerings in a unique and compelling way, as well as providing more overall convenient, immediate solutions for shoppers will be key growth enablers,” said Alex Siskos, vice president – Business Insights at CROSSMARK. “These priorities, in conjunction with improved shopper engagement, digital/mobile integration and greater precision targeting will create the next generation shopper experience that goes well beyond the traditional circular and shopping list.”
FMI Webinar: June 12

Market Dynamics
The news that consumption is flat is most evident in the fact that, despite supermarkets’ capacity additions, industry growth was entirely captured by other formats in the last 12 years. In particular, dollar stores tripled in growth from 2000 ($8 to $24 billion in U.S. Grocery sales). Still retailers, will look to online growth in the near future, as the report conservatively projects that, over the next 10 years, penetration of groceries ordered online will encroach on overall in-store sales by 11 percent. With an industry average profit margin of one percent, the market share erosion is significant for the food retail industry.

“Developing consumer attitudes will reshape the future of food retailing to include shopper aspirations,” said Nielsen Senior Vice President, Consumer and Shopper Insights, Todd Hale. “Retailers will need to align formats, assortment, merchandising efforts and communications as shoppers evolve.”
FMI Webinar: June 19

Technology In-Store
The analysis identified technology as the most critical catalyst of change in grocery retailing today and indicated retailers will need to shift focus as shoppers’ traditional “path to purchase” evolves. Ninety-two percent of c-level executives across retail and CPG manufacturing believe mobile technologies are already deeply transforming the shopping experience. “As smartphone use and sophistication grows, we’ll see more people depend on their smartphones for every shopping interaction – in-store navigation, mobile wallet payments, loyalty programs, and price comparisons, among others,” said Nick Hodson, partner at Booz & Company.

Evolving smartphone technology will also bring an explosion of “big data” that can be used to reshape shopper engagement strategies; however, the analysis revealed most retailers are unsure about how to scale these analytics and apply them meaningfully in the long-term. They are also struggling with how to deliver an overall “seamless” experience across multiple retail channels, which is core to shopping simplicity.

“Creating a seamless shopping experience across bricks and mortar, bricks and clicks, and online will require most retailers to retool almost every aspect of their business,” said Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist at Booz & Company. “Success will require significant partner collaboration, especially in the supply chain; multichannel marketing, localization, and assortment; and true integrated management of customer relationships.”
FMI Webinar: June 26

Marketing
According to the analysis, instead of focusing on short-term volume, the most important marketing trend for both manufacturers and retailers in the foreseeable future is building loyalty and long-term ROI. To accomplish this, constituents will need to use shopper data wisely, concentrating on offer personalization. “In the coming years, retailers and brands will work in concert to provide exceptional services for consumers, including personalized shopping lists, brand savings alerts, mobile checkout, recipe services, and product ratings and reviews,” said John Caron, vice president of marketing for Catalina. “It will be about delivering the right message at the right time through the right medium…and delighting the consumer.”
FMI Webinar: July 10

Innovative Solution from CROSSMARK Provides Quick Response For On-Shelf Availability

phil — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:18:23 +0000

A unique new service named OSA Now is helping manufacturers better address the challenge of a product’s on-shelf availability (OSA) at Walmart stores.

OSA Now, developed by CROSSMARK, uses an innovative and unique combination of business intelligence, technology and store coverage to address OSA for Walmart and for manufacturer clients. Sophisticated algorithms — customized for each client — are used to identify store/item combinations that have a high likelihood of having an OSA problem. Typical issues include out-of-stocks, incorrect on-hand inventory, or products that are not on the modular (planogram).

With daily alerts, CROSSMARK retail representatives are able to quickly check whether products are on the shelves, whether a shelf tag is in place, or if there is another problem that is preventing sales of the product.

The result, according to Ken Drish, Vice President of Business Development for CROSSMARK, is that a client’s sales can increase by utilizing the OSA Now solution.

“OSA Now leverages services unique to CROSSMARK. The first is the collaboration between CROSSMARK’s Business Insights group and third-party data companies to create custom algorithms for each client, in each category and segment. The second is our retail model which has reps in all stores an average of more than twice per week, allowing reaction to the data faster than anyone else in our space,” Drish said.

He continued: “The third is our ability to measure the impact and show our clients their return on investment.”

For more information about OSA Now, contact Ken Drish at (479) 446-2226.

Video Promotes Careers in Consumer Goods Industry

phil — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:13:42 +0000

CROSSMARK has collaborated with a consortium of companies and non-profit organizations in the consumer goods industry to create an engaging, fast-paced video designed to increase awareness and attract young talent to the industry. Leaders from companies such as PepsiCo, Mondelez and Unilever, as well as Walmart, FMI and CROSSMARK, briefly share their insights to encourage students to “think beyond.” The video highlights the many career opportunities available in the consumer goods industry ranging from sales, marketing and advertising to operations, research and more.

Watch the five-minute video to learn more and share it with family and friends who may be evaluating career options now or in the near future.

CROSSMARK Creates BrandMasters for Turnkey Experiential Marketing Solutions

phil — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:58:37 +0000

CROSSMARK has formed BrandMasters — a new experiential marketing agency that will provide turnkey solutions for brands to create meaningful shopper experiences through personal engagement. BrandMasters will meet the growing need among consumer goods brands to effectively influence shoppers on the path to purchase.

Services will address all phases of experiential marketing, from shopper insights to turnkey execution and measurement of programs ranging from in-store product sampling to outside events and digital engagement.

“Today, as brands face challenges in connecting with their consumers and shoppers, it’s become more critical than ever for a brand to deliver a message to its target audience that is relevant to them as individuals,” said CROSSMARK CEO Joe Crafton. “People connecting with people is the most powerful means of influence, and BrandMasters connects brands with consumers along the path to purchase through personal engagement in-store and out of the store,” he said.

CROSSMARK will leverage its position as the largest in-store marketing services company in North America, including in-store events through its NCiM division and Shopper Events joint venture. In addition, CROSSMARK’s Field Intelligence group is the largest in-store data collection force in North America. There is tremendous synergy with Twin Oaks, CROSSMARK’s shopper marketing venture with industry leader MARS Advertising. BrandMasters will develop turnkey, national programs for consumer goods brands executing across all relevant areas where consumers shop and play. Services will include coordination of retailer-contracted event execution companies such as NCiM and other retailer event agencies.

Ed Hoehn, most recently Vice President – Client Services at Mosaic, has joined BrandMasters as Senior Vice President – Marketing Services. Having spent the last 13 years in the agency business, Ed has developed experiential solutions for more than 35 brands such as Microsoft, HP, Sony, Sharp and Verizon. Hoehn will lead the agency’s efforts in providing turnkey experiential marketing solutions for consumer goods clients.

Hoehn said experiential marketing is one of the most effective means to engage shoppers and build brand loyalty.

“Our approach is uniquely positioned to add value. We have built a platform on the strengths of CROSSMARK and added experiential marketing expertise,” he said. “The platform includes proprietary data and analytics, retail expertise, exceptional field talent, and strong relationships with retailers and consumer goods companies. Adding experiential strategy, design and management allows us to build and execute smart programs to drive tangible results for clients.”

BrandMasters has launched a website at www.brandmasters.com, as well as a presence on a number of social media sites. Fans of BrandMasters are “liking” BrandMasters on Facebook and sharing links with their colleagues, clients and customers.

CROSSMARK Creates BrandMasters for Turnkey Experiential Marketing Solutions

phil — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:33:34 +0000

CROSSMARK, a leading sales and marketing services company in the consumer goods industry, has formed BrandMasters — a new experiential marketing agency that will provide turnkey solutions for brands to create meaningful shopper experiences through personal engagement.

CROSSMARK created BrandMasters to meet the growing need among consumer goods brands to effectively influence shoppers on the path to purchase. Services will address all phases of experiential marketing, from shopper insights to turnkey execution and measurement of programs ranging from in-store product sampling to outside events and digital engagement.

Hoehn said experiential marketing is one of the most effective means to engage shoppers and build brand loyalty. “Our approach is uniquely positioned to add value. We have built a platform on the strengths of CROSSMARK and added experiential marketing expertise. The platform includes proprietary data and analytics, retail expertise, exceptional field talent, and strong relationships with retailers and consumer goods companies. Adding experiential strategy, design and management allows us to build and execute smart programs to drive tangible results for clients,” Hoehn said.

For more information on this newly created agency, visit http://www.brandmasters.com.