Company Blog

Crunch Time

by Adam Zack — July 9, 2015

7-13Kesslers_Cherry1-2PageROP You know those supermarket ads you get in the mail or newspaper each week? The one that come via Red Plum or Advo or some other mass distribution vehicle? Next time you get them, try this experiment. Lay a few of them out on the counter and cover up the name of the store they are from. Can you tell which store they are from without seeing the name? Or do they all pretty much look the same? The big chain stores are very, very good at producing ads that offer no differentiation from the other big chains. They even have the same items, or at least the same type of items. They offer no unique promotions. They don’t tout uncommon offerings. They don’t do anything to let the reader know that there is an exclusive experience, if only the shopper were to come in to see it. An ad is your chance to capture attention and bring the shopper in. Not enough retailers think beyond the proverbial box when it comes to promoting their experience. And no, major holiday’s do not count. Anything your chain competitors do doesn’t count either.

So this week here are five promotional ad themes that you can do to differentiate yourself. They are creative. They are fun. They are relatable and easily promotable in your store.

It’s Crunch Time! Choose items for your feature page that are, duh, crunchy. They can be an assortment of produce items that are naturally crisp and crunchy, like local carrots, cucumbers, apple season, watermelon when at its peak. Ask your staff to make suggestion. OR, crunch time can be a selection of crunchy foods. Like local tortilla or potato chips. Store popped popcorn. Crispy cookies. So many possibilities.

When the Going Gets Tough…It’s time to start buying your meat (beef, pork, you can be specific) from [your store name]. Promote how tender your meats are. Promote your quality. Promote how you guarantee it. Who doesn’t want to try a little tenderness?

Battle of the Bacons! Introduce new types, styles of bacon. Everyone loves bacon (well, almost everyone). Canadian, pepper, maple, thick, thin, local, artisan… Plus, it’s a great way to get stores to compete with each other, or even employees within the department.

For a Guy Who Stinks, He Sure is Popular! Garlic promotion. Everything from fresh garlic to your store made garlic bread, garlic enhanced ready to cook meats, garlic butter, roasted garlic. There’s so many more.

And They Call it Puppy Love – Don’t concede dog food and related products to the big box stores and pet stores. Go fetch the sales for yourself. Everybody loves dogs (well, almost everybody…). Get the local animal shelter, Humane Society, Guide Dogs organization involved in the promotion. Sell marrow or femur bones out of the meat freezer. Put up a display of dog toys and treats. Have a Facebook contest with owners and photos of their dogs. Make cakes or cupcakes in your bakery that look like a dog face. Be creative!

So, anyway, there’s five for you. Challenge your team to make something and unique happen. Your customers will notice the difference.