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Funny how quickly things change. Remember when a prominent speaker at Cannes this past June declared, “The era of the brand is over!” and escalated the debate about how to invest marketing dollars? Flash-forward to December, though, and over a third of marketers told WARC they planned to significantly increase their brand marketing while lowering performance marketing investments in 2024. Just the latest turn in the never-ending Brand vs. Performance debate, right? Not exactly. As an Adweek editor recently said, “We’ve created a false choice that is really creating tremendous headwinds for us as marketers.” So true. In today’s dynamic omnichannel marketplace, only chasing short-term revenue is a set up for failure. With today’s nonlinear path to purchase, consumers can enter the marketing funnel at any stage. Plus, post-pandemic, with an overabundance of choices, they’ve shown they’re willing to walk away from brands that don’t truly “get” them. It’s become so clear: To win, a careful balance of both brand and performance marketing is critical — with new brand-building approaches that connect the dots all along a highly complex path to purchase. Numerous market influences have forced the continuation of marketing transformation over the past few years. To name just a few: Probably the most obvious, pandemic-driven, accelerated adoption of online shopping — including DTC — which, with its highly competitive digital shelf, has greatly increased choice complexity and a change in the discovery process. Changes in media consumption behaviors and shopping behaviors. Inflationary pressures forcing consumers to trade down to private label and the adoption of “dupe” culture. Institutional and corporate skepticism at an all-time high. Ever-increasing demand for a personalized, frictionless omnichannel experience. A push for greater brand authenticity beyond social purpose. Media fragmentation. Cookie deprecation and the resulting explosion in retailer media. Should I go on? Consumers now move from awareness to purchase in a matter of minutes — both in-store and online. The purchase funnel? It isn’t gone; it’s just morphed into seemingly endless variations as individual journeys become shaped by less traditional lifestyles and life stages, tech savviness and access to tech devices, and the ever-growing income divide. And, of course, all of these behavioral shifts are accelerated by “shoppable everything” — opening up many more opportunities for moments of conversion. The importance of a strong brand and clear value proposition has never been more important. Brands are still one of the most important ways to establish meaningful relationships and long-term growth. But how we build brands is changing dramatically to meet the new challenges of connecting with consumers. Clearly, the days of creating brands through 30-second linear TV spots are over. No doubt, how we think about brand strategy, architecture and guidelines all need to evolve to consider all of the new ways a brand can come to life in order to make an authentic, emotional connection. Time is precious. Finances are stretched. And expectations for entertainment are higher than ever. All of this means that brands need to step up how they interact and what type of experience they create for their consumers. This is not to suggest that investment should shift into “experiential marketing.” Rather, it indicates that every interaction should be viewed through the lens of brand experience — from messaging to navigating brand choices during a purchase occasion to unboxing, packaging and even instructions. It’s become quite impossible to make good decisions about media or creative strategy without opening up the mindset to include a full-funnel perspective. We are at an important moment, with reason to pause, reconsider and reinvent our approach to marketing. When paired with defined opportunities, media and creative can be planned and developed with a clear purpose for the moment and understanding of how each vehicle is best utilized. And when you layer on a complete commerce approach, your investment works that much harder to create momentum behind brand and category growth. Ultimately, the best way forward is to leave behind the traditional mode of thinking about “upper funnel” and “lower funnel” and instead focus on creating connected moments with the target audience — driving engagement through more targeted, strategic approaches stemming from an authentic brand purpose. As more people use digital platforms like streaming TV and online shopping, marketers have the opportunity to make every ad and customer interaction a shoppable moment. Ads that urge consumers to act right away boost sales and profits. But it’s easy to forget about building brand loyalty when we’re laser-focused on performance marketing. A holistic, full-funnel integrated approach can address this conundrum. It: identifies the right brand plus performance marketing approach, with a focus on moments identifies right-sizes investment allows for optimization of assets and resources and it ensures that retail media investment works harder To set the stage for a holistic, full-funnel integrated approach, we advise our CPG clients to consider the following: Complete commerce approach needed — Start with the understanding that those key brand-building moments that also drive conversion can become a reality with the right holistic, complete commerce approach. Consider when and where your consumers are spending the most time with your brand and revisit how you interact within those moments to shape their thinking and create emotional connection. Map connected moments — Creating a map of connected moments designed to deliver on specific tasks yields great results by influencing perceptions, emotions and, ultimately, behaviors. Break free of traditional roles — Avoid pigeonholing media vehicles in one stage of the funnel or another. One example: retail media. As retail media offerings continue to explode and become a higher percentage of the media investment, it’s never been more important to think holistically about the commercial business. Brand building can occur in every interaction with a consumer or shopper. And with more of those opportunities happening in the retail environment, it’s critical to consider how to maximize each interaction — from at-shelf to brand pages to how a promotion is communicated. Yes, retail media is attractive because of its proximity to the buying decision, but thinking it’s only a lower-funnel tactic is a mistake. It’s fast becoming a tool for both branding and performance advertising, as it leverages first-party data to deliver display, video and streaming TV ads across various platforms. Retailer collaboration is key — True retailer partnerships have never been more important for an effective full-funnel approach. Retailers also benefit when brands enhance the shopping experience through better discovery, education, clear value proposition and relevant communication. Consumers crave meaningful innovation and have increasingly higher expectations to make it worth veering away from autopilot shopping behaviors. The only way to deliver on those needs with mutual success is through heightened brand and retailer collaboration. Contemporize your approach to search — It’s time to stop focusing solely on search rankings. Content designed solely to optimize keyword search results — without human-centricity — misses some of the most critical moments on the journey. Remember, search results are also influenced by chat- and image-based search. New technologies like AI-assisted search and multimodal search that combine images, conversation, keywords and video will give users a direct brand experience within search results. The implications for brands? As content requirements evolve to address search tech advancements (like Google’s Search Generative Experience), brands need to ensure they’re showing up with the right brand distinction, consistency and tone while also meeting consumers where they are in that moment. Optimize messaging throughout the funnel — Use consistent cross-platform messaging across the funnel stages to ensure your consumer isn’t struggling with different or non-relevant messages. Keep changing messages across the funnel, and you’ll keep reintroducing your brand and impacting your ability to move the shopper to a sale and build your brand. Go for the multiplier effect — Coupling performance with brand marketing gives you a multiplier effect, driving short-term profits and building strong brand recognition, memorability, market and mindshare over the long term — which will lift your performance marketing success. The trick, in the end, is understanding how brand and performance marketing can complement each other, and how each stage of the funnel connects to create a complete commerce path for your consumer. This came into play recently for a wellness functional food brand that needed to go beyond conversion-driving tactics that only spoke to a small audience. Together, we built out the brand proposition by educating a much larger audience through paid and owned media, resulting in year over year growth of 61% and doubling the new customer base. Thinking about the full funnel differently can unlock the insights needed to drive more efficient, sustained brand growth. While the plan will look different for every brand, we’re finding that those who employ complete commerce strategies across the funnel are pulling ahead of the pack, reaching more consumers at all stages of the journey and meeting them where they are on that journey. Treating each interaction as a precious moment to enhance brand connection to drive conversion is a golden opportunity. It’s time to have your team rethink their brand marketing approach to drive sales and build long-term loyalty.

At a time when CPG companies and retailers face constant profit pressures, reassessing commercial strategies is paramount. As we focus on driving long-term profitable growth, Revenue Growth Management (RGM) is more critical than ever. Yet, a significant number of companies report their RGM capabilities as suboptimal, with many struggling to effectively manage and analyze trade spend. What does an effective RGM strategy look like in today’s marketplace? Where are Best-in-Class CPGs focusing their efforts? An effective RGM strategy must encompass several critical areas, including Price Pack Architecture, trade and promotion strategies, trade spend optimization, assortment optimization, and product portfolio management. Also, Supply Chain and Operation teams should be evaluating Trade Terms and Policies to better enable efficient business practices and ultimately reduce the cost to retail customers. Kristine Urea, Market Performance Group (MPG) General Manager and former Kellogg’s and Nature’s Bounty executive, emphasizes the importance of strategic reallocation, which can be achieved by enhancing supply chain efficiency, fostering collaboration, and harnessing new marketing capabilities. Working with MPG’s highly experienced team of RGM, Field Sales, Supply Chain, Finance, and Retail experts, Urea has spearheaded numerous Commercial Investment Optimization initiatives, enabling CPG businesses to identify and redirect significant, non-working trade investment dollars to strategic omnichannel growth initiatives. What should marketers consider when looking to optimize commercial spend? Urea advises: Foster an Enterprise-Wide Profitable Growth Mindset. Establish ways of working within the organization to ensure maximum value while minimizing costs to serve. Ensure cross-functional teams have the skills needed to identify and capitalize on opportunities to reduce non-working dollars. This includes an understanding of Price Pack Architecture, trade optimization/efficiency, assortment optimization, financial acumen, and supply chain logistics. Audit Commercial Spend. Over the years, total commercial investment has grown faster than sales. Begin by conducting a thorough audit of commercial spend to identify non-working dollars, often hidden in underperforming campaigns, inefficient supply chain processes, or outdated strategies. Leverage data analytics for ROI assessment. Optimize Promotional Spend. Evaluate promotional strategies to ensure they drive incremental sales rather than merely subsidizing regular purchases. Tailor to current consumer behavior and market trends, ensuring each dollar contributes to profitable growth. “Unmask” Pay for Performance. Develop a collaborative scorecard to review the business's health. Align with retail partners on metrics/KPIs for measurement. Shared goals and collaborative scorecards will drive efficiency and the actions required to drive profitable growth. Identify eCommerce Efficiency Opportunities. Selling on Amazon.com is a lynchpin in building a successful eCommerce strategy, yet billing errors, lost or damaged inventory, weight overcharges, and other erroneous fees can add up quickly and hurt profits. The recovery process can be complicated, requiring careful adherence to Amazon’s dispute process and deadlines in order to achieve a favorable outcome. But it’s not impossible. MPG has helped brand partners recover over $70 million in "trapped dollars" – funds that were then available to be redeployed to drive consumer connection and growth in this important channel. Enhance Supply Chain Efficiency. Lowering the cost to serve is integral to freeing up capital for reinvestment. Through collaboration, focus on reducing inefficient order processes, shorts, and defectives, improving lead time planning, and optimizing logistics. Goals should include identifying execution gaps, reducing supply chain-related fees, and penalties, and enhancing the supplier/retailer supply chain relationship. This will not only reduce costs but also improve customer satisfaction. Maximize Retail Media Network (RMN) Potential by Assessing as Part of Your Overall Commercial Investment. RMNs can provide the opportunity to develop stronger retail partnerships and more personalized connections with your consumers. Examine how you can best change the spending mix to closely connect media investments with in-store activations. Think: What if we took some of the non-working funds we have identified and put them into RMN programs focused on driving brand equity, shopper loyalty, personalization to the retailer, and ultimately conversion to sales? By focusing on these strategies, you can ensure that every dollar spent is an investment in driving profitable growth, benefiting your brand, retail partners, and consumers. To speak with Kristine Urea about how MPG can support your business through Commercial P&L and eCommerce Omni Optimization initiatives, contact her at: Kristine.urea@mpgllc.com

Have you ever wondered about the significance of Aaron Paul's "no half-measures" tattoo? Rewatch Season 3 of Breaking Bad (great show, by the way), and you'll encounter a powerful story with tragic consequences, told by Mike, who ends it saying, “I chose a half-measure when I should have gone all the way. I’ll never make that mistake again. No more half-measures, Walter.” This notion of abandoning half-measures is particularly relevant in the eCommerce landscape, where well-intentioned but ineffective attempts to curb unauthorized resellers are rampant. These bad actors infiltrate platforms like Amazon, sourcing products through various means such as liquidation sales, gray markets, and counterfeiting, ultimately stealing the coveted Buy Box. Unauthorized resellers wreak havoc by undercutting prices, creating duplicate listings, and causing channel conflicts that significantly impact brand sales and erode profit margins. The repercussions go beyond financial concerns, extending to the safety, efficacy, and legitimacy of products. The result: inferior quality, subpar service, shipping issues, and a negative overall buying experience that damages the brand equity painstakingly built over time. Marketplaces like Amazon are making efforts to regain control, but with nearly 3,000 new sellers creating accounts daily on Amazon alone, totaling 9.5 million sellers, the challenge remains daunting. Brands must take the lead in protecting themselves. Drawing from successful experiences with our clients, it's evident that a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach is necessary to clean up the eCommerce landscape. No more half-measures! Here are crucial steps to consider in this battle: Third-party Mitigation and Invoice Discovery: Utilize scalable technology platforms to identify and remove unauthorized 3P resellers. Understand who is selling your products, the types of products involved, and whether they are new or refurbished. This approach helps gain control over the overwhelming task of tracking resellers. Cease and Desist Letters – But Don't Stop There: While sending cease and desist letters is a start, it's not the endpoint. Employ targeted invoice discovery processes to identify precise sources of product supply. This goes beyond merely addressing the symptoms and gets to the root of the problem. Evaluate Supply Policies and Tactics – Fix the Leak(s): Scrutinize promotional programs, distributor and reseller management, agreements, and tactics to identify gaps affecting the 3P reseller landscape. This thorough examination is necessary to understand and rectify the factors contributing to the problem. Root Cause Analysis on Diversion: Engage with vendors, promotional partners, and internal stakeholders to conduct a root cause analysis on diversion. This includes reviewing data on sales, shipments, and promotional activities for selected items and accounts. Identifying the source of the issue is crucial for implementing effective solutions. Optimize to Control and Mitigate Inventory Diversion: Based on expert analysis, make policy, process, and tool changes to mitigate 3P reseller pressure. This involves implementing more effective methods for monitoring product listings and prices, scrutinizing distribution agreements and minimum advertised price (MAP) policies, and leveraging Amazon tools to ensure authenticity and remove counterfeit listings. Doubting whether combating diversion is worth the effort? Consider these success stories: A health and beauty company, grappling with unauthorized resellers, closed nearly 70% of unauthorized Amazon listings and experienced a 10% improvement in the Buy Box. Similarly, a CPG company, facing price compression and Buy Box loss, identified and shut down inventory leak sources, eliminating 90% of unauthorized resellers. It's time to reclaim the Buy Box from eCommerce bad actors. No more half-measures, Walter. Adopt a comprehensive strategy to safeguard your brand sales, protect profit margins, and enhance customer perception.

Retail media performance continues to be a top focus for marketers, as we saw recently at IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting, and earlier, at Advertising Week NY. As we continue to work toward metrics standardization and a cookie-less future, one thing is clear: It's not just about reaching eyeballs. Shifting the focus from quantity to quality in engagement is the new frontier. It’s time to embrace new "Marketing Math" with a focus on creating meaningful connections that resonate with the hearts and minds of our audiences, says Market Performance Group Director, OmniCommerce Media, Colleen Mahoney. She advises CPG brands to: 1. Make the WHO Your Nucleus In the intricate equation of retail media advertising, the WHO is the nucleus. Understanding your audience—WHO they are, their preferences, and behaviors—is the foundational element. The where, what, when, and how become meaningful only when anchored in a profound understanding of the WHO. 2. See Consumers as the Main Characters Shift the narrative! Brands play a supporting role; consumers are the protagonists. It's not about showcasing products; it's about weaving stories that resonate with the lives, aspirations, and challenges of real people. By making consumers the focal point, advertisers unlock the potential for emotional connections that extend beyond transactions. 3. Apply Holistic Audience Thinking Move beyond traditional metrics. Holistic audience thinking involves seeing individuals in their entirety—beyond demographics. Understand their values, lifestyles, and passions. This nuanced perspective allows for more targeted and resonant messaging, elevating the overall impact of advertising efforts. 4. Hyper-Personalize to Authentically Engage Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all. Hyper-personalization is the key to unlocking engagement and loyalty. Tailoring messages to the specific needs and preferences of individuals creates a bespoke experience. It's about making each consumer feel seen and understood in a crowded digital landscape. 5. Redefine Success Beyond Impressions Impressions are just one part of the equation. Success in retail media advertising is redefined when we measure impact on the individual level. It's not just about how many saw it; it's about how many were moved by it. Shifting the focus from quantity to quality in audience engagement is the new frontier. For more insights that can drive your brand’s omnicommerce growth, reach out to Colleen Mahoney at colleen.mahoney@mpgllc.com

Remember when Coca-Cola first came out with mini cans? Who doesn’t? A significant, strategic re-architecture of the packaging mix, it “reinvented” the business at a time when consumption had tanked. The Washington Post labeled them, “Coca-Cola’s clever new trick,” but health-conscious consumers drank them up, willing to pay more per ounce, driving sales and profitability. This past year, facing inflation, changing consumer preferences, and rising commodity costs, Coca-Cola again “bet” on Price Pack Architecture (PPA), as the press noted. With price-sensitive consumers seeking value, the beverage giant continues to drive both affordability and premiumization, tailoring PPA to consumption occasions, and ensuring the right product in the right package in the right channel and at the right price points to meet consumers where they are. As a result, they’re seeing increased consumer satisfaction – and increased profitable sales. Like Coca-Cola, we all need to be smart about how we meet the challenges of the day. PPA can be the answer -- BUT only if you recognize it’s much more than new formats or sizes, or cutting low-performing SKUs. PPA is about overall portfolio and pack range management. It’s focused on aligning pack and price strategies to meet specific consumer or customer needs in specific channels, directly impacting your P&L. It involves overall product portfolio management, which may include new or existing offerings, channel decisions, and/or portfolio decisions to meet consumer “demand moments.” It may help identify innovation and marry it with the right pricing. Done right, it can deliver profitable growth, attracting new shoppers and increasing usage occasions. We advise our CPG clients: • Develop cross-functional PPA muscle within your organization:  Create understanding and best practices that can unlock profitable growth. For PPA success, there must be cross-functional knowledge and effort, with Marketing, CD, Finance, CMI, Category Strategy, and Ops/Factory colleagues in the room. • Dig Deep: Collect and understand data around your current portfolio and what you’re trying to solve. Don’t rush through this stage! Leading companies spend over 60% of their PPA process time in this early stage -- for good reason! Look at consumer behavior, pricing, promotions, and channel performance across all touchpoints. • Address key questions and implications: What role does the category play for retailers? What’s the strategic role of each brand in our portfolio? What role does each of the packs play for the consumer? Are we clear on the role of our packs across key shopper missions and channels? Do pricing and promotion strategies work in service of our brand and pack roles? • Consider that competition lives inside and outside of the defined category: When recently supporting a client with items in traditional fruit sauces and cups, we redefined the landscape to include all children’s snacks – spanning multiple other categories and purchase moments. With this heightened understanding of the consumer’s decision-making process, we were able to better build the PPA to make the client more competitive in the total store. • Segment and prioritize: Segment your customer base based on needs, preferences, purchasing habits, the shopper's mission within a specific channel, and the retailer's goals. • Look through the segmentation lens: For each segment, assess the role of trial and mainstream offerings, stock ups, and upsell-trade ups, among other factors. Analyze how different customer segments react to price changes and inflation to guide pricing decisions. • Truly understand the purpose of your current packs within their channels: Fulfilling consumer “demand moments” should drive your approach to pack role allocation. To know you have the right coverage, assess relevant KPIs such as share of market and penetration, and the ability of a pack to cover 100% of the role. • Optimize product assortment, eliminating redundant SKUs and focusing on the most profitable product-channel combinations: Focus on offering the right products and pack sizes in each channel to meet specific customer needs. Challenge duplicated packs, and packs with limited distribution to reduce operational costs. There’s no doubt that an effective PPA strategy can help you successfully navigate today’s complex challenges. So this new year, why not sit your team down and evaluate your portfolio: What’s the right channel, package, and product mix to continue to drive revenue growth?

Just back from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024, where our MPG team was excited to view the latest cutting-edge innovations. For consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketers, CES 2024 offered an exciting glimpse into the future of how technology will continue to enhance the customer experience and create new opportunities in today’s connected commerce world. Across the board, AI dominated as it appeared in almost every product and service – from retail technologies to smart home devices, to automotive advances and health care solutions. Walmart showcased how technologies like AI, GenAI, and AR will serve as a “customer’s concierge,” reimagining Walmart’s role as a shopping destination: A new GenAI-powered search experience now available to iOS customers. The enhanced search experience allows customers to search by specific use cases, generating relevant, cross-category results The search example Walmart provided: “A football watch party versus individual searches for chips, wings, drinks, and a 90-inch TV.” Walmart InHome Replenishment, which uses AI and Walmart’s replenishment expertise to ensure customers’ online shopping carts are filled with the right items at the right time and delivered into a home refrigerator Shop with Friends, a beta social commerce platform enabling customers to share virtual outfits they create and get feedback from others. Sam’s Club unveiled a new technology that uses a first-of-its-kind AI and computer vision technology for receipt verification as members exit their club. Amazon’s major presence beyond their connected devices (home, auto, music, etc.) was championed by Amazon Ad Opportunities. Key takeaways include: New partnerships with Meta and TikTok showcased Amazon’s continued integration into major social platforms increasing the connection between seeing and buying products. The new ad-supported Prime Video launch provides brands a CPM-based mechanism to reach 115M Prime shoppers in a limited (for now) number of ads per show.  We expect brands to test and leverage Amazon’s first-party data to target the right shoppers in market for their products! The loss of 3P cookies on Google Chrome likely means that brands will continue to flow to Amazon Ads (paid and programmatic in ’24). Finally our favorite new offering is an extension of Amazon Live which is now just in beta – extending the live shopping experience (think QVC) with its own channel on Prime Video and allowing brands to repurpose content for product pages and ads.  We love testing new offerings before recommending them to our brand partners and expect to do this in Q1. L’Oréal showcased an AI-powered, connected personalized lipstick device with augmented reality capabilities -- Rouge Sur Mesure by Yves Saint Laurent Beaute  --  to virtually try on and recommend lipstick shades from a selection of 4,000 shade options with a touch of a button and within seconds. Verge Motorcycle received a lot of attention for its TS Ultra electric motorcycles, touted as the world’s first motorcycle equipped with the sense of sight to advise the rider. Smart Home Motion Pillow captured a CES innovation award this year. It uses AI to reduce snoring that it detects by inflating airbags to lift the head and open airways. The motion pillow not only intelligently detects snoring sounds but also accurately measures oxygen saturation levels for improved user experience. Volkswagen is integrating ChatGPT into its ID 7 line of EVs and gas-powered Golf, Passat, and Tiguan, allowing drivers to have a more conversational interface with their cars. Panasonic Automotive showcased an augmented reality head-up display (AR HUD) that can project navigation, traffic, and safety information onto the windshield of the car, and adjust the position and size of the images according to the driver’s eye movements. SEERGRILLS® Perfecta grill will feature AI. As you grill meats vertically in the Perfecta, the AI will learn and improve cooking over time. LG highlighted its transparent 77-inch OLED TV—which easily converts from a regular TV to a transparent wall of glass, while Samsung wowed with its hologram-like, MicroLED display – very cool but at $150,000, likely not ready for mass rollout. Interested in learning more about the latest innovation trends and their impact on your business? Contact: Jason Omenn at Jason.omenn@mpgllc.com

Are you up on the latest trends and practices in Phygital – the blending of online and in-store channels to deliver a seamless, connected shopping experience wherever and whenever the consumer chooses to engage? In today’s dynamic omni commerce environment, making sure your organization is approaching all business aspects with an eye toward Phygital is critical to outpacing the competition and accelerating growth. To keep you on the forefront, here are some tips and insights to support your brands in connecting with the shopper. Step 1: Item Set-up and Maintenance When thinking about how to make your e-commerce business grow, many people’s minds go to sophisticated paid advertising campaigns. ​ Advertising your products and your brand is fundamental for growth, but there is a more essential way to gain better traffic and conversion rates, and it’s also a must-have for successful marketing strategies: rich and tailored product information. You may think you have this already under control, but product content is much more than a SKU, a price and a product title. ​ Many do not realize that digital success starts with item setup. In times past, item setup would be done in the fastest way possible to get the item salable, and this often translated to providing as little information as possible. ​ In today's environment, item setup is incredibly critical for viewability to shoppers. As shoppers move from retailer to retailer online, they often focus on what is most important to them as they filter through available items. The more information you supply and the more robust the attributes you include, the more likely your product is to appear in their search. ​ If information is missing, your product will not be included in searches or filtering. As an example, if someone is searching for “fragrance-free face wash,” but that information is not supplied as part of the item setup and product information, it will not appear as a shopper selects “fragrance-free” as a filter for face wash.  It also matters which categories the product is assigned to and where shoppers will be able to find it. ​ Also, make sure you have a clear keyword strategy that links your product information to your sponsored search. Keyword strategy is highly important to building your performance flywheel to accelerate growth. Carefully assess: What is your audience searching for? How are they searching for it? ​ In the end, ensuring you are giving item setup and product information all the love it needs will be worth the investment and will pay dividends in perpetuity down the road. ​ Step 2: Availability What’s the real-time availability of your product at the local store? And through online ordering for immediate delivery? Did you know, a Forrester study found that over a third of U.S. consumers would reconsider visiting a store if its in-store inventory isn’t available online?! Also, consider: The underpinning of the Phygital world is a highly consistent, seamless experience for the consumer across channels, whether online, on a mobile app, or making an in-store visit. At every point. Every time. And that includes item On-Shelf Availability (OSA) – one of the biggest challenges in Phygital. Whether you’re dealing with forecasted surges in peak buying seasons or unforeseen surges caused by viral TikTok or Instagram moments, you’ve got to have product available wherever the consumer wants it, whenever they want it. And we’re not just talking about “in-stock.” If your product is showing as “in-stock” but is still in the warehouse, in its shipping crate in the back of the store, or damaged in transit, it’s not truly available. So your consumer is disappointed. Their expectations haven’t been met. And they don’t think twice about turning to a competitive product (or retailer) to fill the gap you’ve created. Poor OSA negates sales and hurts the relationship with your consumer. But there are other significant impacts: You may lose your digital or physical shelf space or a position in a hard-earned display or organic search You may significantly decrease your visibility to future customers. For example, Amazon shows only those products on top results that have sufficient stock. By the time you’ve replenished your inventory, potential customers have switched to purchasing a competitor’s product. You may jeopardize your relationship and access to major retailers. With Walmart, for example, you impact your Marketplace status; inventory management contributes directly to your customer satisfaction scores. Poor On Time in Full (OTIF) and Supplier Quality Excellence Program (SQEP) performance will result in costly fines and penalties. To improve OSA in the Phygital world: Get rid of siloed systems that are hampering your ability to connect and correlate inventory data. Take a unified approach to omnichannel inventory management. Assess current processes and platforms to ensure you can track and manage real-time sales and availability across all omnichannel distribution points and support omnichannel fulfillment and replenishment, from eCommerce and in-store, to call center and mobile, to buy online pick up in-store (BOPIS). Embrace pilots and test-and-learn opportunities to advance supply strategies. Introduce modernized supply chain technologies that support eCommerce as well as traditional retail supply chain channels or that help merge and combine the two. Review product packaging and shipping procedures, and make sure you’re working with the right distribution partners to consolidate freight and meet on-time delivery goals. Use RFID tagging to help with inventory counts.Invest in the capability to digitally label products to meet retailer requirements. Make sure you’re collaborating with both retailers and internal cross-functional partners (supply/marketing/sales strategy/finance) to develop accurate forecasts and resolve any supply chain interruptions with a sense of urgency. Prioritize production on specific SKUs and/or proactively take advantage of the data that’s offered to help better manage your inventory. For example, Walmart is now requiring all suppliers to subscribe to its Luminate data service, which provides eCommerce data in one consolidated report and a view to sales wherever they occur. (See separate article in this issue for details.) Understand logistics requirements by channel:For example, requirements to ship direct-to-consumer are different than delivering to a retailer. It can be challenging to find a logistics partner who is excellent at meeting requirements for every channel, so you may need specialized partners for different channels. Keenly focus on improved supply and demand forecasting, with end-to-end transparency and risk monitoring to avoid shortages and overstocks and ensure business continuity both for routine and seasonal businesses. Make use of the granular data now available through Retail Media Networks.Ensure you have experienced analytical talent and advanced tools for improved forecasting and to ensure you’re meeting key replenishment metrics. Make investments in people/process/technology or tools to ensure the most accurate information is flowing between manufacturer and retailer. You want to improve demand forecasting to avoid shortages and overstocks throughout the omni commerce channel to ensure business continuity and maximize sales. It’s also important to note that even if you have OSA, it is critical to know your retailer's rules around when you show up available for sale…or when you disappear.  For instance, you could fall under a certain threshold at which point your item is no longer viewable for sale online.  Those few remaining items may be saved for in-store shoppers, making it appear that you are either out of stock or that your items aren’t there or saleable when searched.  Likewise, your products may have distribution in a subset of the retailer’s stores and not the entire chain. Work with your merchant or your retailer’s digital team to understand what is possible in terms of how you can be viewed by the widest audience possible by having a ship-to-home or drop-ship option when physical availability is not possible. Providing consumers with a frictionless experience requires an enterprise-wide Phygital approach and actionable strategies. Stay tuned for Steps 3 & 4.....

Have we taken agile too far? HBR first asked that question. I ask it again, knowing we all must be agile to thrive and survive in today’s omni-commerce marketplace. The concern? That agility too often equates to a short-term sprint in planning – especially when it comes to innovation launches. No time to ask the right questions. Or validate make-or-break assumptions. Build it and they will come? Not really. Sad really. As a buyer, I saw many a promising product die on the vine without a solid, go-to-market (GTM) plan. Yes, today’s competitive environment demands speed, but “going slow to go fast” has never been more important. A GTM strategy can lead to better execution and business performance. To set up for success, work toward a three-year GTM plan that includes 4P strategies and sales, distribution, and investment expectations. Our approach: • Ensure strong shopper fit and appeal:  Start by identifying your target market and developing a differentiated value proposition that clearly defines the problem solved or gap filled by your product. Only by offering value beyond price can you generate significant consumer demand. • Assess the retailer/marketplace landscape. Take time for a comprehensive quantitative assessment to help inform size of prize assumptions. Look closely at trends and the retailer/marketplace landscape. Do a deep dive into the category, including competitive and analogous brands. What are the lessons learned from relevant case studies? The must-do’s? The watchouts? •. Consider the alternatives.  Develop launch scenarios with various risk levels and align on one that best meets the brand’s goals. Consider: Retailer options, launch cadence, assortment priorities, pricing, promotion, merchandising strategies, investment requirements, competitors, potential issues, sourcing and operational factors. • Understand retailer requirements that can derail success. Line review and resets timing, first ship dates, on-shelf availability, and other retailer-specific requirements must be considered when developing your sell-in strategy. Analyze trade margin requirements, investment needs, and costs of entry to understand the impact on brand margins. Know and prepare for the penalties when retailer expectations aren’t met. • Remember: All channels are not created equal. A successful launch requires a thoughtful channel strategy to reach the target consumer and generate trial. Think about how and where the consumer shops, category size and level of historical innovation, competitive activity, and the priority the category has for the retailer. • Get your pricing right. Otherwise, you won’t gain consumer traction and a desirable profit margin. Premium price point? Ensure differentiation and proven consumer demand. And be ready with appropriate levels of merchandising, marketing and promotional investments. • Reduce time to market; ensure in-stocks. Develop effective sales and distribution channel strategies that reduce time to market and maintain consistent in-stocks. Selling DTC? Online? Brick-and-mortar? Use resellers and distributors? A combination? • Ensure consistent brand identity. All channels. All retail platforms. Sounds like a no-brainer, I know, but you’d be surprised by how many don’t do this and suffer sales losses due to consumer disconnects. • Connect, connect, connect.  Develop an omnichannel marketing plan that creates strong connections with your consumer. During an economic downturn, brands that differentiate and create a strong, emotional connection with their consumers have the best chance of growing profitability. • Win-Win Storytelling. The best sell-in approach? A compelling story that showcases brand and retailer partnership as they way to achieve joint growth and profitability. Use positive data from DTC experience as proof points if expanding to brick-and-mortar. When people ask if it’s really worth the upfront time and effort that goes into a GTM strategy, I point to the recent success realized by a global natural food brand that “went slow” to dig deep before launching in the US. Through the GTM planning process, important category and consumer insights emerged, leading our team to reposition the brand to leverage increased US consumer interest in functional foods. A targeted retail channel strategy, compelling retailer selling story, and a multi-touchpoint consumer communications plan followed. The result? Key retail distribution, expanded eCommerce sales on dot coms, and dramatic growth across the full omnichannel marketplace. Lots more to know…If you want the full story, call me! So, my advice: Stop the sprint in launch planning. And think about what a well thought-through GTM strategy can do for your brand performance. What are you waiting for?

We’re in the home stretch now, pushing to deliver on our holiday and year-end objectives. And get off the ground running for 2024. But we’re running lean. Very lean. And crossing the finish line is getting harder and harder. With inflation pressures and high interest rates, cost-cutting is the direction in every company. Remember the Great Resignation? A distant memory at this point. We’ve now gone full circle to the era of mass layoffs and hiring freezes. Hitting some of the largest companies in the business and areas ranging from technology and retail, to manufacturing and marketing, to finance and other business services – this year’s job cuts have already surpassed all those announced in 2022. In fact, one report says the pool of laid-off talent is now at least five million deep and counting. The silver lining? Highly experienced professionals, often mid-to-senior level, are opting for the flexibility of on-demand and fractional employment – good news for those of us trying to meet mission-critical business needs without the right resources. Consider bridging with on-demand plug-and-play and fractional talent. Specialized and offering operational experience, these project-based professionals are able to ramp up quickly and can be critical in keeping business moving forward after layoffs or during hiring freezes. I can tell you, in the 20+ years we’ve been supporting clients through our FleXforce® group, we’ve never seen a higher level of plug-and-play talent. And it’s been shown time and time again that this can be a highly effective strategy for fast-growing businesses. A few tips to consider: Start by reviewing current workloads. Identify: Which specialized skillsets – like, digital, financial, marketing - are missing and essential for success? Which pivotal management or leadership roles are currently unfilled – whether due to hiring constraints, maternity or paternity leaves, or other unforeseen situations – and are leaving the team struggling to deliver? Which strategic project needs can’t be handled without burning out your retained staff? Make sure your on-demand candidate has the exact experience you need. With at least 15 years of operational experience. You want them to jump in and get the job done – quickly and effectively. While there are lots of people on the street anxious to find work, there can often be a mismatch of needs and expertise. Remember, the labor cycle is likely to continue to evolve. Plug-and-play contracting will allow you to test talent before committing to a more permanent position when hiring freezes are lifted. Longer term, think about how plug-and-play and fractional hiring strategies can be incorporated into your overall employee mix. Where does it make sense to supplement your current team on a project basis? How can this approach be best used to help reduce the need for future layoffs? Finally, don’t fall into the trap of cutting L&D during this time, as it can impact your customer satisfaction, innovation initiatives, and, ultimately, profitable growth. Nearly a quarter of US employers face major skills gaps, according to a recent Salary.com report. Not surprising, really, with continuing changes in digital, media, and marketing technology making skillsets go stale in less than two years. Upskilling is the way to ensure your team’s expertise doesn’t become obsolete and the business can still thrive despite hiring challenges. We’re currently helping several CPG companies facing hiring freezes to reposition to stay on top, through enterprise-wide L&D initiatives in omnicommerce and retail media that are already accelerating market performance. In the end, whether you’re building a brand, generating an innovation pipeline, or creating a go-to-market strategy, it all comes down to having strong, qualified, and flexible talent to succeed in today’s dynamic marketplace. It doesn’t matter if you’re a major company trying to keep the business on track, or a start-up looking to punch above your weight. So I ask: Are you satisfied to fall behind given the obstacles, or are you ready to adjust your talent strategies to cross that finish line?

Warehouse clubs continue to transform retail, winning market share from supermarkets and supercenters as they win the hearts and minds of more and more members – all thanks to a value proposition that combines bulk value with a “treasure hunt” experience. For national brands and increasingly, DTC brands, the big goal is to get in the Club Store basket. But what does it really take to get there – and then stay on shelf? Join Bryan Gildenberg for a robust discussion with two of the country’s leading voices in Club: MPG EVP Todd Matherly, a former senior merchant and long-time veteran of Walmart and Sam’s Club MPG Sr. Director Carla Pettigrew, a former Johnson & Johnson Sales Executive with extensive experience driving sales growth and penetration at Costco and the Warehouse Club channel. Together, they share valuable insights from the buyer and supplier sides, on topics that include: What makes Club more challenging than traditional retail? What is an item merchant looking for? What are the top three things brands need to gain Club distribution? What’s critical to stay on-shelf? What are the most common mistakes suppliers make with Costco and Sam’s Club? How do Costco and Sam’s Club members differ, and how are they targeted differently? How do eCommerce and retail media fit into Costco and Sam’s Club’s overall strategies? Check out our MPG Path Forward podcast on YouTube or listen to us on your favorite listening connection, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, and many more! Subscribe to our podcast RSS feed at https://feeds.transistor.fm/mpg-the-path-forward-podcast For more insights on how MPG can help your business win in the Club channel, connect with Todd Matherly at todd.matherly@mpgllc.com or Carla Pettigrew at Carla.pettigrew@mpgllc.com

“I recently had the opportunity to speak at the Southern Region Minority Supplier Development Council -- all about helping businesses set themselves up for growth in a changing retail landscape. My topic? The importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. The audience? Small-to-midsize businesses and startups, keenly focused on the essentials that would make or break their early years. Why should they care about ESG at this stage? Why should any of us care? For so many reasons! What used to be a “nice to have” has quickly become a strategic imperative – and not just for the big players. An ESG-focused business is a business focused on purpose, values, and transparency. Today’s consumers demand it. Investors, regulators, and employees want it. Oh, and did I mention? It’s the right thing to do! An ESG strategy that’s aligned with your brand purpose can be powerful. It gives any business the chance to positively impact our society, human rights, and the environment. At the same time, ESG can create value for your business. Attract a larger customer base. Drive new innovation and revenue streams. Reduce costs and risks. Boost profitability and accelerate growth. Companies that have embraced an ESG strategy are experiencing a competitive advantage and outperforming their peers. But, and this is a big “but,” your ESG initiative must be authentic. Completely aligned with your business purpose. Woven into the fabric of your company. Or it’s just a meaningless, “check-the-box” exercise for everyone. As we go into planning season, ESG should be an important factor in your decision-making, just as it is for the consumer. Increasingly, ESG considerations are influencing buying behaviors. In fact, 70% of US consumers say they buy from brands they believe align with their own values; 60% say they’d pay more for a product with sustainable packaging. And a high percentage say a sustainable lifestyle is important. I don’t need to tell you that smart marketers are out there riding the wave. Just walk the aisle of any retailer. Or look at the research. A piece that recently came across my desk made it clear that products making ESG-related claims average higher cumulative growth versus those making no such claims. Not sure where to start? We caution our clients against overly complex frameworks that can overwhelm, and instead use a simple yet rigorous, strategy-driven approach for fast but significant results. A few tips to help: Start by conducting a Current State Assessment with consumers, customers, employees, supply chain partners and others to pinpoint areas of your operations and value chain that they see as company strengths and improvement opportunities related to governance, social, and environmental stewardship. How might these areas impact their future behaviors and your company’s long-term success? Next, what are your competitors doing? Your industry? Conduct benchmarking and market analysis to get a handle on sustainability challenges, opportunities, new ESG-related regulations and reporting standards. Remember, the key to a successful ESG program is ensuring it’s aligned with your stakeholders’ needs and expectations, while remaining true to your brand and business model. Don’t go it alone! Enlist the help of partners inside and outside the company, including your vendors and suppliers, to develop your action plan and road map. Ensure enterprise-wide focus and cross-functional alignment through a cross-functional, senior-level team accountable for delivering on ESG objectives. As you think about your vision and goals, be realistic. Your customers don’t expect you to be perfect in your quest for better practices. Instead, they’re looking for authentic effort and transparency around your goals. Start with the SMART goals many of us are familiar with from our own goal setting: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time. Then, define quantitative metrics to stay on track, measure your progress, and communicate back to your stakeholders. I spent many years in merchandising at Walmart and Dollar General – and we often talked about our business as a balance between art and science. Your company’s approach to ESG should be no different. There are going to be clear data points that show you what needs to be done – but the art behind it is that you know your company, your employees, your brand – and you’ll know what the most authentic thing is you can start with, and also, what your team has the capacity to take on. Be realistic as you think through the framework and your next steps on this journey. And remember, doing something is better than doing nothing!

Then you’ll want to get the inside track on entering and winning in today’s marketplace from former chief merchant and MPG President Jason Reiser. In this first of a four-part series, Jason sits down with Bruce Montgomery and Tracey Priest of Road2Retail podcast, created to help guide emerging and challenger brands with advice on how and when to go about securing distribution in different classes of trade. Episode 1: Are you ready for big retail? What’s the checklist small, emerging and challenger brands should use to know if they’re ready for big retail? With a merchandising career spent at Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Dollar General, among others, Jason brings you inside the mind of the merchant to understand what’s needed to thrive in today’s dynamic omni-retail space. Among the topics covered: The go-to-market “must-haves” What winning looks like to the retailer What to do if you need to “go to the back of the Monopoly box” Why going “all in” isn’t always the best approach -- and what is Episode 2: What are the key things brands must do right, and what are the mistakes to avoid, when working with a big retailer? What are the pitfalls to avoid when working with a national retailer? What do you need to get right? If you’re a small, emerging, or challenger brand, you can benefit from these insights on what buyers look for in terms of brand performance, offered by former chief merchant and MPG President Jason Reiser. In this second of a four-part series, Jason talks with Bruce Montgomery and Tracey Priest of Road2Retail. Topics include: Matching brand strategies to a retailer’s unique customer What “planning for success” really means for a small brand The pricing strategy mistakes to avoid Storytelling in five minutes, at five feet What brands are doing right to differentiate Episode 3: What is the best way to get the attention of a major buyer – and a meeting? Your dream is to gain product placement at a big box store, but how do you get a busy buyer’s attention and that ever-important meeting? In today’s segment for small and emerging brands, former chief merchant and MPG President Jason Reiser talks with Bruce Montgomery and Tracey Priest of Road2Retail about what’s needed to break through and attract the attention of major merchants. Among the topics they discuss: Positioning your data and media assets to demonstrate your brand’s value Virtual vs. in-person meetings How to get a meeting with the retailer What it takes to build a strong supplier-buyer relationship Episode 4: What to look for in external resources to punch above your weight and secure distribution? You get one shot with a buyer. You need strategic experience. Relationships. Boots on the ground. Who can you bring in to help you punch above your weight? What do you need to consider when hiring a commercial sales rep firm? What questions should you ask? What capabilities are most important to look for? In this final segment of the series, former chief merchant and MPG President Jason Reiser talks with Bruce Montgomery and Tracey Priest of Road2Retail, sharing his insights on what small, emerging and challenger brands need to do to successfully secure distribution and navigate the omni commerce marketplace. As a leading end-to-end, strategy & services omnichannel commerce agency, MPG is passionate about sharing best practices and charting the best PATH FORWARD for brands in the fast-changing omnichannel environment. If you’re interested In hearing more about how we can help you enter and win in today’s dynamic omni commerce marketplace, reach out to Jason at Jason.reiser@mpgllc.com