Of all the buzzwords that are fashionable nowadays, the most compelling is interactive branding. For marketers, it's an exciting way to build brands and help retailers brand their stores at the same time. Interactive branding refers to the interaction between shoppers and packaged goods in the store. This one-on-one relationship, which often involves special displays, gives value to the brand and to the shopper. It's gaining favor because merely following traditional marketing methods doesn't ensure success any more. The key to interactive branding is the retailer. Merchandising is the glue that holds this brand-consumer connection together. Moreover, the retailer must become a strategic partner with the brand marketer for interactive branding to succeed in a big way. Retail input in full store events is critical. In partnerships, in-store displays are sometimes custom-made for specific channels, for specific retailers and even for specific stores. So the formula of one size fits all does not apply. Channels of distribution are different and so are retailers in the same class of trade. Savvy marketers understand the differences. For example, what works in club stores may not be acceptable to Target and perhaps won't work in a supermarket. By the way, retailers are very willing partners. They have to be to survive the competitive shakeout that's coming. They want to differentiate their stores and are looking for a few good brand marketers to help them. Two leading practitioners of interactive branding are Mattel Toys and Buena Vista/Disney Home Video. They have a strategic partnership with key retailers and create special events. This enables retailers to brand their stores as special and different from competitors. "Our sense was that we could be more successful and prosper by becoming a partner in that differentiation," said Rick Detterder, senior vice president of marketing services for Mattel Toys.
"We can take a video release and turn it into a full store event as opposed to a departmental event," said Max Goldberg, vice president of promotions at Buena Vista/Disney Home Video. Both companies have account marketing teams that focus on channels and also specific customers. These teams go beyond the sales person relationship to forge a special bond with retailers. (See story on Page 8.)
Interactive branding is sometimes called interactive marketing, but it has nothing to do with cyberspace. It's store space that matters. That's where the latest tactics in brand marketing are taking place.
