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CHECK IT OUT

There's no question that data base mar-keting is a rising star nowadays. It offers trading partners a sophisticated way to work together. Their mutual goal, of course, is to increase the sale of branded products in supermarkets. But here's the problem: each trading partner is working on data base marketing separately. Retailers want to increase store loyalty; manufacturers want to increase brand loyalty.

There's no question that data base mar-keting is a rising star nowadays. It offers trading partners a sophisticated way to work together. Their mutual goal, of course, is to increase the sale of branded products in supermarkets. But here's the problem: each trading partner is working on data base marketing separately. Retailers want to increase store loyalty; manufacturers want to increase brand loyalty. There are very few joint projects, and that's too bad. Unless that changes, the real potential of data base marketing will not be realized. Retailers compile a data base of consumers and their shopping behavior largely through frequent-shopper card programs. Vons Cos. and A&P are leaders of this growing technology. Meanwhile, manufacturers have been building data bases with information provided by consumers when they take part in sweepstakes and other promotional offers. Kraft General Foods and the House of Seagram have respective data bases of 30 million and 10 million consumers of their products. According to the annual survey of promotional practices by Donnelley Marketing, 56% of retailers and manufacturers are now building a data base. Eighty-five percent believe that data base marketing will be needed to compete in the new millennium. Merging the data bases of retailers and manufacturers would yield a powerful tool for trading partners. They could use the information to create better account-specific promotions and to change planograms locally. While some manufacturers have impressive data bases, the information is not about purchase behavior, which is the gold that grocers possess and brand marketers covet. Some retailers tell prospective members of shopper clubs that their names won't be given to consumer product marketers. Other retailers will happily turn over the data -- for a fee. Still others won't even sell data because they feel that they would relinguish power and control. This situation is ironic considering all the warm and fuzzy talk of partnerships these days.

More retailers are accumulating purchase behavior information about their customers, but not everyone has made the leap from data collection to a research quality data base. Not many have the time, personnel or expertise to manage and leverage the data. Manufacturers can help do all these things, but retailers won't share their data. And so it goes. There are some joint programs taking place, however. (See story on Page 2.) Also, the electronic marketing systems of Catalina Marketing and Advanced Promotion Technologies provide excellent vehicles for retailers and manufacturers to use. Both are growing. But the true potential of data base marketing is in the future, as evidenced by the story by managing editor James Tenser beginning on Page 8. Mining the data will be the driving force for many years. In other words, what do you do with the data? What works? What doesn't work?

Too bad the trading partners can't get to figure this out together.

John Karolefski is editor of Brand Marketing.