DOLE: STOREWIDE EVENTS BEAR FRUIT

RICHARD TURCSIK

TAMPA, Fla. -- Brand marketers can build sales and product awareness through storewide events, according to an official with the world's largest marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables.

"Although Dole has seven separate sales organizations within the company that are represented by over 80 broker organizations, we try to bring them all together for storewide events where they don't have to spend as much money [as if they ran the event individually] and get more bang for the buck," said Marty Ordman, director of sales promotions and special events at Dole Food Co., Westlake Village, Calif.

Ordman spoke about intracompany direct marketing at a cross-merchandising conference here last month that was sponsored by the Institute for International Research, New York.

Through its storewide events, Dole tries to create image excitement traffic in the store, Ordman said.

"We try to position our promotion as a huge storewide event to increase customer count, generate sales and motivate employees," he said, noting Dole is the only company to offer products in the produce, grocery, frozens and dairy departments under one name.

"We want to link our grocery items into produce since today fresh produce has such a halo over it. As a result, people think our Dole canned pineapple must be pretty good since they like the taste of our Dole fresh pineapple," Ordman said.

To assist retailers in building successful displays, Dole brings timing, themes, materials, value-added products and display building contests to the retailers' table. Three in-store kits on tropical, healthy lifestyle and Five a Day are currently available. Some retailers, such as Albertson's, are so pleased with the success of the promotion that they now run it every year.

"If you run a successful promotion it becomes an annual event," said Ordman. "We have 20 or 30 companies that come to us each year because they were so pleased with the results of the promotion."

To truly reap the benefits of such a promotion, Ordman said, it is crucial for brand marketers and retailers to get the individual store staff involved.

"A display contest for a chain will build a stronger storewide event. We will barter with hotels and airlines for free trips and rooms. If we receive four free trips we recommend to the retailer that they then offer two trips as prizes to customers and two to the store managers that built the best displays. This helps to create an incentive at the store level in the company."

Among the retailers that have gone all-out in building displays are Big Y Foods, Vons and the Omni division of Dominick's.

Theme events, like trips to exotic locales, are also a good way for brand marketers to gain exposure for their brands, Ordman said. Dole has worked closely with several airlines and Outrigger Hotels, the largest hotelier in Hawaii.

"The travel or hotel must be prominent in the ad and display because these companies are giving us these trips to gain exposure. But the airlines are becoming harder to work with because they don't want to give these trips anymore," he said.