P&G, CHAINS CUSTOMIZE MAGAZINE

RICHARD TURCSIK

CINCINNATI -- Procter & Gamble Co. here has teamed up with several of its retail partners to reach consumers via a new customized magazine.

P&G is using the data bases of at least two supermarket operators -- ShopRite and A&P -- to target families with young children for its digest-sized Family Tips Magazine. The first three and last three pages of the 24-page inaugural issue are customized to the retailer.

On the cover, the name of the magazine is personalized. For example, "The Smith Family Tips Magazine," while the supermarket logo appears on the lower right corner. The third page has a letter from the retailer to the consumer explaining the benefits of Family Tips. Opposite the inside back cover, the benefits of shopping at that retailer are extolled. The inside back cover has store coupons from other manufacturers. The back cover contains the store logo and family address.

Inside, Family Tips is full of health, nutrition and entertainment articles that subtly include P&G's stable of products. For example, Family Tips suggests auto emergency kits should contain a bottle of Aleve pain reliever, Pert Plus shampoo will condition hair that has been exposed to the harsh summer sun, empty Pringles potato chips cans can be used to play games of putt putt miniature golf, and play castles can be constructed from empty Tide boxes and Bounty paper towel tubes.

The Procter & Gamble name is not mentioned in the publication, which has its own post office box mailing address here.

"What is nice about this particular marketing tool is that it offers something for everybody," Elizabeth Moore, a P&G spokeswoman, told Brand Marketing.

"The consumers get money and time-saving information at no cost, which they can use whenever it is convenient for them. The retailer gets increased awareness from the consumer as a provider of useful information, and P&G's brands are prominently positioned within the publication. We view it as a win from all sides," she said.

Officials at Wakefern Food Corp., the Elizabeth, N.J.-based cooperative wholesaler that is the supply and merchandising arm for ShopRite, declined to comment. Officials at A&P could not be reached by press time.