Point-of-purchase - Watch this space

Clear floor policies have been adopted by the majority of the big supermarket chains. The era of extravagant point-of-purchase displays and sophisticated in-store experiential campaigns is over. Uniformity is the order of the day: "Retailers want to stop sending confusing messages to the shopper," says Helen Davies, head of Retail Why, the research division of the Bezier group. "Brands now have to abide by strict guidelines on the size, footprint, even background colour of any point-of-purchase display."

The desire for clutter-free stores is in part driven by necessity as growing product lines eat into diminishing available space. "Supermarkets have extended existing stores as massive building programmes become more difficult," says Bruce Burnett, managing director of experiential agency i2i Marketing. "But the extra space gained can be fractional and if they are adding clothing and audio-visual lines, that doesn't leave a lot of room for free-standing display units."

More fundamentally, this streamlining of promotions reflects the growing influence of the grocery giants on every aspect of their business. Sam Jordan, managing director at retail agency Baber Smith, says: "Supermarkets have been trying to hike themselves up the hierarchy of brands in the eyes of the consumer. It has nothing to do with pushing own brand, though that is a happy consequence."

It is hard to believe that all-conquering supermarket chains such as Tesco have lacked control in any aspect their operations. However, until relatively recently they were content to allow brands a high degree of freedom in their in-store activity, preferring to direct their attentions to the wider battles for market share. The evolution of media channels and the consumer landscape have compelled them to review that policy. The well-worn statistic that 70 per cent of purchasing decisions are made in-store is getting a fresh airing and pushing shopper marketing up the agenda.

"As other media channels fragment, retailers have realised just how important shopper marketing is," says Adrian Thomas, former Sainsbury's marketer and director of retail at Morrison's sales promotion agency, Billington Cartmell. "That means clearly communicating with the customer in-store without a sea of clutter and confused messages."

The fact that brand and retailer interests don't always coincide creates a potential for conflict. "Brand promotions don't affect footfall but encourage brand switching, which is of no benefit to the retailer," says Jordan. "Stores want something that offers value and drives footfall. Brands want to increase volume and build loyalty. These objectives are at odds."

Unfortunately for the brands, this is a one-sided conflict as retailers hold all the cards when it comes to in-store activity. And they have done their utmost to capitalise on this valuable real estate: "The supermarkets have introduced rate cards for all of their in-store media - from posters to shelf barkers to the sign in the foyer," says Caroline Wilde, client service director at retail agency Live & Breathe. "This extends to experiential promotions, and Tesco and Asda now have experiential calendars of available 'slots' at stores nationwide."

As interior space becomes more valuable, the entranceways and car parks have become the new performance space for experiential work. In-store experiential campaigns are handed over to agencies retained by the retailers not the brands. This is not a move that all experiential practitioners welcome. Burnett notes: "These agencies could be working on something new every day, whereas we might be working with the same product for up to six months and so provide a lot more preparation and stronger branding."

The playing field may now be tilting in the supermarkets' favour but brand marketers are far from excluded from in-store activity. They just have to work a bit harder to get access and forge closer alliances with retailers to create mutually beneficial promotions. "Any work has to add value either to the retailer or the category that the brand sits in," says Thomas.

Spending money to build sales across an entire category means brands adopting an altruistic approach. A rising tide lifts all boats - their competitors' as well as their own. But category building is not an option open to all brands: "It requires a brand leader to build sales across the category but retailers will support strongly branded activity if they can do this," says Jordan.

The extent to which retailers welcome this approach will depend on the category concerned. Thomson says: "In snackfoods, a brand like Walkers could play an important role in driving impulse spend and the retailer would be receptive to branded fixtures and fittings. But in fresh produce and meat, the retailer brand itself has to be strong and they don't want that interfered with."

Another approach is to partner up with retailers to produce strong tailor-made in-store material exclusive to that chain. Wilde says: "Diageo worked with Tesco last year on a spirits in summertime promotion where it carried out all the creative work for the in-store presentation and supplied recipe cards just as Tesco would have. It was like a sponsorship deal."

Both of these approaches require market clout and deep pockets, which smaller brands may lack. But there are alternative routes to the in-store arena for those willing to cast their net wider: "Somerfield is more flexible," says Wilde. "It has stronger regional managers and if I was trying something a little more outre I would use a smaller chain like this."

Ultimately, where there's a will, there's a way. As Jordan says, there are rules and regulations but supermarkets are always prepared to be flexible. The power is with the store's buyers and, if a brand gets them onside, that flexibility can be flexed.

HIGH STREET MEMORIES - COLIN LLOYD LOOKS BACK

In the 60s and 70s, before out-of-town retail parks dominated, the high street was still the place to shop, with the Co-op and Finefare gently vying for your custom.

It was a simpler age, but the shopping experience was anything but straightforward as shoppers navigated their way along aisles crammed with promotional units.

ISP president Colin Lloyd, who is working on book covering the history of promotions, recalls that store interiors were a promotional free-for-all. "Retailing was a numbers game and with 50,000 nationwide and little volume per outlet, you had to get your promotion into every one, which was a logistical nightmare."

The promotional tool of choice was the dump bin containing product supported by an elaborate free-standing cardboard edifice. " Today's digital designer was a cardboard engineer back then, creating huge origami displays, 20 of which each salesman would cram into the back of their Cortina for distribution around the stores," says Lloyd.

Retailers were happy to accept even the most outlandish promotions: "They didn't see it as clutter but as something that gave the shop a 'market-feel' and added interest."

Unfettered by good taste and retailers' regulations, even the bizarre became acceptable. "When we promoted Kangaroo Butter in the 60s with six-foot-tall kangaroos suspended from the ceiling, you could see them gently waving in the breeze as you entered the store."

Not all of this excess was folly and sales benefited. "At KLP we ran a promotion for Andrex toilet tissue in the 70s tied in with Guide Dogs for the Blind. It generated five million redemptions and gave Andrex its highest ever share of brand," says Lloyd.

So how does the golden age of instore promotion compare to today's scene? "Supermarkets today can seem a little anodyne," he says. "Brands are analytically brave and everything is precisely calculated, but I wonder if they are emotionally brave in their promotions."

Colin Lloyd is president of the Institute of Sales Promotion, a founder of 70s sales promotion agency KLP and co-author of a forthcoming book on the history of promotions.