Author Archives: Steve Marzio
Why You Should Buy Billboards In Bentonville
- Mar
- 04
- Posted by Steve Marzio
- Posted in Blog, By Steve Marzio, Challenger Brand Strategies
- 2

THIS IS AN EXCEPRT: TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, CLICK ON THE TITLE
SUMMARY:
1) Lose your “Delusions of Brandeur” when dealing with retailers. Your target consumer is the retailer’s customer.
2) You exert all this influence to get the product in, but once it’s in, there are results to be measured by. Your opportunities to influence decrease.
3) Buyers are consumers also
I would argue that some merchants even go so far as using exposure or lack of exposure to a particular marketing campaign helps them to justify a decision they made in the past. When the buyer gets exposed to the marketing vehicles regularly in their personal life, this makes them feel that that they might be missing out on if they chose to not assort or promote that particular product. “Am I missing out on an opportunity here?” Or better yet, “is all this marketing going to drive customers to my competitor down the street that is listing that product?” (conversely if they see marketing and earlier chose to promote the product, this probably helps justify their decision).
4) Why you should buy Billboards in Bentonville
read moreHow I Learned To Love Hi-Lo Pricing (And Get Better Circular Ads)
- Feb
- 03
- Posted by Steve Marzio
- Posted in Blog, By Steve Marzio, Challenger Brand Strategies, retail

THIS IS AN EXCERPT.
CLICK ON THE TITLE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE:
5 HI-LO TACTICS TO TAKE TO HEART:
1) Launch high with instant rebate (sleeves out of your vest)
2) Price drop to original planned level (back to the future)
3) Price drop plus discount (price drop on steroids)
4) Vary Level of Instant Savings Based On Opportunity (keep your powder dry)
5) Never Ending Closeout (the McRib of closeouts)
Can Airport Kiosks Help You Gain Retail Leverage? They Did For NEAT!
- Oct
- 26
- Posted by Steve Marzio
- Posted in "How To" Get Leverage, Blog, By Steve Marzio, office depot, office max, Pent-Up Demand, staples

NEAT! organized its retail leverage strategy around airport kiosks. They built a base of success in airports. Their first retailer was their own channel. They believe this gave them their best chance to succeed. Today, Neat’s products are found on the shelves of the largest Office Superstore chains – Staples, Office Depot and Office Max, many regional retailers and on the websites of such behemoths as Amazon.com.
To read the full article, click on the title.
read moreThe P Word
- Sep
- 15
- Posted by Steve Marzio
- Posted in "How To" Get Leverage, Blog, By Steve Marzio, Why You Need Leverage

The secret 6th entry in the 5 sure-fire ways to get Retail Leverage is Price. I feel dirty even saying it.
read moreKick the 360 Marketing Plan to the Curb
- Aug
- 31
- Posted by Steve Marzio
- Posted in Blog, By Steve Marzio, Challenger Brand Strategies, Uncategorized
- 1

The powerpoint presentation can look dreadfully similar on the number of marketing communication vehicles you can use whether you are on a $5M Marcom plan or a $50 Marcom plan.
Put simply, unless you are the Geicos or Capital Ones of the world that have MARCOM budgets that dwarf the size of most companies’ total revenues and the GDP of some small countries, pick a…one…uno…a SINGLE communication vehicle that meets these criteria listed below to deliver maximum impact.
REQUIREMENTS FOR YOUR ONE COMMUNICATION VEHICLE STRATEGY:
1. Makes Sense Strategically (long vs. short story to tell? Reach vs. Frequency goals? Close to a Retail Sale? Etc…)
2. Reaches Your Target Audience – (obvious you want to shout where your target customers can hear you)
3. Penetrates Enough to Be Heard – (your budget should be able to support a high level of reach/frequency over time)
Don't Be A Jack Of All Trades At Retail
- Aug
- 10
- Posted by Steve Marzio
- Posted in "How To" Get Leverage, Blog, By Steve Marzio, Challenger Brand Strategies
Own something!
To state the obvious, stronger brand positions, or leverage vis-à-vis the retailer, means having a strong degree of consumer PULL. Retailers come to you and want your product, when customers come in droves to their well-lit, organized boxes asking for your product…by brand name. Even if your national brand position is small, your consumer pull should be strong in some way shape or form. OWN SOMETHING…or perhaps more correctly….OWN SOMEONE.

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