Update to Nikon Retail Leverage Example
- Sep
- 29
- Posted by Ben Smith
- Posted in Blog, By Ben Smith, Can't Be Ignored, Examples of Leverage
I found some great material supports our example of how Nikon gained Retail Leverage with “Something So Big It Can’t Be Ignored” (the Ashton Kutcher campaign).
Please click on the the title to read the full post.
read moreThe Ad Agency Dilemma – Retail Leverage Friend or Foe?
- Sep
- 20
- Posted by Vincent Young
- Posted in "How To" Get Leverage, Blog, By Vincent Young, Challenger Brand Strategies

Excerpt:
Our problems become their problems. Here in-lies a potential conflict – an ad agency is a business and its goal is to encourage its clients to spend as many marketing dollars with the agency as possible. While this is a very understandable desire, it may limit the challenger brand’s ability to use its marketing dollars to gain retail leverage as sometimes critical investments need to be made to support the retailer which may cut out the agency’s interests.
3 ways challenger brands can motivate their ad agencies to support their need for retail leverage:
1. Check your agency’s “Retail Leverage” I.Q.
2. Teach your ad agency about your business – not just your brand.
3. Implement an Incentive-Based Agency Fee System
The 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 moreSomething So Big You Can't Ignore It = Retail Leverage (aka Nikon Punk'd The Competition & Gained Retail Leverage)
- Sep
- 14
- Posted by Ben Smith
- Posted in "How To" Get Leverage, Blog, By Ben Smith, Can't Be Ignored, Examples of Leverage
NIKON GAINED RETAIL LEVERAGE
Nikon is a great and current example of a brand that has gained significant Retail Leverage in the last year thanks to their media campaigns featuring the ever popular Ashton Kutcher. I have nightmares of that guy dancing through my head.
Nikon gained retail leverage with something so big, it couldn’t be ignored. Couldn’t be ignored by consumers. Most definitely couldn’t be ignored by retailers. And unfortunately for the marketing and sales folks at Sony, Canon, Kodak, Fuji, Olympus and Samsung – it probably wasn’t ignored by the boss.
To read the full article click on the title.
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)
Hot Product With No Substitutes = Retail Leverage
- Aug
- 25
- Posted by Ben Smith
- Posted in "How To" Get Leverage, Blog, By Ben Smith, Hot Product, Uncategorized
We’ve come up with 5 strategies / paths / scenarios on how you get Retail Leverage. This will start a series of posts that examine each of those 5 examples.
1. “Have The Hot Product With No Substitutes”:
The Nintendo Wii example advocates channeling all of your resources into one product, especially if you have a product where there are no substitutes.
read moreRosetta Stone Speaks the Language of “Retail Leverage”
- Aug
- 23
- Posted by Vincent Young
- Posted in Blog, By Vincent Young, Examples of Leverage, Offer Exclusivity, Pent-Up Demand
- 2
THIS IS AN EXCERPT; TO READ FULL ARTICLE, CLICK ON TITLE.
SUMMARY:
Earlier this week, Office Depot formally announced plans to become the exclusive office product superstore to offer Rosetta Stone’s award-winning Rosetta Stone computer-based language learning system.
How did Rosetta Stone gain retail leverage?
1. Direct-response selling (infomercials)
2. Launch exclusively with specialty/boutique retailers
3. Launch exclusively with one major retailer
Success Breeds Success – Five Ways to Unleash “Pent-up Demand” at Major Retailers
- Aug
- 19
- Posted by Vincent Young
- Posted in "How To" Get Leverage, Blog, By Vincent Young, Examples of Leverage, Pent-Up Demand
THIS IS AN EXCERPT; TO READ FULL ARTICLE, CLICK ON TITLE.
SUMMARY:
Retail buyers hate risk.
Five approaches which establish a track record of success prior to engaging with the universe of major retailers:
1. Over-invest in Trade Shows
2. Seriously consider direct-response advertising
3. Launch exclusively with specialty/boutique retailers
4. Build a “community”
5. Launch exclusively with one major retailer
Remember, very few strategies give your challenger brand more leverage at retail than the promise of bringing your successful past to the retailer’s risk-averse present.
Is Paul Frank Monkeying Around With Target – Or Using Retail Leverage?
- Aug
- 12
- Posted by Ben Smith
- Posted in Blog, By Ben Smith, Examples of Leverage, Pent-Up Demand
Paul Frank launching kids line at Target is classic example of Rule #4 to Gain Retail Leverage – Bring Pent-Up Demand To Stores.
To read the full article click on the title.
read moreHow To Build A Culture Geared Toward Retail Leverage
- Aug
- 12
- Posted by Vincent Young
- Posted in "How To" Get Leverage, Blog, By Vincent Young, Challenger Brand Strategies
Five Ways To Build A Culture Geared Toward Retail Leverage:
1. Tie each corporate executive’s bonus to growth at a “pet” retailer
2. Have the sales team do some heavy lifting during National Sales Meetings.
3. Require product managers to model profit pool for their category at key retailers.
4. Shop together and learn.
5. Don’t enable the “Desktop Marketer.”
To read the full article click on the title.
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