Hello Retail Food Industry - Is This Mic On?
Being in the food industry as a manufacturer (Totally Chipotle Foods), I feel confident in saying that I know more about how products get manufactured, marketed and distributed than most folks. On a side note... it's not that much different than the music industry, and it ain't pretty. For example: I'm hearing it now requires a $25,000 slotting fee (i.e., "grease") PER SKU ("item") to get shelf space with a major grocery store chain. I'm not sure what the buy-in would be to promote a radio single for some "spins" these days, but it's probably a lot more. The main difference between the two industries: People can't steal your product with the click of a mouse.
That said, it's been obvious to me for quite some time that retailers need to do something many of us have already embraced: adapt or die. In particular, most retailers - especially grocery stores - have long depended upon newspapers and direct mailers to get their message out to the general public (i.e., coupons and store specials). Problem is... newspapers are dying, and it wouldn't be a big surprise to see the US Postal Service undergo some dramatic downsizing too. So now what?
NEWSPAPERS. In my view, it's the small neighborhood papers that will survive, while the bigs are going under. Why? Small papers cost a LOT less to produce & distribute; And big papers don't really touch on the small-town people & events, but the people living in those small towns are keenly interested in reading about themselves and their neighbors - including the insanely popular police blotters (anyone ever seen these $1 "mugshot" papers with titles like "Busted"?).
In my view, that means smaller is better; localized is better; lean & mean survives. And if you apply that same logic via social media with video to local stores - even ones that are part of a chain - it personalizes the store itself, the staff, managers, etc. People LOVE to see the actual face of the actual person who will actually be helping them when they come to shop; you're not going to get that with national TV spots or a single fan page on Facebook - right?
Although I admit to being EXTREMELY frustrated with trying to make various store managers, distributors and retailers see what I've been seeing - plus a very logical solution to the problem which involves the now-proven social media business model and video sharing sites - I guess I just need to resign myself to pioneering (yet another) concept that these people need a few years to catch up to. Hopefully, the time is about right for them to "get it" by now; Here's a couple of videos I did between 1 and 3 years ago to support my Totally Chipotle brand, meant for 24/7 play online (is this mic on? Anyone? Anyone?)
That said, it's been obvious to me for quite some time that retailers need to do something many of us have already embraced: adapt or die. In particular, most retailers - especially grocery stores - have long depended upon newspapers and direct mailers to get their message out to the general public (i.e., coupons and store specials). Problem is... newspapers are dying, and it wouldn't be a big surprise to see the US Postal Service undergo some dramatic downsizing too. So now what?
NEWSPAPERS. In my view, it's the small neighborhood papers that will survive, while the bigs are going under. Why? Small papers cost a LOT less to produce & distribute; And big papers don't really touch on the small-town people & events, but the people living in those small towns are keenly interested in reading about themselves and their neighbors - including the insanely popular police blotters (anyone ever seen these $1 "mugshot" papers with titles like "Busted"?).
In my view, that means smaller is better; localized is better; lean & mean survives. And if you apply that same logic via social media with video to local stores - even ones that are part of a chain - it personalizes the store itself, the staff, managers, etc. People LOVE to see the actual face of the actual person who will actually be helping them when they come to shop; you're not going to get that with national TV spots or a single fan page on Facebook - right?
Although I admit to being EXTREMELY frustrated with trying to make various store managers, distributors and retailers see what I've been seeing - plus a very logical solution to the problem which involves the now-proven social media business model and video sharing sites - I guess I just need to resign myself to pioneering (yet another) concept that these people need a few years to catch up to. Hopefully, the time is about right for them to "get it" by now; Here's a couple of videos I did between 1 and 3 years ago to support my Totally Chipotle brand, meant for 24/7 play online (is this mic on? Anyone? Anyone?)
Labels: online video retailer program, sal's beverage world, schaefer's wines, totally chipotle
