Example 2: Trade Marketing

The American Egg Board: Making the Line Go Up...

Results: Retail share of egg industry sale has measured from 55% to 60% since Wisner Marketing Group started working with AEB (thats 5 billion additional eggs annually!)

Wisner Marketing Group has been the retail trade marketing organization of the American Egg Board ("The Incredible Edible Egg" people) since 1999. Over that time, eggs have become the comeback story in American supermarkets as consumers have begun to understand the real truth about eggs, and retailers have recognized the incredible profit potential they offer. The result? Eggs are now at their highest consumption level of the last twenty years.

WMG has conducted a wide range of activities for the American Egg Board, all designed to make the line go up for retail egg sales:

• eggstra! The Retailer Newsletter of the American Egg Board
  
  

  Now entering its sixth year, producers and retailers alike eagerly anticipate this quarterly newsletter. Written in an upbeat style, eggstra! contains category information, news, facts, market trends, and merchandising information. If you would like to receive eggstra!, just click on the picture.

• Four major studies:
  
  

  	1998: Making the Case For Eggs Category Economics of the Incredible, Profitable Egg. Conducted by Jim Wisner while at Willard Bishop Consulting.
  	2000: Setting the Case for Eggs Managing the Egg Case for Maximum Sales and Profits. Best practice guidelines for managing the egg categories are included.
  	2002: Promoting the Case for Eggs The Impact of Egg Promotions. This study looked at 24 different egg promotions involving over 1600 stores. It identified the "incredible" incremental sales impact that can be achieved with egg promotion events.
  	2003: Increasing Sales With Secondary Displays Cross-Merchandising for Added Sales. This study looks at how eggs can be used to cross-merchandise produce, baking items, breakfast meats, and add impulse sales with "quick pickup" coolers.

• Trade Magazine Inserts
  
  

  Each of these studies has been supported by 4-page trade magazine inserts prepared by WMG and appearing in Progressive Grocer.

• Supplier Marketing Portfolio: "Think Fast. Think Eggs. Think Profit."
  
  

  This 20-page resource and information guide was designed to provide retailers with all the information to successfully plan, operate, merchandise, and promote the egg category in their stores. Released in the Spring of 2004, this is the ultimate reference guide for category managers and buyers. Contains consumer research information, merchandising study results, and more.

• Shelf Merchandising Workbook
  
  

  Issued as a companion piece to Setting the Case for Eggs, this 12-page workbook provides a how to guide to assist retailers in managing the egg category.

• In-Store Signage
  
  

  To support the importance of food safety, the American Egg Board makes available a safe handling poster for retailers. Engaging egg characters help communicate the message across language barriers.

• Trade Advertising
  
  

  Wisner Marketing Group designed and prepared a series of ads appearing in Supermarket News to get out the good news about eggs.

• Category Video
  
  

  This 12-minute video, designed as an orientation for new buyers, covers all the category highlights of the "incredible, edible egg".

• Retailer Advisory Council
  
  

  Being customer-driven is a critical component of all AEB activities. WMG served as a moderator to the AEB Retail Advisory Council, bringing a wealth of experience and helping AEB identify those programs that would be most effective in building retail sales.

• Industry Education Workshops
  
  

  Wisner Marketing Group has created and conducted a variety of workshops for both egg suppliers and their retail partners. From half-day category management seminars for suppliers, to two-day seminars involving hands-on activities for retailers, WMG has helped AEB raise the bar on savvy marketing practices for eggs.

• Wisner Marketing Group Completes Supply Chain Study for the American Egg Board
  
  In November of 2003, Wisner Marketing Group presented the American Egg Board with the final software version of eggspense, a supply chain simulation model that allows egg suppliers to easily quantify the cost differences among distribution methods. By comparing multiple scenarios side-by-side, eggspense allows the user to view the dollar trade off of changing any of a number of distribution variables from the time the egg goes into a carton until it leaves the store in the shopper's bag. The easy-to-use program takes into account months of work done by Wisner Marketing Group to calculate every activity-based cost in the egg supply chain and provides the user a step-by-step cost break down of any scenario they define. By utilizing eggspense, the egg industry will be able to better understand the cost trade-offs inherent in alternate distribution methods and work with their retail customers to improve efficiency throughout the supply chain.