POS Marketing — The Centerpiece of Beverage Alcohol Marketing

POS Marketing Efforts should not be an afterthought

I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this blog and browsing our web-site, you already understand that traditional media marketing (TV, radio and print) is declining in its effectiveness and ability to provide a significant impact on sales.

One of the main reasons for this is that the “boomer generation” is no longer the majority of your customer base. Gen-Xers grew up on a lot less TV and read a lot less than boomers. Millennials, who have surpassed boomers in sheer numbers, have only known a world containing the Internet and pervasive, mobile communications.

Because of these demographic changes, beverage alcohol suppliers and distributors need to review and change how they think about marketing.

There are some beverage alcohol suppliers and distributors that view their POS marketing efforts as a ‘defensive’ strategy and expense. And some of our customers have even suggested that they could do-away with their POS promotions and sign shops, but only if they knew their competition would do the same. We all know that’s not going to happen.

On the other hand, a growing number of our customers and prospects are coming to the conclusion that POS marketing is a valuable investment. The point is: When beverage alcohol distributors allocate and focus their marketing dollars on POS marketing, they can expect a measurable, positive impact in sales results. However, it is important to track and measure the return on investment of your company’s POS.

Although price-point is a significant driver of beverage alcohol sales, there are other important drivers. For example, one of the reasons a shopper becomes a buyer of your beverage alcohol brand is that your POS doesn’t simply offer the “lowest price”. More importantly it informs the shopper about the unique aspects of your product, including superior packaging, and taste or food pairings. 

This education is what differentiates your brand and makes your product the most attractive, which often translates into a sales increase. Beverage alcohol suppliers and distributors should think about the knowledge they have about their products and share it with their customers’ customers — the retail shoppers.

Of course, the last and best place to share this information with shoppers is at the point-of-connection between the shopper and the product. And the most impactful place to do this is on the point-of-sale materials placed in the aisle or with the product.

POS materials should be the centerpiece of supplier’s and distributor’s marketing efforts, and not an afterthought. By the same token, measuring and managing the impact of your POS marketing allows both suppliers and distributors to gain valuable data regarding what does and doesn’t work to convert shoppers into buyers