• Adweek, Monday, January 19, 2009 9:15 AM

While TV's audiences have been fragmented by the addition of hundreds of new channels, retail has been concentrating its consumer base via consolidation. The one place you can still aggregate a mass audience is in-store. Retail has become a big media buy that can be directly measured via a sales lift.

The Grocery Manufacturers Assn. and Deloitte Consulting report that advertisers and stores focusing on shopper marketing jumped from 29% in 2007 to 60% in 2008. Their report also states that in-store marketing activity will grow at a higher rate than any other marketing tactic over the next three years. A Booz & Co. survey finds 95% of packaged goods companies plan to either maintain or increase investments in retail store media.

As a result, media agencies are increasingly creating specific units devoted to the shopper marketing and media. "Our role is to connect what is in-store with what is out-of-store and make sure all the media comes back to the shopper," says Danielle Bottari, director of shopper marketing for MediaVest.

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