• AdAge, Thursday, August 17, 2006 12:31 PM

And now for the latest in ad creep. Kroger Stores is testing advertising on its grocery conveyor belts in a few dozen stores in Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. Thirteen Harps Food stores are also testing the EnVision Marketing Group system in Little Rock, Ark., which holds a patent to print digital, photo-quality ads directly on the belts. Alltel, the nation's fifth-largest wireless company, is the first major advertiser to buy conveyor ads. "It really only works to raise brand awareness," says Andrew Moreau, vp, corporate communications. "You can only change the message every two weeks." EnVision president/CEO Frank Cox is offering national advertisers the chance to shut out competitors at $182,800 a year for the 55-store test footprint, claiming to deliver 3.3 million impressions a month. He thinks it's a natural for checkout staples, such as candy, film, and soft-drink brands.

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