Marketing Fail

I was on my way to a meeting with a new publisher client this morning when I stopped into a store that I hadn't had on my weekly checkup route for some time. The picture  below really shows what our partner magazine wholesalers are up against when it comes to getting our product up in stores and successfully displayed.

This is clearly a case where the wholesaler did what he was supposed to do. The checkouts were fully stocked for the weekend (even the mainline looked pretty good). And then either the cookie guy needed a place to stick his special display, or the store's floor manager needed a to move the rack out of the middle of the aisle, or....

Perhaps it's because as a representative of what is rapidly becoming an underdog industry, I see so many cases of these types of magazine display "accidents".  What is funny about this case is that the retailer is actually hurting himself. The cookie rack is probably a one time placement payout to the retailer. On the other hand, as many as ten or more publishers paid up front for three years for the checkout rack.  And the retailer also collects display allowances on top of his net from the sale of the magazines.

In case you were wondering about the stores response?

"Sir, that cookie display is blocking your checkout rack."

"Uhhh, yeah."

"So you'll move it?"

"Sure thing, dude."

And so it goes.