TRENDSM O N I T O R

DOLLAR GENERAL BUYS 41 WALMART EXPRESS STORES

SURVEY FINDS ONE-THIRD OF RESPONDENTS HAVE BEGUN HOLIDAY PLANNING

THE FUTURE OF DIRECT MAIL AND THE POWER OF TARGETING

IN THIS ISSUE:AUGUST 2016

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# L O V E T H E S P A R K

MARCUS LEE: PLANT MANAGER

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After years of challenges, things are looking up in retail. NRF’s annual back-to-school  survey shows that parents of K-12 and college students plan to spend a record $75.8 billion this summer, a whopping 11.5% increase over 2015. They’re doing so largely because they feel better about the economy. While many still have concerns, the survey found 27% of K-12 families say the economy will have no effect on their plans, up from 24%  last year. The same is said by 30% of college families, up from 26%. Both are record highs. Those aren’t the only upbeat indicators. Gross domestic product is in line to grow between 1.9% and 2.4% this year. June retail sales as calculated by NRF  — excluding automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants — were up 5.1% over the same time last year. Jobs grew by 287,000 in June from May, including 29,500 in retail that brought our industry’s job growth to a total of more than 240,000 since the same time a year ago. And

average hourly earnings were up 2.6% year-over-year. Even the weather seems to be on our side. Patterns developing in the Pacific are currently in transition from El Nino to La Nina, which has the potential for a cooler-than-average winter that would help drive sales of warm coats and other seasonal apparel this fall. For retailers who saw clothing sales take a hit from last year’s unusually warm winter, that is clearly a welcome relief. We like what we’re seeing. In fact, we like it so much that NRF has increased its official forecast for retail sales growth for the year to 3.4% from our previous 3.1%. Given that sales grew by nearly 4% in the first half of the year, we’re pretty confident in the number. That’s a big difference from this time last year, when a slow start to the year forced us to reduce our 2015 forecast to 3.5% from our original 4.1%. And the year eventually turned out slightly weaker, coming in at 3.4%.

All of this doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. Overall job growth is slowing somewhat. Inflation is inching forward, which could lead to higher interest rates. External factors as remote as Britain’s recent Brexit vote can always lead to unexpected impacts. The biggest challenge might be in how uncertainty over the upcoming presidential election affects consumer confidence. Voters are often cautious around the time of change in the White House. For the partisan, there is the worry of what will happen with the economy if the other side’s candidate should win. Even for the politically neutral, there are concerns about how the partisan will react. On balance however, what we’re seeing shows that consumers are taking a deep breath and heading out to shop. And when consumers take that deep breath, retailers can breathe more easily.

WITH CONSUMERS BREATHING MORE EASILY, SO CAN RETAILERSB Y M A T T H E W S H A Y

CONSUMER TRENDSCT

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Swagbucks, the web’s leading rewards program that’s already awarded its members more than $130 million in gift card rewards, today released the findings from its  2016 Holiday Planning Survey. Swagbucks, in partnership with sister site My Gift Cards Plus, found that one-third of respondents have already started to plan for the 2016 holiday season. Another 18% report they began saving for the holidays in June and another 21% plan to start saving at the beginning of fall. While gifts for parents (66%), significant others (60%) and children (55%) top most members’ shopping lists, other major holiday purchase concerns include food, decorations, travel, holiday wardrobe and parties. “The holidays may be six months away, but savvy shoppers are already preparing. In fact, many of our members already have a savings plan that includes cash-back shopping apps and sites to help them compare prices and make their money go farther,” said Sarah Aibel, vice president of marketing at Swagbucks.

Additional key findings from the survey include:

CHRISTMAS IN JULY. IS REAL. • One-third (34%) of respondents have already begun their holiday planning • Meanwhile, 21% typically begin saving for the holidays at the start of fall • 19% said they don’t save at all • 18% start saving in June • 15% started saving in the beginning of the year (January)

SEASONS SAVINGS • When asked how they plan to save for the holidays this year, 40% said they will put themselves on a strict budget • 24% will use cash-back sites • 20% will use more coupons • 10% have or will open a holiday savings account • 33% expect to spend between $250 and $500 this holiday season • 26% between $500 and $1,000

• 20% between $100 and $250 • When asked how they spent last year, over half (56%) said they remained within their holiday budget • 35% said they went over budget • 9% said they spent less than budgeted

THE HIGH COSTS OF THE HOLIDAYS • When budgeting for the holidays, the most obvious costs are presents • But 46% are also budgeting for food • 26% for decorations • 26% for travel • 25% for special-occasion clothing

SHOPPING SATISFACTION • 58% of respondents said they enjoy holiday shopping • 19% said they dislike holiday shopping • 22% were neutral

SURVEY FINDS ONE-THIRD OF RESPONDENTS HAVE BEGUN HOLIDAY PLANNINGB Y S W A G B U C K S

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HISPANIC SHOPPERS DECIDE WHERE TO SHOP BASED ON COUPONSB Y E M A R K E T E R S T A F F

The Coupon Intelligence Study, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Valassis, provides insight into consumers’ savings and shopping behavior within traditional consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories. The study found that 92% of Hispanic consumers use coupons (vs. 90% of all consumers), and over 80% decide where to shop based on those print and digital offers.With the Selig Center for Economic Growth projecting that the U.S. Hispanic market will reach an annual buying power of $1.7 trillion in 2020, retailers and marketers have an opportunity to drive sales by engaging this important demographic with coupons and offers, says the report. Eighty-five percent of Hispanic shoppers decide where to shop where they can use coupons, vs. 77% of all consumers; or 81% on where they can use Smartphone or store card coupons, vs. 66% of all consumers. Stemming from the in-depth survey of 1,000 consumers, 15% of whom were Hispanic, the research found a strong link between this demographic and mobile device coupon usage. Among the Hispanic consumers surveyed: • 37% increased their use of mobile devices for securing coupons and deals since last year, significantly higher than 28% of all respondents

• 81% decide where to shop based on paperless discounts delivered via mobile devices, significantly higher than 66% of all respondents • 67% search for mobile discounts while shopping in-store, compared to 46% of all respondents • 67% switched brands due to mobile discounts while shopping in-store, compared to 50% of all respondents Fifty-three percent of Hispanic shoppers check social media in search of coupons, vs. 37% of all consumers; and 61% visit coupon websites, vs. 53% of all consumers. Curtis Tingle, Valassis chief marketing officer, notes that “… with substantial buying power… Hispanic consumers are an influential group for brands and retailers to activate… combination of print and digital couponing strategies…” With a propensity for using print and digital savings, among the Hispanic consumers surveyed: • 85% find print coupons in the free- standing insert or mail before shopping • 75% print coupons from the internet before heading to the store • 63% make a purchase based on a mobile notification while in-store

CATEGORY TRENDSCA

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DOLLAR GENERAL BUYS 41 WALMART EXPRESS STORESB Y S A R A H N A S S A U E R

After abandoning a small-store strategy to compete with dollar and convenience stores, Walmart Stores Inc. has sold off a raft of its failed locations to Dollar General Corp. Dollar General said in late July, that it bought 41 of the former Walmart Express stores in almost a dozen states. The retailer plans to relocate many existing stores to the slightly larger locations, adding fresh produce and meat to shelves, the company said in a news release. Dollar General spokeswoman Mary Winn Pilkington declined to provide details of the transaction. Wal-Mart launched its Walmart Express small-format stores in 2011 to compete with the rising popularity of dollar stores and to combat slowing growth from its cavernous

Supercenters. But  in January Walmart closed all 102 Walmart Express locations as part of a rare retreat in the U.S. market. At the time, Walmart chief executive Doug McMillon said the closures were “necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the future,” allowing employees to focus on growing Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and online sales. A spokesman for Wal-Mart declined to comment on the Dollar General sale. By October, Dollar General plans to open the new locations and add them to a growing list of slightly larger stores that stock some perishable food, dubbed internally “Dollar General Plus,” said Ms. Pilkington. Currently about 120 of its stores carry fresh produce, she said.

Small dollar stores like Dollar General are usually located closer to residential areas than the typical Wal-Mart and sell everyday staples in smaller sizes to hit lower prices. It is a concept that has resonated with shoppers since the recession, allowing the two largest dollar chains to add thousands of stores. Dollar General plans to grow from 13,000 locations to 20,000 U.S. stores by 2020 and wants to add more perishable food, health and beauty care items to aisles, executives have said in recent months. Those items tend to bring consumers into stores more often, an important driver of sales at a time when more shopping is shifting online.

w w w . w s j . c o m

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LOWER GROCERY PRICES: GOOD FOR CONSUMERS, BAD FOR MCDONALD’SB Y R E U T E R S

McDonald’s reported worse-than-expected quarterly sales at established U.S. restaurants are becoming the latest chain hurt by menu price increases that far outpaced supermarket food costs, leading more consumers to eat at home. Shares in McDonald’s tumbled 4.3% to $121.96 and pulled down most shares in the restaurant sector. The Dow Jones U.S. Restaurants & Bars Index was off 2%. The world’s biggest fast-food chain gets roughly one-third of its revenue and 40% of profits from the United States. The second-quarter report from McDonald’s landed after chains such as Dunkin’ Brands, Starbucks, and Wendy’s also reported disappointing results for the latest quarter in large part due to weak customer traffic. Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore said restaurant companies, which are grappling with profit-squeezing minimum wage increases, use more labor than grocery stores and have the extra burden of trying to convince franchisees to hold back on

price increases aimed at offsetting higher labor costs. “Food prices are coming down, but labor is not. That’s doubly bad for restaurants,” Senatore said. “It’s hard to convince everybody to operate in lockstep.” When franchisees raise prices, she said, “It just makes their prices look even higher relative to grocery stores.” McDonald’s sales at U.S. restaurants open at least 13 months were up 1.8% in the quarter, far less than the 3.2% rise that analysts expected, according to research firm Consensus Metrix. Restaurant food inflation is outpacing the increases at supermarkets and the gap is widening, McDonald’s chief financial officer Kevin Ozan said on a conference call with analysts. Food-at-home inflation is expected to be flat to up about 1%for this year, while food-away-from-home inflation is expected to be up 2.5% to 3.5%, he said. The food service industry is harder hit by state and local minimum wage increases

because it employs more minimum wage workers than any other occupation. Some planned minimum wage hikes will more than double the prevailing wage to $15 per hour over time. McDonald’s executives said they expected labor cost pressures to continue, but declined to elaborate. They did, however, note that the company generally needs same-restaurant sales to increase 2% to 3% to maintain profits. Restaurant companies also pinned the industry’s second-quarter softness on the fractious U.S. presidential election and uncertainty spawned by terrorist attacks around the world. “I think generally there’s just a broader level of uncertainty in consumers’ minds at the moment,” chief executive Steve Easterbrook said on the company’s earnings call. McDonald’s total revenue declined 3.5% to $6.27 billion, in line with the average analyst estimate.

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CATEGORY TRENDSCA

PIZZA CHAINS MAKE DOUGH IN A ‘RESTAURANT RECESSION’B Y S H E L L Y B A N J O

Restaurants are having a pretty unappetizing earnings season. Fifteen of the 16 restaurant chains that have reported second-quarter earnings so far said sales were down from a year ago, or that growth had slowed from the previous quarter. For the first time since 2009, average comparable sales for the group turned negative. The downbeat results prompted Stifel restaurant analyst Paul Westra to deem it the start of a “restaurant recession.” Earlier this month I warned the rapid growth in restaurant sales may have hit its peak as declining grocery prices spur consumers to make more meals at home. I suggested the world’s largest fast-food chain, McDonald’s, could be one of the few to thrive in a slowdown by using its might to beat weaker competitors. But McDonald’s won’t be alone atop the food chain in a restaurant downturn: Pizza chains will be up there, too. Domino’s, for example, is the only chain in the Bloomberg Intelligence restaurant index, of those that have reported so far, to say sales growth accelerated in the second quarter. Sales at established U.S. locations rose by nearly 10% from the year before, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of growth above 5%. Stripping Domino’s out, average comparable sales growth for

restaurants in the BI index in the second quarter is negative 1%. Competitors Papa John’s and Papa Murphy’s report earnings in July. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael Halen points out that pizza chains typically do well when consumers cut spending due to their value proposition—there aren’t many ways to feed a family on $7.99, which is what a three-topping large pie will run you at Domino’s. Pizza Hut and Papa John’s are hawking two medium pizzas at $6.99 each, while Domino’s offers that same duo for $5.99. Those deals remain competitive even as burger joints and other chains increase promotions. Pizza chains have also been quick to adapt to changing technologies, realizing the only thing more important to strapped consumers than price is convenience. Leading the digital charge is Domino’s, which rakes in half of its U.S. sales through digital ordering, up from a third in 2012. Digital ordering lets Domino’s better target offers to customers and serve a greater variety of items. It helps Domino’s get accurate orders and keep labor costs low. The laziest of customers can now order a pizza without ever getting off the couch, whether by sending a pizza emoji on Twitter,

relaying an order via their car operating system, or using Amazon’s voice-controlled Echo speaker. (Alexa, get me a cheese pizza with mushrooms.) Domino’s has also sunk a lot of dough into making its pizzas taste better since its CEO admitted in 2010 that its pizza was “devoid of flavor.” It vowed to improve and introduced new recipes with better ingredients. Sales volume has risen for seven straight years, according to Halen. Customers have liked the changes, and so have investors: Domino’s shares have gained 1,200% since its menu-improvement campaign began, compared to a 110% increase in the S&P 500. So far this year, shares are up 33%, compared to a 6% rise in the S&P 500. But while restaurant-goers might eat cheap at Domino’s, investors who want a piece of it will pay a premium. The company’s stock trades at 32 times forward earnings, compared with its five-year average multiple of 28. By comparison, Papa John’s and McDonald’s are trading at 29 and 20 times forward earnings, respectively. But with pickings slim for growth elsewhere in the restaurant industry, pizza may still be one of the best choices on the menu.

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THE FUTURE OF DIRECT MAIL AND THE POWER OF TARGETING B Y C O X T A R G E T

To reach today’s consumers, targeting is the name of the game. In fact, the power of targeting lies in the way it unlocks a host of other beneficial tactics that are otherwise rendered ineffectual. The future of direct mail is inextricably tied to targeting, and in today’s post, we’re going to show you some of the reasons why.

THE POWER OF TARGETING When it comes to mass marketing, getting your message in front of just nine million of the right people is better than spending the money to put it in front of 60 million of the wrong people. The way you manage to do this is through targeting, whether it’s on a massive scale or on a hyper-targeted individual scale. Targeting is, quite simply, the segmentation of your audience into meaningful chunks that let you understand them more thoroughly, from their overall needs to the way they expect to be able to engage with your brand and on to other more nuanced perspectives.

PERSONALIZATION While it’s true that “personalization” is the new black, it’s not without reason. A survey by IBM last year showed that  50% of consumers  expect to see personalized promotions online. This is unquestionably related to the hyper personalization of devices — gone are the days when you were restricted to sharing the TV at home; instead, you can record shows to watch

them when you want, or better yet, just stream them from your mobile device. Thus the days of having to cast a truly wide (and generic) net and hope to catch the right customers. Targeting means that you can actively engage a customer on their level, at the right stage of the consumer journey, on the channels they use, with the message they want to hear, and in the moment that they need you.

EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE What this works out to is that targeting audience segments helps save you unnecessary losses in ad spend. Why? You’re only spending money on putting the most effective marketing in front of the audience it’s most likely to influence powerfully. You’re able to craft marketing creative that speaks directly to your audience — a very specific audience — in order to see the best effect.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE ROI Did you know that 75% of Millennials have made purchases resulting from materials they received in the mail? It’s because most Millennials see print as an authentic form of communication. The real question is, do you know which of your Millennial customers feel that way, and if so, are you leveraging it to your advantage? Targeting is what lets you key into all the important ways to influence your audience toward conversion in a meaningful way. This, in turn, will impact your bottom line with improved returns.

Take email segmentation, for example: the average open rate for email campaigns sits at about 22.5%, and proper list segmentation can boost those rates between 20% and 40%. Now consider the fact that direct mail offers a response rate that’s  three times better  than email. Targeting combined with direct mail makes for a strong bottom line.

HOW TARGETING WORKS FOR DIRECT MAIL If you’re wondering “What IS the future of direct mail?” you’re probably not the only one. In the digital era, it’s easy to believe that traditional methods may be outdated in the face of innovative, mobile-oriented options. Perhaps in part that could be true, eventually, but right now direct mail is still extremely successful. And it’s all thanks to the power of targeting.

OMNI-CHANNEL EXPERIENCES One of the big buzzwords in business right now is  omni-channel marketing. That’s because the consumer journey has fragmented into a thousand micro-moments and brands must fight for customer attention one touchpoint at a time. You probably already understand that you need a seamless brand expression across channels — i.e., the brand customers encounter on your Twitter page should look and feel like the same brand they find on your website or in your TV ads — but what you may not realize is that it also needs to be across mediums.

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QUICKFACTS!

8.6% AMERICANS WILL SPEND AN

ESTIMATED $310 BILLION ON

REMODELING AND REPAIRS IN 2016,

AN 8.6% INCREASE FROM 2015.

7% CONSUMERS PLAN ON SPENDING

7% MORE EACH MONTH ON HOME

IMPROVEMENT AND HARDWARE

PURCHASES, THAN THEY DID IN 2015.

Consumers expect a digital and physical convergence of brand experience, something that  95% of retailers  already acknowledge as being necessary. Part of that is going to be your brick-and-mortar location, if you have one. But part of that should also very much be the tactile experience gained from physical, direct mail. The emphasis here is on the customer’s experience of your brand, and targeting will tell you which customers will be enamored with which kinds of direct mail outreach.

SOCIAL MEDIA DRIVER Direct mail is a beneficial tool in your marketing mix that can not only push conversions on its own merit, but  boost digital traffic  too. In this case, social media a key tool in a consumer’s research phase in addition to the post-sale moments (e.g., customer support). By including your social media handles, taking advantage of tools like hashtags, and even using calls to action that involve sharing experiences regarding your brand on social media, you can promote brand awareness, brand advocacy, and conversations about your brand and your industry that become vital touch points in the way customers and their followers find and approach your brand. Targeting will help you determine which customers are active on social media, which platforms they choose to be active on, and how they expect to interact with your brand

there, allowing you to send them only the materials that promote exactly what they’re looking to experience.

TECH TOOLS FOR TRACKING Direct mail offers just as many tools to track and engage customers on a specific level as the digital world does, presuming you understand how to leverage them. For instance, through our Valpak brand, we offer unique imprinting that provides tracking at point-of-sale and the security to ensure discounts and coupons are only redeemed once. We can also ensure that each customer gets customized deals, so you understand what a specific customer is using (or isn’t using) without having to deliver an offer to an entire region. And these are  only a few of the mechanisms  that make direct mail trackable, not to mention open to faster responses within the customer’s time frame. While a display ad may be dismissed because they aren’t interested in the moment, your direct mail, which features a QR code or individualized URL, can sit out as a reminder to be taken advantage of the moment they’re ready. Now that you understand the power of targeting and the role it plays in the future of direct mail, you can audit your current targeting tactics and how they define your approach to a multi-channel marketing outreach. Direct mail can and should be a key part of your modern marketing mix, especially if you’re using targeting at its full power. P r o s p e r M a y 2 0 1 6

H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y ’ s J o i n t C e n t e r f o r H o u s i n g S t u d i e s

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SHOPPER MARKETING MOVING FROM IN-STORE TO OMNI-CHANNEL A A R O N B A A R

Once considered only a point-of-purchase and in-store channel, shopper marketing — thanks to technology — has grown to involve the entire omni-channel experience. According to a report from the Association of National Advertisers and GfK, investment in shopper marketing programs is expected to increase nearly 6%, to $18.6 billion by 2020. Mobile has become a key component of shopper marketing efforts, with marketers attempting to engage consumers not only in stores, but also post-visit and through geolocation technologies.  “[Shopper marketing] was originally that ‘last moment of truth’” before making a purchase,” says Sarah Gleason, senior vice president of shopper and retail strategy at GfK. “Marketers are now starting to realize there’s a wide range of behaviors where a shopper can be influenced by their brand or a competitor.”

After surveying 185 B2C and B2B marketers, the ANA and GfK found the idea of shopper marketing has shifted from a short-term sales drive into a tool to motivate shopper behavior. “The definition for shopper marketing has now come to encompass the time from when a consumer decides he or she needs to make a purchase to the time of that actual transaction,” Gleason says. “That can involve everything from initial research to in-store decision making involving prices, features and brands,” she says. “What happens at every point along that path is shopper marketing,” Gleason says. Marketers are also finding that having a shopper marketing discipline is a distinct advantage. More than half (51%) of those surveyed said they felt having a dedicated shopper marketing team was a competitive advantage and that the practice reflected a

convergence of brands, shoppers and retailers. “Although it’s been around for 10 years, it’s still evolving dramatically,” Gleason tells  Marketing Daily. “Many companies are still figuring out what they need to do for shopper marketing.” At the same time, many marketers feel they have yet to tap into the full potential of shopper marketing. According to the study, only 40% of the respondents felt their organizations were adequately investing in shopper insights.  “Most of the time, if you’re looking at research budgets, funding shopper marketing insights is going to come at the expense of [broader] consumer insights,” Gleason says. “And [many marketers] aren’t willing to do that yet.”

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WHAT TO ASK ABOUT YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY BEFORE YOU ASK ABOUT MILLENNIALS L E N A B O U R G E O I S

Millennials have been a marketing obsession for several years now as the generation develops into a larger percentage of the work force and begins to earn and spend more. Yet, a new storyline has recently emerged around Millennials: It turns out, they’re not a uniform generation with identical traits that apply to every single member. Smart marketers have known this for years, of course, but so many of the resources and information available to marketers have painted the Millennial generation as one single block that looks and acts alike. This has led to a greater issue, where many marketers consider Millennials a homogenous audience that they need to reach, without asking why they want to reach Millennials, or what the audience will do for their business. Before marketers ask about Millennials, they need to consider their strategy, and why Millennials should be a part of it. “Millennials” is a term that generally refers to a generation of consumers born during a period of time, not a fixed age bracket, the same way that “Baby Boomers” and “Gen X” apply to a generation. The oldest consumers within the generation are now in their mid-30s, and many have already purchased homes and cars and started families. Contrast that with the youngest portion of the generation, who are teenagers on the cusp of earning their drivers’ licenses. Smack dab in the middle sits a group in its late 20s and early 30s who, perhaps for the very first time, are considering settling down, taking out a mortgage, or buying a new car. These three different points within the generation demonstrate just how much variety exists within the Millennial population. The Millennial generation contains

multitudes. Marketers may have a mandate to “reach Millennials,” but marketers most likely want to actually target the various segments within the generation, and certainly not with the same message. Instead, they want to reach each segment of the population, matching the right product to the right segment to meet their marketing goals. The first things for a marketer to determine are what they are trying to do with their marketing, and why Millennials matter to their strategy. That opens up a broader discussion of what type of product and consumer profile the brand actually wants to reach within the Millennial generation. Is an auto brand looking to reach first-time car buyers? Or are they looking to reach first-time luxury car buyers? Is a bank looking to reach first-time home buyers, or those that may be in need of a refinance? Is a travel brand looking to sell all-inclusive packages to younger budget-conscious travelers, or alternative destinations to the more adventurous?  The only common thread these audience segments share is that they are young. Beyond that, we could be looking at very different slices of the Millennial population for each of these campaigns. Marketers have the ability to look more deeply into the Millennial generation, using segmentation to help get a better picture of where certain portions of the Millennial generation are in their lives. Rather than pursue an entire generation, marketers should consider age ranges, income, presence of children, whether or not the consumers own a home, and their overall estimated asset level. Armed with this information, marketers can better understand the different segments of the generation and see which cohorts line up

with each of their campaign goals.What they find may surprise them. This is a generation whose priorities vary dramatically even by where they live. Thirty years ago, an unmarried 30-year-old consumer without a home or car was considered unaccomplished. Today, this perception may exist in some markets, but certainly not all. Millennials within the same age range and income may have vastly different home lives and expectations depending on whether they live in a city, suburb, or rural area. Meanwhile, it’s true that some Millennials prefer experiences over buying material things, but some actually like buying stuff too! If a brand segments by affluence, age range, life stage, discretionary spending, and financial products that a consumer might own, such as credit cards, then they should get a clearer picture of why consumers behave the way they do. Some consumers may not make frequent high-end purchases, but that may be because they are working through debt. Of course, this kind of segmentation is most valuable when marketers start with a clear campaign goal, rather than a vague one like “reaching Millennials.” It’s foolish to say that all Millennials want the same things. Before you start asking about Millennials, look at your marketing strategy and decide who you want to reach and with which product or service, why you want to reach them, and what that audience will mean to your brand. Millennials are a colorful, varied generation, but a careful analysis will uncover the segments of the population that may drive more successful campaigns.

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MSPARK TRENDSM

The longest rural delivery route is in Mangum, OK. The carrier travels 187.6 miles daily and delivers to 240 boxes, and the  shortest rural delivery route  is in Carrollton, TX. The carrier travels 1.2 miles daily and delivers to 312 central delivery boxes. (USPS)

RIDDLE ME THIS

MAILBOX

What’s a seven letter word containing thousands of letters?

DID YOU KNOW THAT...

ARTICLE REFERENCE R

ARTICLE REFERENCES

WITH CONSUMERS BREATHING MORE EASILY, SO CAN RETAILERShttps://nrf.com/news/consumers-breathing-more-easily-so-can-retailers

SURVEY FINDS ONE-THIRD OF RESPONDENTS HAVE BEGUN HOLIDAY PLANNINGhttp://www.marketwired.com/press-release/survey-finds-one-third-of-respondents-have-begun-holiday-planning-2141690.htm

HISPANIC SHOPPERS DECIDE WHERE TO SHOP BASED ON COUPONShttp://valassis.com/resources/infographics/item/160705/hispanics-lead-in-print-and-digital-coupon-use

DOLLAR GENERAL BUYS 41 WALMART EXPRESS STOREShttp://www.wsj.com/articles/dollar-general-buys-41-walmart-express-stores-1469659090

LOWER GROCERY PRICES: GOOD FOR CONSUMERS, BAD FOR MCDONALD’Shttp://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/lower-grocery-prices-good-consumers-bad-mcdonald-s-n617221

PIZZA CHAINS MAKE DOUGH IN A ‘RESTAURANT RECESSION’ http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160802/NEWS07/160809961/pizza-chains-make-dough-in-a-restaurant-recession

THE FUTURE OF DIRECT MAIL AND THE POWER OF TARGETINGhttp://www.coxtarget.com/insights/the-future-of-direct-mail-and-the-power-of-targeting/

SHOPPER MARKETING MOVING FROM IN-STORE TO OMNI-CHANNELhttp://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/281111/?mc_cid=e5345f82dc&mc_eid=13067dc07e

WHAT TO ASK ABOUT YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY BEFORE YOU ASK ABOUT MILLENNIALShttp://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/280137/what-to-ask-about-your-marketing-strategy-before-y.html