Brickstream Intelligence for Marketing Enables Shopper-Based In-Store Marketing for Consumer Product Manufacturers.

Business Editors

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2004

Brickstream Corporation, a leading provider of customer analytics solutions, today announced the immediate general availability of Brickstream Intelligence for Marketing, Consumer Products Edition 1.0, a real-time business intelligence solution for consumer product manufacturers that provides a more complete view of in-store shopper behavior and measures the effectiveness of in-store marketing initiatives. Major consumer product manufacturers, working with retail partners, are using these insights to deliver a more convenient, relevant and enjoyable in-store shopping experience and are achieving gains in sales, gross margin, and return on marketing spend.

Incomplete view of in-store shopper behavior

The time pressure felt by many shoppers today has resulted in 70% of buying decisions being made in the store at the point-of-purchase, according to Point-Of-Purchase Advertising International (POPAI). In response manufacturers and retailers are spending over $17 billion per year on POP marketing in attempts to positively influence shopper purchase decisions in the store. However, effectiveness of in-store marketing spend is difficult to track, with no readily available measurement system in place to attribute gains (or declines) in sales to a specific marketing display or change in product placement or presentation.

John Wannamaker, the father of the modern-day department store, best described the situation when he said: "I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted...I just don't know which half". Jim Stengel, Global Marketing Officer at P&G, recently echoed this message when addressing the AAAA Media Conference on February 12, 2004: "We lack an industry standard for measurement. We need a method to determine the effectiveness of our efforts."

Shopper-based in-store marketing

Brickstream addresses this need by providing Brickstream Intelligence for Marketing, Consumer Products Edition 1.0, a business intelligence solution that delivers a quantitative understanding of in-store shopping behavior and measures the impact of different in-store marketing initiatives. Brickstream Intelligence for Marketing is built on the award-winning Brickstream System, a technology capability that uses ceiling-mounted video cameras to anonymously and automatically track shoppers as they move throughout a retail environment. This movement information is transformed into actionable intelligence and delivered to the right people, at the right time. Available using an easy-to-use web portal, Brickstream Intelligence for Marketing provides several report modules, each offering different insights about in-store shopper behavior and the effectiveness of marketing initiatives at each stage of the shopping process.

Example shopper insights            Example marketing decision support
------------------------            ----------------------------------
Aisle Entry Analysis                  -- Are floor advertising and
-- Are we attracting more shoppers       aisle signage effective at
   into the aisle?                       increasing traffic to the
-- From what end do shoppers enter       aisle?
   the aisle?                         -- What is the best location
                                         for the product in the
                                         category?


Aisle Penetration Analysis            -- Is POP marketing effective at
-- Are shoppers traveling the full-      pulling shoppers deeper into
   length of the aisle?                  the aisle?
-- How long do shoppers spend in      -- Are destination products
   the aisle?                            being leveraged to pull
                                         shoppers deeper into the
                                         aisle?
                                      -- What is our advertising
                                         message window in the aisle?


Aisle Sequence Analysis               -- Are products shopped together
-- What is the sequence of               located adjacent to one
   shopping activity?                    another?
-- How many products are shopped?     -- Are cross-promotions
-- Which product is shopped first?       effective at directing
                                         shoppers to the other item?
                                      -- Are destination products
                                         being leveraged to pull
                                         shoppers to complementary
                                         items?
                                      -- How competitive is the
                                         shopping process in the
                                         category?


Product Display Analysis              -- How effective are different
-- How many shoppers pass a              POP materials at stopping
   display or product?                   shoppers?
-- How many stop in front of the      -- How long do customers shop
   display or product?                   the product? Is POP
-- How long do customers stop in         advertising and promotions
   front of the display or               relevant?
   product?                           -- How effective are different
                                         shelf designs at converting
                                         browsers to buyers?


Shopper Conversion Analysis           -- Are in-store marketing
-- How many browsers are                 initiatives increasing the
   converted into buyers?                conversion rate of browsers
                                         to buyers?
                                      -- What is our conversion rate
                                         relative to other brands in
                                         the category?
                                      -- Are we increasing shopper
                                         conversion over time?

These insights help consumer product manufacturers understand what works and what doesn't and support the development of a more convenient, relevant and enjoyable in-store shopping experience that leads to gains in sales, gross margin, and return on marketing spend. For the first time, in-store marketing initiatives can be developed and measured with the same rigor as media in other channels, such as print and broadcast, dramatically increasing the return on marketing spend. POPAI estimates in-store advertising optimization can deliver 1-2% growth to the overall supermarket industry, worth $2.2-$6.0 billion.

"Manufacturers find Brickstream very useful because it puts them closer to the demand signal," said Robert Garf, AMR Research, in the Alert Highlight, "Store Traffic Tracking Adds a New Level of Consumer Insight for Retailers", Wednesday, April 28, 2004.

"Our customer analytics solutions provide consumer product manufacturers with scientific feedback on how well in-store marketing initiatives are delivering profitable customer experiences," said Simon Angove, President of Brickstream. "We provide the answer to which half of marketing spend is wasted."

Brickstream Intelligence for Marketing, Consumer Products Edition 1.0, will be demonstrated at the Food Marketing Institute's Supermarket Convention & Educational Exposition, May 2-4, 2004.

About Brickstream

Brickstream sets the standard for a new generation of business intelligence for the brick-and-mortar economy. Brickstream provides closed-loop customer analytics solutions that enable the continuous capture and analysis of customer activity in brick-and-mortar environments, and the ability to act on this information in real-time to improve the planning and execution of sales, service, and marketing activities. Developed over a period of nine years, Brickstream solutions are protected by numerous patents. Brickstream serves retailers, retail banks, and consumer product manufacturers throughout North America and Europe.