So far I've experimented with guest experts and guest reviewers in an attempt to make the blog even more interesting and relevant to my readers. Well, my next experiment in "mixing it up" is to interview industry players when they have something interesting to say.
Today is my first foray. My subject: John Cammarano, an industry veteran formerly of AdSouth/Vertical Branding (and Think Tek before that), now founder and president of a new venture called Zoom TV Products.
John recently told me about a new DRTV-to-retail initiative he is working on, and I thought it was timely enough to turn into an interview. The number that got my attention: 18,000 new doors. Here's the interview ...
TSR: What led you to leave Vertical Branding and start Zoom TV Products? What is the purpose of this new venture?
Cammarano: Upon the sale of my company AdSouth to Vertical three years ago, I agreed to stay on and develop new items as well as their retail sales. I positioned the Hercules Hook with them first and then Steam Buddy, Zorbeez, the MyPlace laptop table and others. However, I felt the need to embark on another venture where I am the principal because I needed the autonomy to work at a rigorous pace and capitalize on the success of both the industry as a whole compared to overall retail sales.
I have been quite successful in building unique ASOTV endcap programs at retailers such as Staples, Best Buy, Office Depot, Stop & Shop, Pet Smart, Toys "R" Us and several others. After witnessing the success that these retailers have enjoyed after finally reaching outside their normal core assortments, it was apparent that the industry is thriving and in need of new and novel items.
I will be looking to partner with several of the vendors that I have brought into the ASOTV programs in order to allow them to utilize their substantial infrastructure, allowing me to focus on product and campaign development for proprietary and licensed products.
TSR: How does your new retail program work?
Cammarano: What I have done is positioned the program with the retailer in a way that affords them filtered knowledge and historical data for all current items. The information that we provide allows them to simply lean on one primary vendor or category captain that also maintains the trust of all the vendors. I negotiate the terms with the retailer, build a virtual set and obtain a green light from the vendors and retailers alike, then monitor the weekly sales, watches sales trends and look for anomalies, suggest in-and-out promotions; for example, Staples and Snuggies. It was a huge success and now fourth quarter is already planned out.
The industry players have really rallied behind the program because we have reached retailers that historically never merchandised these types of items. Finally, in their quest for incremental sales, they have realized that there are several demographic crossovers regardless of their core assortments.
TSR: Will the chains take any product, or does it have to be something that fits their theme (e.g. pet supplies)?
Cammarano: I try to cater the program ever so slightly. For example, the Toys "R" Us build was very female oriented whereas the Best Buy build was almost all male-oriented items due to their young male demo.
TSR: Can any DRTV company participate? If so, how do they get involved?
Cammarano: Any TV vendor can participate. However, I try to select viable vendors that will always be there with consistent campaigns as well as the financial wherewithal to support any potential clean up or product discontinuance. And even more important, shipping on time is monumental.
TSR: What led you to pursue this new strategy?
Cammarano: Simply put, it was an opportunity that needed to be capitalized on. Specific retailers were struggling due to economic issues that forced them to seek incremental sales. To date, we are currently servicing over 18,000 doors that have never sold these types of items before because there was never an orchestrated program that allowed the retailer to merchandise them all together. In the past, vendors would present to individual category buyers, so products were splintered and merchandised across the store. But they didn't enjoy the success they do when the program is housed in one location, managed by one buyer and one category captain that is an industry insider.
I should mention I couldn't have done any of this without the support of Nancy [Duitch] and the team at Vertical Branding. Their support was undying.
As I said, this new interview feature is an experiment, so please let me know what you think of it (or John's interview) by using the comments link below.
