An oddity from last week: I was browsing the grocery stores’ sales flyers, and noticed that Jewel was selling Office Depot brand office supplies. It struck me as a weird thing, to be sure; what happened to just plain ol’ Jewel brand stuff?
But then the ante was upped: Dominick’s, the other major grocery chain, was selling Staples brand office supplies! What was this? You guessed it: it was EXTREME!!! corporate synergy! And my head nearly exploded.
I wondered why the stores stopped there. Think about all of the exciting marketing opportunities:
- Ziploc brand grocery bags – with their unique zippers. No muss, no fuss when carrying to your car!
- Bowflex conveyor belts. Get the body you want while you’re buying your Cheerios. From Bowflex!
- Kohler shower heads in the produce department. After all, they’re the shower masters!
- Fruit of the Loom brand jackets for the pharmacists. Plus, the fruity logo will remind consumers to enjoy their 5 fruits every day!
- Dell computers at checkout. Everyone just looooves Dell!
- IKEA carts. They’ll be foldable, require assembly, and include a tiny allen wrench.
I’m sure that sometime in the future, a grocery store exec will read this and say, “Good ideas!”
Posted in Consumer Commentary
Dave Walls September 2, 2006, 1:25 pm
Somewhere, there is a marketing executive reading this, grinning and rubbing his hands together with the ideas you’ve just brought to his mind…
..oh, and Ikea? Don’t try the cart thing. Trust me.
Rob September 2, 2006, 9:06 pm
When you mentioned Jewel, I thought you meant the singer. Which would’ve been just as sad.
Dave Walls September 3, 2006, 12:38 am
When you mentioned Jewel, I thought you meant the singer. Which would’ve been just as sad.
Jewel sold out a long time ago, so nothing would surprise me if she started selling office supplies. She already sells razors. (“Intuition”)