334 New Product Introductions Received FSI Support in 2008
Average Face Value Increased 5.0% to a Record High of $1.33
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, January 7, 2009 – The Marx Promotion Intelligence 2008 Free Standing Insert (FSI) Distribution Trends Report issued today, reports that the total dollar value of consumer incentives distributed through FSI coupons increased 2.9 percent to more than $334 billion in 2008. These FSI coupons were distributed through more than 195 billion pages containing more than 251 billion offers. Average Face Value increased to a new record level of $1.33, up $0.06 versus 2007.
“In an extremely challenging economic and retailing environment, marketers increased their reliance on FSIs as a cost-effective advertising medium to deliver consumer impressions that encourage consumer loyalty and drive retail trips,” said Mark Nesbitt, President, TNS Media Intelligence.
The Consumer Packaged Goods sector (CPG) continues to dominate page circulation, accounting for 70.0 percent of all FSI pages and reporting an increase of 0.5 percent versus 2007. Direct Response represents 21.1 percent of FSI page circulation and Franchise maintains 8.9 percent. Page circulation for Direct Response and Franchise decreased 4.8 percent and 2.9 percent respectively resulting in a 1.0 percent decrease in overall FSI page circulation versus 2007.
| Measure | 2008 | Change vs. 2007 |
| Dollars | $334.9 billion | 2.9% |
| Pages | 195.6 billion | -1.0% |
| Coupons | 251.9 billion | -2.0% |
| Avg Face Value | $1.33 | 5.0% |
| Fuse (weeks) | 9.7 | -0.8% |
The 6th annual FSI Distribution Trends Report is issued by Marx Promotion Intelligence, a TNS Media Intelligence company. Marx Promotion Intelligence is considered the industry standard for tracking FSI coupon activity. Free copies of the comprehensive Marx FSI Distribution Trends Report are available through the Marx Promotion Intelligence Web site at www.tnsmi-marx.com.
“Retailers are increasingly including FSI promotions in their marketing mix to engage with their shoppers when they are actively seeking product information, developing purchase intent and planning shopping trips. FSI coupons continue to be a source of news about product categories to the consumer and to be a driver of category trips for the retailer,” said Mark Nesbitt.
FSIs maintained consistent frequency with activity in 49 out of the 52 Sundays in 2008 compared to 48 out of the 52 Sundays in 2007. In 2008, the post-New Year promotion week of January 6 had the greatest combined weight by delivering a total of 133 pages. The week of February 10 was also heavily weighted with 115 pages of FSI promotions. On average, FSIs reach almost 70 million households on a weekly basis, with household reach varying across national, regional and local brands. The dynamics among the three key principles of frequency, weight and reach, provide important insight into category, competitor and brand strategies.
Overall FSI ActivityWithin the CPG industry, the Non-Food segment continued to grow with a 0.3 percent increase in coupon circulation while the Food segment pulled back 5.4 percent. Record levels were set for Average Face Value within both the Non-Food and Food segments with a 4.2 percent increase to $1.61 for the Non-Food segment and a 4.3 percent increase to $0.90 for the Food segment. These trends indicate that manufacturers continued to leverage FSIs to deliver high-value offers that encourage brand trial and generate category excitement within the difficult economic environment that confronted consumers and retailers throughout 2008.
CPG INDUSTRY FSI ACTIVITY
| 2008 | Coupons Dropped (MM)* | % Change versus 2007 | Average Face Value | % Change versus 2007 | Average Expiration (weeks) | % Change versus 2007 |
| Total CPG | 251,935 | -2.0% | $1.33 | 5.0% | 9.7 | -0.8% |
| Non-Food | 152,816 | 0.3% | $1.61 | 4.2% | 9.2 | -0.7% |
| Food | 99,287 | -5.4% | $0.90 | 4.3% | 10.5 | -0.4% |
Source: Marx Promotion Intelligence 2008
* Summing the subtotals may be equal to or greater than the value currently shown in the Total line. The Total line reflects an unduplicated sum of all brand values.
Top 10 Categories for New Product Activity
FSI coupon support was included as part of 334 new product introductions across the CPG industry in 2008, as tracked by Marx Promotion Intelligence. Food categories contributed 226 of these new items led by Cereals, Snacks and Beverages. Non-Food categories contributed an additional 108 new items led by Vitamins and Household Cleaning Products. In addition to the new products that received FSI coupon support in 2008, 290 existing brands more than doubled their FSI support as compared to the levels achieved by these brands in 2007, indicating that manufacturers may be shifting marketing support to core brands as opposed to navigating the risks associated with major new product introductions.
TOP 10 CATEGORIES FOR NEW PRODUCT ACTIVITY
| Rank | Category | # New Products |
| 1 | Cereals | 43 |
| 2 | Snacks | 17 |
| 3 | Beverages | 16 |
| 4 | Vitamins | 12 |
| 5 (tie) | Household Cleaning Products | 11 |
| 5 (tie) | Other Packaged Goods | 11 |
| 5 (tie) | Alcoholic Beverages | 11 |
| 8 | Meat/Refrigerated | 10 |
| 9 | Diet Aids | 9 |
| 10 | Sauce | 8 |
Source: Marx Promotion Intelligence 2008
A more complete analysis of leading practices for new product FSI promotion tactics was presented in the Marx ProMotion GuidePoint© entitled: “New Product FSI Promotion: A Look at Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) FSI Promotion Tactics in Support of New Product Introductions.”
Top 10 FSI CategoriesThree of the top 10 categories for new product introductions were also among the top 10 categories for overall FSI activity in 2008. Household Cleaning Products led all categories in overall FSI coupon activity for the fourth year in a row and ranked second in new product introductions among Non-Food categories. Snacks ranked second across all categories for new product introductions and second in the Food sector for overall FSI activity. The top 10 categories accounted for 33.3 percent of all coupons distributed across the CPG industry.
TOP 10 FSI CATEGORIES (by Coupons Dropped*)
Coupons Dropped (MM)**
| Rank | Product Type | 2007 | 2008 | % Change | Actual Change |
| 1 | Household Cleaning Products | 13,537 | 13,141 | -2.9% | -397 |
| 2 | Pet Food & Treats | 12,744 | 12,677 | -0.5% | -67 |
| 3 | Combination/Personal | 10,947 | 12,379 | 13.1% | 1,432 |
| 4 | Snacks | 9,021 | 9,930 | 10.1% | 909 |
| 5 | Vitamins | 7,183 | 8,257 | 15.0% | 1,074 |
| 6 | CCSA | 7,614 | 7,990 | 4.9% | 376 |
| 7 | Rug/Room Deodorizer | 9,866 | 7,600 | -23.0% | -2,265 |
| 8 | Hair Care | 7,023 | 6,953 | -1.0% | -71 |
| 9 | AP/Deodorant | 5,697 | 5,698 | 0.0% | 1 |
| 10 | Bar/Liquid Soap | 5,771 | 5,578 | -3.4% | -194 |
Source: Marx Promotion Intelligence 2008
*Coupons Dropped equals the actual number of coupons distributed in FSI inserts for manufacturers’ brands.
** Note that Coupons Dropped is rounded to the nearest whole number
Top 10 Manufacturers
The ranking of the top 10 manufacturers changed only slightly in 2008. Procter & Gamble retained the top position while General Mills holds steady with the number two spot. Reckitt Benckiser moved up two spots while Johnson & Johnson and SC Johnson each moved down one spot. Colgate-Palmolive moved up one spot putting them into the top 10 in 2008.
TOP 10 MANUFACTURERS BY COUPONS DROPPED
| Parent | 2007 Rank | 2008 Rank |
| Procter & Gamble Co | 1 | 1 |
| General Mills Inc | 2 | 2 |
| Reckitt Benckiser PLC | 5 | 3 |
| Johnson & Johnson | 3 | 4 |
| SC Johnson & Son Inc | 4 | 5 |
| Unilever | 6 | 6 |
| Nestle SA | 7 | 7 |
| Kimberly-Clark Corp | 8 | 8 |
| L'Oreal SA | 10 | 9 |
| Colgate-Palmolive Co | 11 | 10 |
Top 10 Retailers
Page Circulation for retailer FSI promotions increased 16.0 percent to account for more than 6.6 billion pages across 141 participating retailers in 2008. Target’s FSI promotion activity accounted for the greatest number of pages circulated for the second year in a row. Walmart Stores had the most growth in the top ten, moving up 9 spots to be ranked sixth in 2008.
TOP 10 RETAILERS BY WEIGHTED PAGE CIRCULATION
| STORE | 2007 Rank | 2008 Rank |
| Target | 1 | 1 |
| Walgreens | 4 | 2 |
| CVS Pharmacy | 5 | 3 |
| PETsMART | 2 | 4 |
| Kroger | 3 | 5 |
| Walmart | 15 | 6 |
| Publix | 6 | 7 |
| Stop & Shop | 8 | 8 |
| Safeway Food & Drug | 11 | 9 |
| Dollar General | 10 | 10 |
In addition to leading Food, Drug and Mass retailers, Value retailers (e.g., Dollar General, Family Dollar) and Specialty
retailers (e.g., PETsMART, PETCO, Home Depot) were also active in 2008. A more complete analysis of retailer FSI promotion tactics was presented in the Marx ProMotion GuidePoint© entitled: “Leveraging FSI Coupons as a Shopper Marketing Vehicle.”
About Marx Promotion Intelligence
Marx Promotion Intelligence, a TNS Media Intelligence company, is the definitive source for Free Standing Insert (FSI) coupon intelligence and is the leading provider of consumer promotion insights. Through our industry-leading ProMotion PLUS Services, our clients are able to remain ahead of their competition by effectively identifying emerging product trends, retail partnership opportunities, critical category dynamics and competitive promotion tactics. Marx Promotion Intelligence supports our clients’ overall marketing, research, category management and brand planning needs. You may request a copy of the complete Marx 2008 FSI Distribution Trends Report at the company Website:www.tnsmi-marx.com
About TNS Media
Established in more than 30 countries, TNS Media explores all media - print, radio, TV, Internet, social media, cinema and outdoor worldwide, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and offers a full range of insights, analyses and audience measurement services.
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