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BILL FISHMAN

Bill Fishman & Affiliates

11650 lberia Place San Diego, Ca.9212t

f nnCef owes me two bucks. Don- I na and I were shopping for Christmas gifts at the new Target store in town. I spotted an end cap that featured a package of three blank video tapes. The sign on the end cap shouted in 2 inch letters "SALE. 3-PACK $9.99."

There were also two lines of descriptive copy on the sign in type about the size you're reading right now. I didn't bother to read them.

The top two shelves were filled with Target's private brand of video tape, wrapped as a 3-pack. The bottom two shelves contained a national brand 3pack. Neither one was price stickered.

Target does not individually price their merchandise. The cashiers have a price look-up system that is activated when they ring the SKU numbers. I decided on the national brand and put the purchase in the shopping cart.

Our total purchases that day came to

$62.40. I charged it. As Donna loaded the packages into the shopping cart I examined the register receipt. The video tape was rung at $11.99 not the signed $9.99.

I showed the cashier the error. She checked the newspaper ads and found no indication of the sale. Paging for a department worker to pick up the phone brought no results.

The head cashier came to the rescue. "l know exactly what you mean, I was fooled by that sign yesterday," she said. "Then I found out that it's only the Target brand that's priced at $9.99, not the national brand. Come back to the display with me. I'll show it to you."

By this time Donna had become disgusted with my arguing about two dollars and proceeded to the car. I walked back to the display with the head cashier. "See," she said pointing to the two small lines of type on the sign reading "compare with national brands at $l1.99."

"Do you mean to tell me," I asked, "that your customers will know that the only sign on this entire end cap does not represent the 3-packs of tape on all the shelves? "

"The national brand is signed at $11.99 on the shelves around the corner," she replied.

"But, you said that yesterday you misinterpreted the sign just the way I did. Don't you think the sign should be changed?" I asked.

"Well, don't blame me, I don't make the signs," she replied defensively.

"But, you do represent the storel" I challenged.

"Would you like to speak to the manager?" she asked, now sorry she ever got involved.

"I would rather talk to him than to the Attorney General for the State of California," I warned.

She disappeared into the manager's office.

"l understand you have a problem," the manager said to me.

"No, you have a problem," I snapped back. "The problem is neither the two dollars nor the incorrect signing. The problem is that Target's people are saving the company pennies and losing customers forever," I told him.

He immediately saw how misleading the display and sign were and ordered it corrected. He also offered to refund the difference when I returned with the cash (Please turn to page 35)

WALLY LYNCH Paid Associates PO. Box 741623 Dallas. Tx.75243

l1|owMANY rimes, as you sat at

I lyour desk shopping competition by reading the local newspaper, have you asked yourself"how can we compete with this?"

It's a question asked of us all of the time from every part of the country. The strange thing about these inquiries is they are generated almost exclusively by newspaper advertising.

As discussions proceed, the apprehension appears to be not only that advertising demonstrates the unbeatable price and assortment of the competitor, but also that it is too expensive for the company we're talking with to create and distribute. Within this limited context, the conclusions drawn are usually accurate, at least from an economic standpoint. Unfortunately, many companies in this position develop a dialogue gridlock that seems to say "if we can't do it their way, it isn't worth doing anything because we can't compete."

There is no one simplistic solution to this kind of communication rigor mortis. A series of things must happen to get the company on track. First, you must recognize that doing nothing at all is a whole lot worse than doing something. Secondly, you must perceive your place of business as a duck blind to which you want to attract as many birds as possible. As a hunter, would you attempt to do this without a duck call? Third, there are at least l0 ways, other than in a newspaper, to advertise to your customers.

We'll give you the pros and cons of I I different ways you can reach your customers. Because of space limitations, we'll conclude the list with a summary of recommendations next month.

Pros: For most publications there are two readers for each copy printed. Readers of newspapers tend to have higher incomes than non-newspaper readers. Most papers have special distributions and sections which advertisers can utilize.

Cons: A newspaper has a short life. The cost per column inch is expensive by comparison to almost all other media. Reproduction is generally of poor quality.

Pros: Most stations have formatted programming which structures the audience reached. Insertion costs are inexpensive. Messages can be heard both in and out of the home.

Cons: Formatting also means segmented or reduced audiences. Messages have limited life30 to 60 seconds. Numerous impressions are needed before the commercial registers with customer.

Pros: Information conveyed through both sound and sight. There is a vast available audience. Selectivity is possible because of varied programming.

Cons: Because of the number of commercials aired sequentially, there tends to be clutter for all. Insertion costs are high. In addition, production costs are high.

To be continued next month.