Listening for the sound of sales

Drug Store News, July 20, 1998 by Allene Symons

* tunes and stories for kids (largely purchased by young mothers and grandmothers);

* popular hits bought mainly by teens and preteens;

* compilations of baby boomer's favorites. Walgreens, for example, reported, "We do an excellent business in pre-recorded audio. We carry Top 40 singles only, so we're offering a fresh, current selection;" and

* nature sounds or environmental recordings, which some drug chains carry and often merchandise near products such as body and bath.

There is a new baby boom under way across the nation, although the impact is less evident in the Northeast and Midwest. A look back at the last baby boom reminds retailers that kids and teens like music.

Art of storytelling

Disney is responding to this baby boom--and chain drug's power to reach the convenience-shopping mom--with a new product exclusively for food and drug chains, called the Disney Storyteller Series.

Andy Melville, vice president of sales and trade marketing for Walt Disney Records, explained that the series will have both a story from a Disney animated feature and the original songs. For example, if a child is riding in the car, he or she can listen to the story of the Lion King and the original music. Melville calls it a return to "the lost art of storytelling." The packaging conveys the storytelling idea by showing Mickey reading to a child.

The key to selling this kind of audio product in drug chains, Melville said, is to get the right price point, supply the channel with strong margin and provide product with a good story to tell. Disney has high hopes for the series, which is expected to retail at about $4.99 each and will be presented to chains this month. Melville hopes to see the new line in drug chains by back-to-school time.

Disney has offered children's music for several years, but this series is a new direction. Until now, when a drug chain offered Disney music, the products were typically displayed on clip strips with displays of Disney pre-recorded video titles.

The Storyteller Series will come in different corrugated displays, including endcap and freestanding. Said Melville, who wants to develop strength for the audio line and not just piggyback on video product, "We're trying to develop audio for the strength of audio and not just piggyback on video product. I think that's why it's important to come in at a strong price point."

Titles planned for the new Storyteller Series are based on the recently released animated film "Mulan," followed in the fall by a Storyteller title based on the direct-to-video title "Lion King II--Simba's Pride," and next a Storyteller for the forthcoming animated feature "A Bug's Life."

Same old tunes

Nostalgia is marketable, especially with so many graying baby boomers looking back on their youthful days.

At some Eckerd stores, you'll find Minneapolis-based Metacom's "Just the Hits Music Station," an interactive kiosk that looks like a jukebox and plays what is known in the music trade as compilation music, past-hit collections with themes such as the best of the '70s or two decades of love songs.

Using the interactive kiosk, the consumer may preview eight of 14 cuts on an album by pressing the album picture on the front of the touch pad. Jere Clune, vice president of sales, said the company is testing with several drug chains. It has rolled out hundreds of units as a regular display in Eckerd stores.

The interactive kiosk sits on an endcap or in-line, can fit on a 20-inch base and needs an electrical power source. On compilation music, Clune said, "If you look at that category, it's worth about a billion dollars a year, but the lion's share of it is sold on television. Why? Because consumers hear it before they buy it. They need to be reminded."

An example of boomer musical memory loss is a title such as Tina Turner's hit with the familiar lyrics "left a good job in the city .. ." People tend to remember this as "Rollin' on the river," whereas it is actually called "Proud Mary." That's where the Just the Hits interactive kiosk aids the gray cells.

Selling popular music hits another segment, mainly teens, preteens and young adults. Joe Yost, president of Audio Video Rack Services, based in Sandusky, Ohio, explained that his company's program involves contemporary original artists (including hit performers such as Celine Dion) on major labels.

It doesn't have the margin the two examples above have, but these fit a different demographic. Yost explained that his company puts together an assortment of rock, country, R&B and fine tunes for each store's demographics. "We put together a merchandising strategy and product assortment geared for drug and food," said Yost, who thinks there is "enormous potential in the drug chain channel with the traffic they have built in their stores."

Yost is also about to launch a listening station program (interactive), but so far only with full-line stores, although he is working on a similar concept for drug chains. "It's do-able. It's finding the right mix," he said.