In the U.S, Sunday newspapers deliver more than the news, as they also come packed with Free Standing Insert coupons (FSI). The scale of what's called the Consumer Promotion industry is staggering : 200 billion pages and 253 billion coupons were distributed through 1,800 publications in 2006.

As the leading company for tracking FSI coupon activity in the U.S, Marx Promotion Intelligence could easily rest on its laurels. However, complacency isn't an option for the Minneapolis-based division of TNS media intelligence, as demonstrated by their new service called ProMotion PLUS.

Clients first
The key demands for developing ProMotion PLUS were speed, flexibility and actionable insights. As a Web-based platform, the new service provides the next-level of advanced customized reporting to track competitive consumer promotion. Clients can define their reports in the optimal format, set it up to receive alerts and access a five-year online library.

According to Mark Nesbitt, COO of Marx Promotion Intelligence, "Our clients include smaller companies, along with some of the world's largest Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies implementing very sophisticated strategies." Over a four month period, Nesbitt's team first undertook an intense exploratory process to understand the unique ways in which clients use Marx Promotion Intelligence's data.

As a long-standing Marx Promotion Intelligence client, Mike Sonsthagen, Consumer Promotion Manager at Kimberly-Clark explained, "It's a very fine balance between the complexity of customizing a product around specific needs and keeping it simple to use". To meet this challenge, the Marx Promotion Intelligence team created an entirely new platform in a record 32 weeks from start to finish.

Customizable intelligence
In the Consumer Promotion's highly competitive snack category, fickle shoppers were able to choose among 24 new products launches for 2006 alone. According to Chris Hall, Director of Promotions & Packaging Graphics at Quaker Oats, a division of PepsiCo, "For us, one of the biggest benefits is the ability to set up alerts and receive exactly the type of intelligence we want. A view echoed by colleague Tracy Mulhausen, Senior Manager Product Development & Environment. "We can automatically receive color thumbnails of the actual creatives, already sorted by new product launch."

The sheer size and complexity of the Consumer Promotion industry means that even small changes in the process can add up to considerable amounts of company man-hours saved and more detailed market insights. For Nesbitt, "Before it was more 'one size fits all', with ProMotion PLUS we're closer to 'one size fits one client's needs', and that's a breakthrough."

Like China, Russia is an Eldorado for car manufacturers. The country's exceptional growth and the enormous appetite of consumers for cars are huge incentives for all manufacturers. J.Saigot, Head of Marketing Peugeot, explains what is at stake in the competitive Russian market.

What is your opinion of the Russian automotive market today?
J. Saigot : The Russian market is very promising and is growing very fast at the moment. For the first time this year, sales of foreign cars have exceeded those of the local models.
In fact PSA Peugeot Citroën Group is studying the feasibility of setting up production facilities because of the opportunities in the Russian market.

Is the Russian media interested in cars and in Peugeot?
The media pays attention to the development of the automotive market in Russia. It is logical that many publications give a lot of space to the Russian automotive industry because at the moment, only a few privileged russian can afford foreign cars. On the other hand, when dealing with development and innovations, the majority of publications concentrate on foreign manufacturers.
As for the volume of coverage our brand receives, the company's culture is to constantly increase this rather than rest of its laurels. We believe that the level of media coverage given to foreign car manufacturers and to Peugeot is in line with the company's media activity in Russia.

What are your monotoring needs?
We expect a well organised and objective press revue based on a complete media coverage.
The number of media monitored is also vey important and, of course, the quality of the analyses and targeted topics.

How do you measure the impact of your PR?
All reports give us a clear and objective picture of what is happening in the media. The publications breakdown by subject gives us an opportunity to reorientale our media-strategy. Furthermore, it helps us to evaluate the results of our PR activities and events.

What are the advantages?
Today, the most important point for us is to make the Peugeot brand recognizable. Our philosophy based on innovation, design and safety, is slowly but surely reaching the consumers and is becoming a very important consideration fot them in making their choice.

What are your projects for Peugeot in Russia?
We are looking to the future with optimism. Since the start, we have managed to create the platform for our future development in this market. We are regularly launching new models, and constantly developing the Peugeot dealership. Today the dealership network covers remote areas as well as main cities as Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk. Furthermore, Peugeot Rus Auto has put in place supply plans and working procedures at dealer's centers. This means, the models they ask for are always available in storehouses in Moscow and can be delivered to the clients on time. And this is of primary importance because of the conditions prevailing in the Russian automotive market.

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