1. COUGH/COLD CATEGORY REVIEW

2. METHODOLOGY
This study focuses on the time frame starting October 1, 2012 through Dec 31, 2014.
Flu season in this report is defined as October through February of every year.
In cases where cold/flu season is reported in comparison to the off-season, the flu seasons used are the current season through Dec 31, 2014 as well as the two complete seasons prior, compared to the last two complete off-seasons.
All retailers with 2 years of consistent promotional activity were used in this report.
ECRM defines the Cough/Cold category as: Childs Cold Products, Cold Liquids, Cold Tabs/Caps/Gels, Cough Drops/Lozenges, Cough Liquids, Lip Balms/Medications, Medicated Rubs, Nasal Spray/Drops/Inhalers, Nasal Strips, and Throat Sprays.
This report frequently uses the ECRM Effective Ad Count measure. This measure of promotional volume takes into account the number of products sharing an ad block. If 2 products are present, each receives 0.5 effective ad count, if 5 are present each gets 0.2.
The basket of complementary items in our shared space analysis includes: Store Prepared Foods, Frozen Meals, Juice, Tea, Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements, Facial Tissue, Analgesics, Vaporizers, Humidifiers, and Hand Sanitizer.

3. COUGH/COLD ADS SHIFTING TO NOVEMBER FOCUS
Month’s Share of Cough/Cold Annual Promotions
November has seen a growing share of the year’s cough cold promotions in the past three years, largely at the expense of September and October promotions.

4. PROMOTIONS BALANCE STOCK UP, RELIEF TRIPS
Month’s Share of Cough/Cold Annual Activity
Comparing circular promotional activity to CDC and Google measures of Flu activity, we found that promotions peak before the season starts as retailers capture shoppers on seasonal stock-up trips.
average for respective values

5. 2014 ADS SHIFT FROM SPRAYS TO DROPS
Share of Cough/Cold Category Promotions
Sub-Category
2013
2014
Change
Cough Drops/Lozenges
15.9%
17.4%
1.4%
Cold Tabs/Caps/Gels
31.2%
32.1%
0.9%
Child Cold Products
6.2%
6.4%
0.2%
Medicated Rubs
1.2%
1.3%
0.1%
Cough Liquids
4.7%
0.0%
Nasal Strips
1.6%
Throat Sprays
1.1%
0.8%
-0.3%
Nasal Spray/Drops/Inhalers
7.2%
6.7%
-0.5%
Lip Balms/Medications
12.1%
11.2%
-0.8%
Cold Liquids
18.9%
17.9%
-1.0%
2014 saw only a slight shift in category mix, with throat and nasal sprays giving ground to cough drops.

6. FLU SEASON ADS SHIFT TO SYMPTOM RELIEF
Share of Cough/Cold Category Promotions
Sub-Category
Off Season
Flu Season
Change
Cough Drops/Lozenges
11.0%
18.5%
7.5%
Cold Liquids
13.5%
20.0%
6.5%
Cough Liquids
3.4%
5.3%
1.8%
Throat Sprays
0.5%
1.1%
0.6%
Child Cold Products
5.8%
6.3%
Medicated Rubs
1.3%
1.2%
-0.2%
Nasal Strips
2.3%
1.4%
-1.0%
Cold Tabs/Caps/Gels
32.9%
31.1%
-1.8%
Nasal Spray/Drops/Inhalers
11.2%
5.4%
-5.9%
Lip Balms/Medications
17.9%
9.8%
-8.1%
Flu Season compared to Off-Season has a much more drastic swing in category mix, with liquids and cough drops gaining strong ground.

7. MOST PROMOTED COUGH/COLD SUPPLIERS
Share of Year’s Promotions
Many of the top brands and Private Brand saw a drop in share of voice in 2014, with smaller suppliers taking on much of the difference.
Calendar Years

8. TOP 5 COUGH/COLD VOICE-SHARE WINNERS
Share of Year’s Promotions
These ten brands combined grew from 15% of the category promotions in 2013 to 22% in 2014.
Calendar Years

9. PRICE TRANSPARENCY SPIKES DURING FLU SEASON
Off Season
Cold/Flu product features were more likely to feature a specific price point during the flu season.
This is partially due to many off-season features falling into category-wide or brand family promotions.
% of Product Features with calculable price point

10. THE EAST COAST SEES MORE COUGH COLD ADS
Cough/Cold Category Share of Circular Voice
There is only a slight regionalism in Cough/Cold share of promotional activity, due either to differences in retailer mix or variations in retailer strategies.
Oct 1, 2013 through Feb 28, 2014

11. BIG 3 DRUG CHAINS DIFFER IN REGIONAL STRATEGY
Walgreens
Walgreens was the only one of the big three drug channel retailers with limited regionalism in circular emphasis for cough/cold promotions.
CVS
Rite Aid
Oct 1, 2013 through Feb 28, 2014

12. GREAT PLAINS SEE FEWER NON-PRICE PROMOTIONS
% of Cough/Cold Activity with Non-Price Offer
There is a notable difference in the amount of non-price promotional activity, such as BOGOs or X/For deals, in the center of the country compared to the coasts.
Oct 1, 2013 through Feb 28, 2014

13. LIMITED REGIONALISM IN PAGE PLACEMENT
% of Cough/Cold Activity on Premium Pages
There is no clear regional trend in the proportion of Cough/Cold promotions seen on premium pages, which include front, wrap, and back pages.
Oct 1, 2013 through Feb 28, 2014

14. FSI’S ARE MORE SEASONAL THAN CIRCULAR ADS
Month’s Share of Cough/Cold Annual Activity
Cough/Cold FSI’s are nearly non-existent between April and September, while circular promotions tend to be less seasonally focused.
average for respective values

15. CROSS-MEDIA MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES EXIST
Time Frame
% of Cough/Cold Circular Ads with an FSI available the Same Week
% of Cough/Cold Circular Ads with FSI Availability Referenced
Flu Season
25% 5%
Off Season
15%
Circular - Page 83 (Middle)
Circular - Page 1 (Front)
Circulars often miss out on two opportunities: Aligning circular promotions with FSI drops and ensuring circular ad blocks reference available FSIs to drive sales.
Full Time Frame

16. DRUG CHANNEL BEST IN CLASS AT CROSS MEDIA
% of Cough/Cold Circular Ads with an FSI available the Same Week
% of Cough/Cold Circular Ads with FSI Availability Referenced
Dollar
23.4%
4.7%
Drug
19.6%
11.2%
Mass
27.0%
0.7%
Supermarkets
24.1%
2.3%
Circular - Page 10 (Wrap)
Circular - Page 19 (Middle)
Full Time Frame

17. FSI’S DETAIL CAN IMPACT PRICE PERCEPTION
FSI - Chicago, IL - 10/26/2014
Shown here are the circular promotions during the week of 10/26/2014 in Chicago, when the Vick’s FSI on the left offered $1.00 off. 3 of the 6 promotions included some sort of reference to the promotion, with one actually showing the math on how this drives value.

18. NEW ITEMS GAIN GROUND DURING FLU SEASON
New Product Share of Cough/Cold Promotions
Manufacturer
Off Season
Flu Season
Bayer
2.0%
1.7%
McNeil
0.0%
0.6%
Pfizer
3.0%
1.4%
Private Brand
2.7%
0.4%
Procter & Gamble
Reckitt Benckiser
3.9%
2.8%
Other Manufacturer
1.3%
1.5%
Cough/Cold Total
1.9%
2.3%
New items grow from 1.9% of circular promotions in the off-season to 2.3% during flu season as shoppers look for the newest and most effective solution.

19. NEW ITEMS GAIN GROUND DURING FLU SEASON
New Product Share of Cough/Cold Promotions
Time
Price
4Q13
$7.60
1Q14
$7.99
2Q14
$6.99
3Q14
$8.43
4Q14
$8.42
1Q15
$8.96
NyQuil and DayQuil severe have seen strong promotional support during the fourth quarter month when the season is at its peak.

20. VOLUME DRIVING OFFERS SEE LIMITED SEASONALITY
Basket Building offers, such as x/For deals and BOGOs, did not see a strong seasonal change.
Could the off-season promotions used as ‘stock up’ purchases be more influenced by volume deals?

21. PACK-SIZE IMPACTS TACTIC
Tactic Share of Voice by Cough/Cold Tab/Cap/Gels Pack Size
As the pack sizes grow larger, Non-Volume tactics such as savings become more prevalent, taking voice from the pricing and volume driving promotions.
2014

22. BRAND EQUITY ADS ARE SPARSELY USED
Brand Equity ads, where the product promoted does not have an offer or incentive attached, are rarely seen, consisting of less than 1% of circular product features.
These ads raise brand awareness and confidence, while not sacrificing margins on costly promotions.

23. TYLENOL LEADS IN BRAND EQUITY ADS
Brand Share of Brand Equity Ads
2014

24. CATEGORIES COUGH/COLD WAS MOST SEEN WITH
% of Cough/Cold Ads Sharing with ‘Comfort’ Items
Products in the HBC department were most likely to be seen in the same ad block as a cough/cold promotion, while season-specific food and beverages don’t make the list.
2014

25. SHARING WITH COMPLEMENTARY ITEMS
% of Cough/Cold Ads Sharing with Complementary Items
We defined a basket of complementary items, consisting of items often purchased during cough/cold season, such as vitamins, cleaners, tissues, ready to eat foods, and hot beverages.
Could the off-season promotions used as ‘stock up’ purchases be more influenced by volume deals?
2014

26. EXPLORING SHARED AD SPACE
Circular - Page 1 (Front)
Circular - Page 2 (Middle)

27. SHARING WITH RELIEF ITEMS
Circular - Page 9 (Middle)
Circular - Page 17 (Middle)

28. SHARING WITH RELIEF ITEMS
% of Cough/Cold Ads Sharing with relief Items
Taking a more granular view, we found that much of this sharing could be attributable to ‘relief’ items, such as vitamins, supplements, analgesics, tissues, and cleaners.
2014

29. SHARING WITH CONSUMABLES
% of Cough/Cold Ads Sharing with consumables
However, consumables (such as canned soups, store prepared meals, and beverages) were much less likely to presented with cough/cold category promotions.
This presents an opportunity for retailers to not just promote symptom relief, but a solution geared towards helping their shoppers through the cold/flu experience.
2014

30. SHARING WITH CONSUMABLES
Circular - Page 6 (Middle)

31. PRIVATE BRAND GAINS SHARE DURING OFF-SEASON
Private Brand Share of Cough/Cold Promotions by Channel
Private Brand’s Share of Cough/Cold activity peaks during the spring and summer off-season months.
2014

32. PRIVATE BRAND MORE LIKELY TO BE BASKET BUILDER
Basket Building promotions, including BOGOs, x/For Deals, Free Item promotions, were much more prevalent among private brand cough/cold promotions.
2014

33. FEW RETAILERS PROMOTE MULTIPLE PRIVATE BRANDS
% of Retailers Featuring Multiple Cough/Cold Private Brand Options
2014

34. WALGREENS PROMOTED DISTINCT PRIVATE BRANDS
Brand Share of Private Brand Cough/Cold Liquids Promotions
2014

35. PRIVATE BRAND TIERS LESS DEFINED IN COUGH/COLD

36. PRIVATE BRAND COUGH/COLD AD IMAGERY

37. PRIVATE BRAND OFFERS SIGNIFICANT VALUE
Cough/Cold Liquids
Private Brand
Branded
Change
4 Ounce
$3.13
$5.80
85%
6 Ounce
$5.52
$10.35
87%
8 Ounce
$4.26
$6.34
49%
12 Ounce
$4.67
$7.81
67%
Tabs/Caps/Gels
Private Brand
Branded
Change
10 count
$3.71
$6.27
69%
16 count
$3.35
$6.58
96%
20 count
$5.62
$7.53
34%
24 count
$3.60
$7.00
95%
Private Brand’s average pricing, even when controlling for size, regularly generates strong discounts for the consumer.
2014

38. BRANDED PRODUCTS SHARING WITH PRIVATE BRAND
% of Branded Cough/Cold Ads Sharing with Private Brand Cough Cold Options
While nearly 20 % of branded cough/cold promotions feature private brand alternatives in the same ad block, the majority don’t face private brand options anywhere else in the circular.
2014

39. CONTACT INFORMATION
Vice President of Content Joe Tarnowski (440) ext
Lead Business Intelligence Analyst Tanie Andraos (440) ext