Ideal by Design House has announced a marketing agreement with Hickory, North Carolina-based Merchants Distributors. The arrangement allows MDI’s 600 grocery stores in 12 states access to Ideal’s Retail Media Network and upgrade to dynamic digital circulars.
The network allows consumer packaged goods companies to choose a target audience and attract attention to promotional content along with video, animation and recipes within a local retailer’s digital circular to drive traffic to the store. CPGs get analytics showing the success of the distribution system, engagement on circular, visits to store, cost per visit and lift in sales. MDI’s retail customers will benefit from 250,000 measurable store visits per week driven by CPG campaigns.
“Ideal’s performance dashboard measures the entire ecosystem, showing our customers and CPG partners how ad costs are being optimized and the return on investment for each campaign,” said Nick Carlino, EVP of sales and merchandising at MDI. “Our CPG partners’ special offers get on-platform and off-platform positioning, gaining access to all shoppers from all stores within our 600-store footprint across 12 states.”
The Ideal platform integrates digital circulars with a omni-channel distribution system that engages retailers’ customers. Consumers create shopping lists, view recipes, watch videos, change language and share content. The 24/7 access to information and promotions has been shown to elevate customer experience and loyalty.
“MDI is continuously innovating to give their independent grocers a competitive advantage,” said David Gordon, president and founder of Design House. “Ideal’s marketing platform makes it simple and fast for stores to modernize their print programs into a digital circular. Our clients tell us they’re moving away from print because newspapers and their distribution channels are shutting down and leaving them no choice. With Ideal, shopping is easy and fun, resulting in greater sales and brand awareness for retailers and CPGs.”
MDI is a wholesale food distributor that services independent grocers across the East Coast. Founded in 1931, MDI provides expertise, infrastructure and scale so that grocers can thrive and grow. With an assortment of more than 40,000 food and nonfood items, MDI supplies more than 600 grocery stores in 12 states and exports a variety of products to retailers and distributors operating in 36 countries.
