The top promoted brands of 2011 revealed

SOLON, Ohio — An analysis conducted by ECRM of retailers’ ad circulars during 2011 showed some familiar names dominated the list of top promoted brands and revealed some interesting movements among others.

The ECRM report showed use of circular print ads grew by 5.5% in 2011 despite increased activity overall in the areas of online, mobile and social.

“The printed circular remains the core method of how retailers communicate value to consumers, and it’s clear that most top brands have increased their use of circular ads in 2011,” ECRM VP industry insights Tom Pirovano said.

Among the highlights of the report:

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  The top promoted fresh/frozen/perishable brands revealed significant shifts in ad support. While Oscar Mayer (No. 1) and Tyson (No. 2) retained the top two spots, Yoplait rose to No. 3 from No. 8 in 2010. Johnsonville rose from No. 13 in 2010 to the No. 5 promoted perishable brand. Kraft was the only brand ranked among the top 20 promoted dry grocery and perishable brands.

  
  


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  Among health and beauty care brands promoted by retailers, Crest and Dove ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Neutrogena jumped to No. 3 from No. 8 in 2010. The rollout of Allegra one year ago included strong support in retailer circulars leading to its No. 9 ranking among HBC brands.

  
  


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  Bounty (No. 1) and Tide (No. 2) lead the top promoted nonfood grocery brands, while Kleenex moved up one spot from No. 4 to No. 3, replacing Charmin (No. 4). Procter & Gamble brands received more retail ad support than any other manufacturer while P&G ad block counts increased by 18% versus 2010.

  
  


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  Across all categories, five of the top 10 promoted brands were electronics and appliances: Samsung (No. 1), LG (No. 2), HP (No. 3), GE (No. 4), and Sony (No. 5).

  
  


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  Private-brand ad counts grew by 2.7% in 2011, failing to keep pace with overall growth in circulars ads. Across all retailers and categories, private brands declined from 18.8% to 18.3% of total retail circular ad support.

  
  

To arrive at these results, ECRM looked at retail ad support measured in weighted retail ad block counts for 119 top U.S. and Canadian retailers across channels. Ad support reflects the 52-week period ended Dec. 31, compared with the prior year.

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