Duane Reade's namesake stays alive with new innovations

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Duane Reade’s sale to Walgreens means a lot of things, but one thing that won’t happen is that it will lose the unique identity that the chain has carved out in its hometown of New York, which allowed it to set itself apart from other retail pharmacies in the area. And in the process, Duane Reade is helping to redefine what a retail pharmacy can do and be.

(THE NEWS: Duane Reade teams up with JagTag. For the full story, click here)

It already has a swanky new store in Herald Square, near Penn Station, which includes foods under the DR Delish private label – including prepared foods – along with the usual mix of retail pharmacy products, a stylish branding scheme and a newspaper-style circular that includes short articles on products sold in the stores. Its private-label offers, under the DR Delish and Apt. 5 Goes Green brands, now include a host of environmentally friendly and healthy products like tissues made from sugar cane, stainless steel water bottles, organic salsa and lollipops made from organic fruit.

Now, it has a unique ad campaign to go with them through its partnership with JagTag.

The JagTag ads go beyond Facebook groups and Twitter postings and give a personalized touch to the use of digital technology in the retail pharmacy space. Not only that, but the coded ads and accompanying multimedia messages give Duane Reade a cheap way to advertise its services without the cost of laying out and printing posters.