Catalina Expands Into Convenience Channel

ST. PETERBURG, Fla. -- Catalina, a provider of consumer-driven marketing, is expanding its nationwide point-of-sale media network into convenience stores, following a successful pilot program with technology partner Outsite Networks. The company made the announcement at the 2011 NACS Show, which kicked off Saturday in Chicago.

The Catalina Network is a targeted consumer communication system, currently located at the checkout in more than 26,000 grocery, drug and mass outlets throughout the United States.

Catalina has been piloting convenience store brand-building programs over the past year in nearly 500 stores, using a system that was specially designed for the channel. The system features a consumer-facing printer that can rapidly issue relevant promotional messages and coupon offers directly to consumers based on their individual purchase behavior.

The company has found that consumers in the convenience store channel have proven to be highly responsive to relevant marketing programs. Brands have been achieving exceptional results in generating trial for new products and volume growth for established ones, while retailers are seeing increased trips and sales driven by the promotion programs sourced and designed by the company's team of brand consultants, according to Catalina. 

"The Catalina Network will offer customers added value during their shopping experience and is a great tool to meet the marketing goals of both retailers and CPG manufacturers," said Joe Vonder Haar, managing partner of iSee Store Innovations. "The Catalina Network is a plug-and-play system that is fully compatible with all scanner-based c-store POS systems." 

Ed Kuehnle, president of Catalina Marketing Services, added: "The convenience channel is an ideal growth area for Catalina and we look forward to a very successful rollout. We will improve our strategic value by now being able to support our clients' key initiatives in the channel."

Catalina's expansion allows convenience retailers and brands to deliver dynamic promotions and brand-building efforts. Additionally, Catalina has partnered with Outsite Networks to provide additional loyalty and mobile capabilities to c-store retailers via CouponNetwork.