We also believe that, among other tasks, a press distributor must have an influence, particularly at the point of sale, on personnel managers and consumers by creating the best scenario for the purchasing act.

To this end, Vasp has Portugal’s most ambitious sales promotion project of press distributors, due to its dimension and the quality of its team in charge of promotion actions, and by the technological support available to promoters to fulfil their goal. All these features are combined in a new business unit launched in July 2007 called TMK – Soluções de Trademarketing.

Each promoter is equipped with a computer terminal to record all relevant information about the visit and a digital camera to illustrate good and poor practices detected in the field. At the end of each day, that information is downloaded through a telephone connection to a central server that, at the start of each business day, provides information to the various company departments that need it. If the issue is urgent, a mobile telephone call will immediately trigger the necessary remedial actions.

This team performs a number of different activities, of which the following are highlighted:

• Helps publishers define trade-marketing strategies, particularly those involving a presence at the point of sale through merchandising material;

• Validates promotional activities and tests their impact;

• Places the publishers’ merchandising material at points of sale;

• Checks the network for relevant information (competition, sales figures, acceptance of a new publication / new graphics, etc);

• Advises points of sale about the best practice for displaying publications and arranging the respective shelves;

• Makes the points of sale aware about preferential sales of products distributed by Vasp;

• Generally, all activities are part of the goal to create the most suitable context to maximise sales.

The Kiosk of Millions Project

As a relational marketing tool, Vasp has a sales motivation program for its points of sale called the “Quiosque dos Milhões” [Kiosk of Millions] set up in partnership with and supported by its main publishers. Through this program, points of sale earn points as their sales grow, as they actively participate in actions promoted by Vasp and by its publishers, etc. All points earned through the program may be exchanged for valuable prizes shown in the program catalogue. This catalogue includes items ranging from small appliances to cars and trips to tropical destinations!