{"id":3431,"date":"2019-02-22T17:44:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-22T17:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/?p=3431"},"modified":"2019-02-22T19:34:45","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T19:34:45","slug":"exchanges-commissaries-brainstorm-ideas-for-more-joint-sales-events-promotions-to-bolster-military-resale-benefit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2019\/02\/22\/exchanges-commissaries-brainstorm-ideas-for-more-joint-sales-events-promotions-to-bolster-military-resale-benefit\/","title":{"rendered":"Exchanges, commissaries brainstorm ideas for more joint sales events, promotions to bolster military resale benefit"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT LEE \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Exchange and commissary shoppers will see more opportunities to save on the installation as military resale officials continue planning more joint sales.<\/p>\n

Sharing ideas on improving on-base shopping benefits was the centerpiece of discussion for senior marketing representatives from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service<\/a> (AAFES), the Defense Commissary Agency<\/a> (DeCA), Coast Guard Exchange<\/a> (CGX) the Marine Corps Exchange<\/a> (MCX), and the Navy Exchange Service Command<\/a> (NEXCOM) in an annual meeting hosted by DeCA, Feb. 12-13, at Fort Lee, Virginia.<\/p>\n

This marketing conference came less than two weeks after the military resale chief executive officers signed a joint purchasing alliance<\/a> agreement to maximize resale\u2019s combined buying power for items sold by two or more of the organizations.<\/p>\n

These collaborative events have become the norm for exchanges, commissaries and their industry partners as they \u201cwork together to create events and promotions to drive military families back to the installation and improve their quality of life,\u201d said Ana Middleton, president and chief marketing officer for AAFES.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had phenomenal success through seven collaborative events during 2018,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe military resale community is working on continuing the excitement during 2019. Our cross-agency working groups meet several times a month to plan promotions, bringing the best of what we have to offer to the military community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The commissary and exchanges partnership is a work in progress, where the resale outlets are applying lessons learned to fine tune opportunities for military patrons, said Hector Granado, DeCA\u2019s marketing director.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are digging deeper into our sales and transactional data to see what we can improve, what programs are working, which ones aren\u2019t, and if they\u2019re not working we\u2019re making changes,\u201d he said. \u201cThis year we are determining a new path forward with our joint promotions, and we are getting more targeted, more focused, to deliver a better shopping experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strength in numbers and the ability to innovate by learning from each other were key underlying themes for the resale marketers during their conference, said Richard Honiball, NEXCOM\u2019s chief merchandising and marketing officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, we developed a promotions calendar, we worked together, we broke the ice and we\u2019re here today,\u201d Honiball said. \u201cNow, we have learnings and analytics to draw from, and we\u2019re looking even deeper at where we\u2019re going and what resources we have to coordinate major events across the military resale spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n

During their meeting, the military resale marketers addressed the following actions to bolster patron shopping opportunities:<\/p>\n