CEO Strategic Leadership Series
Consumer Products Sector
CPG companies pour billions into trade promotions every year, but the system is fundamentally broken. Retailers capture most of the value. Brands get inconsistent volume lifts. ROI is nearly impossible to measure accurately. Yet the promotional arms race continues.
The heart of the problem is structural:
• Promotional mechanics are outdated.
• Retail media networks distort attribution.
• In-store and digital promotions rarely integrate.
• Retailers push promo-heavy calendars that prioritize private label.
• Data asymmetry prevents true ROI measurement.
Promotions often subsidize retailer margin rather than drive brand growth. Many companies now spend more on trade than advertising — without realizing the actual impact.
The future of trade promotions will be defined by:
• Algorithmic deal modelling
• Micro-region targeting
• Omnichannel price harmonization
• Retailer partnership redesign
• Real-time sales elasticity signaling
Brands must also confront the uncomfortable truth: some promotions should not exist. Zero-based promo budgeting will become standard.
How Arcus Can Help
Arcus rebuilds trade-promotion architecture, designs precision promotional plans, and develops analytic frameworks to separate true ROI from retailer-driven noise.
Next step: Request an Arcus Trade Inefficiency Assessment to eliminate wasteful spend and optimize promotional ROI.
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Arcus offers clients a unique combination of fact-based industry knowledge and superior functional expertise. Our consultants have an average of over 22 years experience, twice the industry average. Find out more about our growth, change management and operations services.
At Arcus we believe that a strategy is only as good as the results it delivers. Strategic outcomes are most predictable and effective when companies develop a portfolio of initiatives that are aligned with core competencies and aligned activities enable the company to offer a superior value proposition.
Please contact Arcus for case studies and to discuss how we can help you.
Service coverage
The variety, breadth, and depth of the projects where Arcus can be a resource are made unique by each client’s specific needs. By providing a very small sample of projects we’ve completed, we can help you understand how and when to use our services. Visit the links below to find out more about a specific problem or opportunity you would like to address.
Below is a sample of the range of services that Arcus has provided to clients.
- A survey of 2,350 consumers and 1,320 business leaders for feedback on sustainability trends
- Architecting a multi-year change strategy for a Fortune 500 company
- Mentoring a CEO on organizational change
- Excellence transformation of a leading B2B services company
- Creating a new sales deployment model for a healthcare company
- Developing a position evaluation and compensation model for a professional medical association
- Improving services to customer segments by deepening their understanding of customer attitudes
“Arcus manages to consistently deliver tangible results on market research and strategy projects. They combine deep business expertise, powerful research capabilities, and innovative thinking to deliver substantial value.”
– Vice President, Nikon
Data Dashboards
- Empower your decision-making with comprehensive, trusted data.
- Gain actionable insights with access to real-time Canadian consumer, business and sector spending and location data.
- Inform economic policy, investments, sales deployment and strategic plans by looking at trends across different industries and regions in Canada.
- Influence your businesses’ future growth plans by understanding consumer behaviour
Media Coverage
Arcus has been quoted extensively in media on a range of topics and can offer research studies, insights and ideas. Here are some examples from the Globe and Mail, BNN, CTV, Global TV and others.
- Klarna on the evolution of digital payment tech – BNN
- Canada’s retail sector round up – BNN
- Buy now, pay later will become a $950M industry in Canada – BNN
- Nordstrom countdown to opening begins – Toronto Star
- No lineups outside stores in five years – BNN
- Black Friday retail, marketing, and cross-border shopping trends – BNN
- Does global expansion need a local flavour? – Globe and Mail
- Art of the Pitch – Protect company’s interests when approaching giants – Globe and Mail
- Off-the-shelf technology or a custom design? – Globe and Mail