The CPG Marketing Guide
Discover the insights and strategies used behind the most successful brands
In-depth guides to the concepts, strategies, and best practices that drive CPG marketing and trade marketing — written for brand professionals who want real insight, not just definitions.
Trade Marketing & Retail
Merchandising
Merchandising is the practice of strategically selecting, presenting, pricing, and promoting CPG products within retail environments to maximize visibility and drive consumer purchases at the point of sale.
Private Label
Private label is a product manufactured by one company but sold under a retailer's own brand name — such as Costco's Kirkland Signature, Target's Good & Gather, or Walmart's Great Value.
Shelf Talker
A shelf talker is a small printed sign attached to a retail shelf edge that draws shopper attention to a specific product by communicating a promotional offer, benefit, or call to action at the point of purchase.
Shopper Marketing
Shopper marketing is a marketing discipline focused on influencing consumer behavior at the point of purchase, bridging the gap between brand strategy and retail execution to drive trial and sales.
Slotting Fee
A slotting fee is a one-time payment a CPG brand pays to a retailer for placing a new product on store shelves, typically ranging from $250 to $250,000 depending on the retailer, category, and number of stores.
Trade Spend
Trade spend is the money a CPG manufacturer invests to promote and sell products through retail and distribution partners—covering discounts, in-store displays, circular features, slotting fees, distributor incentives, and co-op advertising to drive sales and shelf presence.
Retail & Distribution
Category Captain
A category captain is a market-leading manufacturer that a retailer designates to help manage and optimize a specific product category, advising on shelf sets, planograms, assortment, and data-driven decisions to grow the overall category.
Planogram
A planogram is a visual diagram that specifies how products should be arranged on a retail shelf, including product placement, facings, and shelf organization to maximize revenue per square foot.
Retail Media Network
A retail media network (RMN) is an advertising platform owned and operated by a retailer that allows brands to purchase ad placements on the retailer's digital properties, physical stores, or partner channels.
CPG Industry Fundamentals
Brand & Marketing Strategy
Brand Architecture
Brand architecture is the strategic framework that defines how a company organizes its brands, products, and SKUs, and how they relate to each other. It determines whether consumers see one unified brand or a portfolio of independent brands.
Brand Audit
A brand audit is a systematic review of how your brand performs across customer-facing touchpoints, designed to identify inconsistencies and develop an action plan to strengthen brand health.
Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is the degree to which consumers recognize and recall a specific brand within a product category, measured through aided awareness (recognition when prompted) and unaided awareness (spontaneous recall without prompts).
Brand Equity
Brand equity is the value a brand adds to a product beyond the product itself, measured by the price premium (or discount) consumers are willing to pay compared to an unbranded or generic alternative.
Brand Positioning
Brand positioning is the strategic process of defining how your brand occupies a distinct place in the minds of target consumers relative to competitors, guiding every creative and marketing decision.
Creative Brief
A creative brief is a short strategic document that outlines the objective of a marketing campaign and provides the essential context that anyone producing creative work needs to do it well.
Digital Marketing & Content
AI in Marketing
AI in marketing is the use of artificial intelligence to improve how brands plan, execute, and optimize marketing activities, from pricing and promotions to content creation and customer targeting.
Ad Creative
Ad creative is the complete visual and written asset used in an advertisement—image or video, headline, sub-headline, body copy, CTA, and overall design. In CPG, it’s where brand strategy becomes visible and is the single biggest driver of advertising effectiveness.
Ready to put these strategies into action?
MorningAI helps CPG brands create on-brand marketing content, trade assets, and retail-ready materials in minutes.
Start Free Trial