You’re reading Signal vs. Noise, a publication about the web by 37signals since 1999.

Is it smart? People who have pet allergies are unlikely to be shopping for pet food.

Presumably this is then targeting people with pets who have friends with allergies, or a very unfortunate group of pet owners who are allergic to their furry companions.

It’s a bit like stocking first-aid kits beside kitchen knives…

LOL and stocking first aid kits next to kitchen knives would be a bad a idea? I think that is a great idea and I also think more first aid kits would be sold. Just think about it.

certainly a funny photo but not a smart product placement – nobody will be looking for that near pet food – nonsensical

like putting lubricant by bibles?

None of this is random at your typical supermarket. People pay serious attention (and money), and set up model shops, to get their product where they want them to be and out the door.

Commercial pet food sold in grocery stores is poison, full of fillers, corn, grains and other horrible stuff. Smart people feed their pets raw or natural pet foods not sold in grocery stores.

Ever get stuck taking care of your roommate’s cat, which you’re allergic to, because he got stuck in South Africa without a Visa? I did. The real world isn’t so predictable. Brilliant product placement. And funny!

My own dog (a golden retriever) has horrible allergies and for most of the year I put human allergy medication in his food to help relieve his symptoms. If you were in a similar situation you’d realize this actually is a very smart move by the store.

It’s not smart, it’s the result of data mining. The people in the store have no understanding of marketing – that’s why they’re in the store. They are told where to put things by people at corporate, who have no understanding about how to clean up spills.

Using data to make decisions is still smart. And people with pet allergies absolutely have pets, the joy of having a cat or dog often outweighs the misery of occasional allergies. Besides, after a while you develop a tolerance to your own animals.

“certainly a funny photo but not a smart product placement – nobody will be looking for that near pet food – nonsensical”

Is there some kind of law about putting the same product in more than one place? I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume that you would still be able to find Allegra in the pharmacy section of that store.

Is there a scenario where this might be logical? I can’t think of one, but it’s a possibility.

And you’re right, Anonymous Coward. Anyone who esteems the Bible does not use lubricant because it’s sinful to diminish the friction between two moving objects. Really.

If you were shopping at Walmar, that’s far from smart…

The quality of the comments today is a bit Youtube-esque for my taste.

If this retailer has done their data mining homework to reveal that pet supplies and Allegra commonly end up in the same cart, this is a great move. If not, it is a creative effort that may not make sense (in agreement with some previous comments).

Yes, there is usually a logic to this kind of placement, as the items probably do correlate to same purchase and seeing it when buying one can jog memory to pick up the other.

A more obvious correlation is the placement of a small milk cooler in the cereal aisle, which better ensures you don’t grab your box of Golden Grahams and forget the milk to go with it.

Paco Underhill has some fascinating books that delve deep into the whole psychology of retail and the impact it can have on both consumers and stores’ bottom lines.

As an owner of a dog with allergies, I see this as a smart move (I know the pic shows cat supplies, but..). I suspect the move is targeted for pet allergies rather than human allergies.

Very smart! If you truly care about pets, then you’re going to get and keep them whether you’re allergic or not.

My wife and I got a bunny knowing that she was very allergic to hay. Occasional allergic flare-ups are an acceptable tradeoff to having an adorable, loving companion.

I’m with @zachary. I’m not allergic to a thing, but my dog sure is. Over the counter antihistamines work for my pup.

@ Amy

you missed the real point about lubricant apparently due to sex that’s the danger of using sex to get a message across people just think sex