Lewis fine tunes appeal to young women

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. —Ever wonder where all those young people who graduate from college and move away to make their mark in the world are headed?

Sioux Falls has been named the No. 1 place for businesses and careers by Forbes magazine for five years running, so it may be no wonder that Mark Griffin and his team at Lewis Drug began noticing some subtle changes among their customer base a few years ago—more moms with kids in tow were walking their aisles.

Accordingly, Lewis Drug, which celebrates its 65th anniversary in February, earlier this month kicked off a new ad campaign targeting moms new to the area—a campaign that, for the first time, features some of Lewis’ homegrown pharmacists—complete with a new slogan, new store signage and even new uniforms for Lewis Drug associates. “We’ve got several new pharmacist [television] spots featuring our own pharmacists, human interest stories,” said Griffin, president and chief executive officer of Lewis Drug.

“We need to keep reinventing ourselves and keep our foundation fresh,” he said. “We’re targeting 25-to 45-year-old women. We found through research that the influx of younger people into our markets are moving into the Sioux Falls area familiar with national chains like Walgreens, but not as familiar with home-town pharmacies like Lewis. This has been about a year-and-a-half process starting with focus groups and surveying through store encounter groups. We basically went to the customers to find out what they thought of Lewis—what they liked and what we could do better.”

“A lot of our consumer base…are very loyal pharmacy customers, but we have a lot more to offer than your traditional drug store,” added Bob Meyer, Lewis general merchandise manager. Some of the in-store merchandising changes designed to entice mom include an enhanced infant and baby department and a change in focus in the sporting goods department from hunting and fishing to youth-oriented sporting goods—T-ball, baseball and soccer, for example.

Gone will be the Lewis slogan “the store next door,” replaced with a new slogan “feel good find” that emphasizes the bargain-hunting experience customers might find at Lewis Drug. Lewis Drug’s footprint reaches into the 40,000-square-foot range across much of its store base, and with that extra square footage is included a lot of categories typical of a department store—an extended lawn and garden offering, furniture and clothing.

The new campaign also will resurrect a Lewis slogan from the past—“Lewis. Your first stop.”

Television spots will appear throughout the day—morning talk shows, daytime soaps, evening news and even primetime. “But there also is some primetime cable…all the female-friendly channels, as well as primetime beginning the end of October through Christmas on network,” Meyer said, “where they have local breaks for shows like ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ or ‘Survivor.’”

With an estimated 148,000 residents now, Sioux Falls Development Foundation predicts an influx of 10,000 more residents by the end of the decade.

Lawrence & Schiller advertising agency is assisting with the research and the campaign.