Media | Distribution | Retail activation
Break into Chicago grocery like you already belong.
Ten of the busiest independent stores in the city. Ninety days. One program that puts your product in the path of discovery, puts media above it, puts samples in hands, and puts a number in front of the buyer.
- Chicago market
- Q1 2027 cycle
- Six seats
10
Chicago stores
60
Tastings per cycle
6 to 10
Brands per cycle
Day 90
Shelf decision
What a seat looks like
The whole program stands in one aisle.
The fixture, in the path.
A lit multi shelf end cap in the walkway, not a shelf tag in the middle of a category nobody browses.
The screen above it.
Header media running your message at the exact moment a shopper decides. Same aisle, same second.
The table beside it.
A staffed tasting station. People who try a product in a store buy it in that store, that day.
Getting on the shelf is easy. Staying is not.
You get a shelf, not a shopper.
Placement is the start of the work. Most brands treat it like the finish.
Nobody knows you are there.
A new item on a full shelf reads as noise. Shoppers walk past what they cannot name.
The buyer wants proof in weeks.
Units per store per week. That is the whole conversation. Miss it and the slot goes back.
Your media never touches the aisle.
Ads run somewhere. Sales happen here. The two rarely meet in the same report.
Six vendors, six invoices.
Broker, sampling crew, merchandiser, agency, influencer shop, analytics. Nobody owns the number.
You find out too late.
By the time the data arrives, the cycle is over and the reset is scheduled without you.
Thirty thousand items compete. Ten get the spotlight.
30,000+
Items in a full service grocery store. Every one of them is asking for the same three seconds of attention you are.
6 to 10
Brands in a Spotlight cycle. Small enough that sampling days compound, and small enough that we know your numbers by name.
Placement, media, samples, proof. One invoice.
Placement you can point at.
End cap, produce, and bakery positions across the roster. Path of discovery, not the bottom shelf.
Media at the moment of choice.
In-store screens above the display, plus local social and creator content pointed at those stores.
Sampling that converts.
Sixty tastings per cycle, staffed and scripted. Multi-brand days so traffic compounds.
One weekly number.
Friday report. Units, velocity, scans, and store notes. One team accountable for it.
Investment
$20,000 to $25,000 per brand, per cycle.
Covers placement, in-store media, sampling and activation, merchandising support, local creator content, and weekly reporting.
Six things happen at once. One team owns them.
Local influencers
Local activations
Distribution relationships
Velocity reports
Consumer feedback
Impressions that tie out
Usually six vendors. Here, one program by Golden Scope Partners.
Velocity is the only score the buyer reads.
Units per store, per week
Friday report
- Units moved, by store
- Velocity against the gate
- Sampling conversions
- QR scans and content reach
- Store manager notes
- What we change on Monday
QR scans are the digital layer. Units moved are the truth.
Ninety days in, you get a real answer.
The gate is set before launch, in writing. Hit it and the slot converts. Miss it and you keep every asset, every report, and every relationship we built.
You hit the gate and the slot converts to a permanent set.
You come close and we extend the cycle with a fixed plan.
You miss and you leave with the data, the content, and the truth.
A short list, on purpose. Fit beats volume.
This is for you if
- You make a shelf stable product: snacks, beverages, sauces and condiments, imports, or a top 10 grocery staple.
- You can supply ten Chicago stores for a full quarter.
- You want the buyer conversation, not another impressions deck.
- You are entering the Chicago market and want a real first proof point.
This is not for you if
- Your product needs refrigeration or freezing. Non perishable only.
- You need national distribution this quarter.
- You cannot hold inventory for ninety days.
- You want reach numbers with no sell-through attached.
Honest note. We turn brands away every cycle. Not because the product is weak, but because the timing, the supply, or the market is wrong. Saying so early is cheaper for everyone.
Everything a buyer asks, answered here.
Chicago, Q1 2027
Six to ten seats a cycle. One should be yours.
The fit call takes twenty minutes. You leave it knowing whether Chicago is the right first market for you, and we leave it knowing whether we can move your units.
Spotlight Shelf, a program by Golden Scope Partners
Chicago, Illinois