Trade Marketing & Brand Activation
Distribution gets you on the shelf. This is what gets you off it.
Your product is on the shelf. Your distributor has stock. Sales are flat. This is the most common failure mode in Indian retail — and the fix is almost never ‘better distribution.’ We build the trade marketing and local demand generation that turns shelf presence into sell-through.
Scope
What's included
Best for
Brands with distribution in place but flat sell-through in their target market.
- Trade marketing collateral — point-of-sale material, channel partner pitch decks, launch offers
- Local demand generation — on-ground activations, launch events, local media and influencer outreach
- Digital marketing — performance campaigns, local search and Maps presence, content
- Localization of brand story, packaging, and pricing for the target market
Activation Pillars
The 4 Pillars of Indian Retail Sell-Through
We combine physical store visibility with retailer commercial motivation to drive consumer trial and repeat velocity.
01
Point-of-Sale Merchandising (POSM)
Custom countertop units (CTUs), shelf strips, floor-standing display units (FSDUs), and window branding engineered to stand out in congested Indian retail stores.
02
Retailer & Trade Schemes
Structuring high-converting trade schemes (margins, volume rebates, festive buy-back guarantees) that incentivize shopkeepers to push your brand over entrenched competitors.
03
In-Store Promoter & Sampling Activations
Trained brand promoters deployed at high-footfall modern trade chains and high-density bazaar locations for live product demonstrations and consumer sampling.
04
Hyper-Local Geo-Targeted Demand Pull
Hyper-local Google Maps visibility, regional WhatsApp broadcast promotions, and geo-fenced social campaigns driving neighborhood footfall directly to stocked retail outlets.
What founders ask about this service
Straight answers about how this works in practice.
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What is trade marketing and why does it matter in India?Trade marketing is the set of activities that drive your product off the shelf at retail — point-of-sale material, launch offers, channel partner incentives, in-store activations, and local campaigns. In India's fragmented retail landscape, where kirana owners and regional distributors have enormous influence over what they push to consumers, trade marketing is often the difference between a product that sells and one that just sits in stock.
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Why is my product not selling even though I have distribution in India?Distribution puts the product in the channel; trade marketing creates demand for it. Common reasons for flat sell-through despite distribution are: no pull at retail (consumers don't know or ask for the product), poor shelf visibility, distributor and retailer not actively pushing the product (because there's no incentive), or misaligned pricing. SalesOrbit audits where the demand chain is breaking down and builds the trade marketing to fix it.
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What does a trade marketing plan typically include for a new market in India?A trade marketing plan for a new Indian market typically includes: point-of-sale display and branding, channel partner launch offer structures (margins, scheme, credit), local demand generation (on-ground activations, local influencer or media outreach), and retailer education (so they can pitch the product). SalesOrbit sizes the plan to your market and budget — not a one-size-fits-all agency template.
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How do I improve sell-through for my brand in Indian retail?Improving sell-through requires addressing the pull side (consumer awareness and demand), the push side (retailer and distributor incentives and servicing), and availability (making sure the product is in stock at the right outlets). SalesOrbit combines trade marketing activation with field execution — so the same team that runs your promotions ensures your shelves are stocked and your retailers are serviced.
Make the shelf work harder.
We’ll audit where demand is breaking down in your market and build the trade marketing plan to fix it.
Keep exploring
You've read this far. You probably have a market in mind.
Let’s talk about it — no pitch deck, just an honest conversation about what it would actually take.