Vertical Entertainment Partnership Announcement

Alliance / Distribution Solutions announces physical media partnership with Vertical Entertainment.

Distribution Solutions, a division of Alliance Entertainment, is pleased to announce a physical media partnership with domestic distributor Vertical Entertainment.

Distribution Solutions will handle trade marketing, procurement, warehousing, inventory management, VMI systems, and management, returns processing, credit, and collections, reporting of Vertical physical sell-through releases in the US and Canada, and will work hand-in-hand with Vertical Partner Mitch Budin.

“Partnering with Vertical Entertainment is very exciting for us,” stated Distribution Solutions President, Ben Means. “They bring an impressive catalog of over 300 films that we look forward to putting on shelves to maximize the success of their physical releases.”

Notable films from Vertical include Out of Death (starring Bruce Willis), Joe Bell (starring Mark Wahlberg), Four Good Days (starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis), Capone (starring Tom Hardy, Linda Cardellini, and Matt Dillon), and Ava (starring Jessica Chastain and Colin Farrell).

“We are incredibly pleased to be collaborating with Distribution Solutions on our future projects,” said Mitch Budin, Partner at Vertical Entertainment. “Ben and the DS team have built a first-class organization and we look forward to working with them to further our footprint in the marketplace.”

The first physical Vertical releases distributed by Distribution Solutions will hit shelves on September 14, 2021.

About Vertical Entertainment

Vertical Entertainment is a global independent distributor that offers a unique combination of full-service marketing and sales services. Dedicated to providing highly effective and collaborative solutions, Vertical leverages unparalleled relationships to maximize revenue across all streams. The marketing and sales expertise from Vertical’s seasoned team gives content partners a wealth of experience minus the studio costs.

For more information, visit www.vert-ent.com

About Distribution Solutions

Distribution Solutions, a division of Alliance Entertainment, is the largest aggregator and downstream distributor of independent film labels in North America. We are a premier partner for home entertainment sales and distribution, with capabilities including Physical Distribution, Digital Sales/Delivery, and SVOD/Linear Licensing for over 60 content providers, including Mill Creek Entertainment, AMC Networks, and Cinedigm.

Distribution Solutions offers comprehensive in-house Post-Production Services, Consumer Marketing, Design Services, and Turnkey Operations Management—everything it takes to set our partners up for success.

For more information, visit www.ds.aent.com.

About Alliance Entertainment

Alliance Entertainment is the largest wholesale distributor of physical home entertainment consisting of audio and video software in the United States, as well as newly added video games, selling to mass merchant retail, brick and mortar stores, internet retailers, independent store owners offering vendor-managed or 3PL services.

With more than thirty years of distribution experience, Alliance Entertainment serves customers of every size, providing a robust suite of services to resellers and retailers worldwide.

Alliance Entertainment is a One-Stop solution for all entertainment product needs. As a solutions-based operation, Alliance Entertainment drives sales for companies with unparalleled selection and cost-efficient processing. Alliance Entertainment is headquartered in Sunrise, FL, with offices located throughout the U.S.

Visit http://www.aent.com for additional information on Alliance Entertainment.

For more information, please reach out to Allie Mosley, Publicist.

A+ Merchandising

This week, we’re focusing on maximizing consumer appeal on Amazon. Sweet, ubiquitous Amazon. A powerhouse in the online retail space, a hub for just about everything under the sun, Amazon is a behemoth in the retail space…with a seemingly endless parade of products. So many products, in fact, that “being there” just isn’t enough.

When a product is competing with millions of other similar items, it’s important to leverage every possible advantage.

How do we begin to make our partners’ products stand out? For this topic, we turn to our internal experts, Andrea Franco, Senior Account Manager, and Vera Martynets, Marketing Manager. Both are dedicated to our Amazon business and have put in countless hours setting up titles, managing inventory, and merchandising to appeal to consumers.

DS: Thanks for participating in this roundtable discussion! We’d like to focus today on one particular aspect of merchandising on Amazon: the A+ Page. For starters, what is an A+ page ?

AF: A+ pages are Amazon product pages that go beyond the basic product details and offer online customers more information about a release. They can include additional images and product features that otherwise would not be seen.

VM: Right, they allow you to add more descriptors to a product.

DS: More descriptors are important because…?

VM: With each additional image you get to program more keywords, which helps with the searchability of the product. More pictures = better appearance in search results.

*As you can see, this page lets consumers see exactly what the deluxe set includes!*

DS: Okay, from a ‘consumer appeal’ and ‘searchability’ perspective, totally makes sense. Any other benefits?

VM: Adding a good-looking A+ page can result in higher conversion rates, increased traffic, and increased sales.

AF: And it’s really a better way to engage the Amazon customer. An opportunity to tell them everything you want them to know about your release, like special features, Dove Approval rating, extensive cast. It’s a way to boost your release in search rankings without paying for sponsored ads. It’s also an opportunity to optimize for mobile customers.

*A closer look at Audrey, a documentary about this extraordinary actress, style icon and humanitarian.*

DS: So this enhanced page can work on whole lotta levels, got it. What is the cost to our label partners?

VM: Zero, nada, zilch!

AF: That’s right: NOTHING! This benefit adds value without costing a thin dime.

DS: Well, that’s great…so what do you need from label partners in order to create these awesome pages?

VM: Attractive synopsis, great stills. Photos showcasing talent, production value, storyline intrigue – anything that makes the movie look fantastic! And press reviews, critics’ shout-outs, awards…

AF: We call this EMC (Enhanced Marketing Content). The more photos the better, so I’ll add “beauty shots” of gift sets and talent headshots to Vera’s list. Oh – and expanded synopsis, special feature details. Detailing content by disc on multi-feature or box set products.

DS: Laughing a bit that we don’t escape this discussion without at least one new acronym…but what’s the dream scenario for EMC?

AF: The dream? At least one banner, lots of stills, full synopsis, and feature call-outs. That being said, a little bit can go a long way in making a polished, searchable product page that stands out from the crowd.

*Clear photos featuring recognizable talent and a grabby banner to top them off!*

DS: So, if I were to summarize our chat, I’d say key takeaways about the value of an A+ page are:

Increases searchability (stand out from the competition)
Adds consumer appeal (better sales tool)
100% customizable, based on available assets, no reason not to!

Thanks, Andrea and Vera. This has been a great discussion about the Amazon A+ page service we provide to our .com label partners Thank you both so much!

Readers, if you would like to learn more about our A+ page support and features, please reach out to us at studios@ds .aent.com for more information!

Easy as S-B-T

Not so long ago, retailers across our delightful nation started to discuss new trading terms for their home entertainment departments.

Quickly the “talk” turned to adoption across the marketplace. While whispers of “Scan Based Trading” were just beginning to buzz in the corridors and conference rooms of other distributors and studios, our team was already leading the charge to transition our labels into this new world as seamlessly as possible.

Distribution Solutions manages two dedicated fixtures in 329 Menards stores

But let’s back up. Not everyone even knows what we’re talking about. To appreciate this pivot fully, here’s the backstory: the home entertainment industry existed for decades under a model where the process was pretty much as follows:

(1) distributors pitched retail buyers,
(2) orders were placed by retailers for all those awesome DVD titles,
(3) goods were shipped to retail stores and warehouses by distributors, who then
(4) collected monies after an agreed-upon interval of time.

Most of these DVD/Blu-ray goods were expected/projected to go home with happy customers, with a certain unfortunate percentage destined to return to distribution warehouses eventually. In this model, a retailer’s resources were tied up in inventory, awaiting a sale.

The Scan Based Trading model represents a different approach entirely. With SBT, suppliers maintain the ownership of the inventory within the retailers’ stores or warehouses until the item is scanned at the point of sale. This reduces financial risk on behalf of the retailer, while literally, nothing looks different to the consumer in the store.

But what’s the impact on the supplier? We asked Pat McDonough, our SVP of Sales and here are his thoughts on the topic:

“The benefit of the SBT model is that it gives Distribution Solutions control of the space, which guarantees product placement for our label partners. It also allows us to make sure that the right product is in the right stores for the best sell-through.”
Pat McDonough, SVP Sales

As far as scope, Distribution Solutions currently trades on SBT terms with Target, Best Buy, FYE, Fred Meyer, and Bi-Mart. But that’s not all…

Distribution Solutions also manages SBT inventory within Dollar General (with permanent racks in 4,700 of their 17k stores!) and Menards (a value bin AND a dedicated 4’x6′ fixture).

Our team’s dedicated floor space and fixtures represent valuable opportunities for our team to curate re-sets that support the lifecycle planning of our partners’ content. Our relationships also allow us to think outside the box (and in-line sections) and place trays and other specialty POS displays to support key releases across these accounts.

To learn more about Scan Based Trading and Distribution Solutions, drop us a note at studios@ds.aent.com

Hello!

Distribution Solutions is excited to launch our new weekly newsletter, as we put the (pardon the slightly overused phrase) “dumpster fire” that was 2020 behind us and approach this new year with joyful enthusiasm.

Among our business goals for the new year is a commitment to shining a light on our capabilities and how we help create success for our partners. And what better way to do this than a ‘show & tell’ format!

Stay tuned for our brand-new weekly blog, containing what we like to think of as bite-sized case studies that will give readers a sense of our reach, expertise, and value in the industry.

If you’d like to know more about any topic or would like to set up a meeting with us, please email PR@aent.com.

We wish you a Happy New Year!