New PG Website Chronicles 90 Years of Supermarket History
To celebrate 90 years of continuous publishing, Progressive Grocer and its Deerfield, Ill.-based parent company, Stagnito Media, have taken the wraps off a new online channel – 90.progressivegrocer.com – dedicated to honoring and preserving the rich history of the dynamic supermarket and food retailing industry.
PG’s new online microsite will be continually updated over the coming year with content from the archives of the magazine, as well as reader-submitted items, and presents a visual and interactive glimpse into the archives of the supermarket industry’s leading trade publication along with a retrospective of the evolution of the food retailing and CPG industries since PG’s genesis in 1922.
To showcase the progressive path of the retail food industry, the new site features an interactive, year-by-year timeline, which begins in 1920 and details important milestones and innovations along with context notes on the major economic, industrial and societal impacts of those decades.
The effect of mass communication – and its evolution – can be viewed on the site’s multimedia section, while visitors can also peruse insightful photos, vintage radio ads and nostalgic TV commercials that provide a first-hand time capsule of how supermarkets and CPG companies promoted their brands in the early days of print, radio and television advertising.
To mark its own evolution, the site serves as a home to digital versions of select issues of Progressive Grocer. At launch, the site contains a page-by-page digital reproduction of the first issue of PG, published in January 1922. The first sentence of the inaugural issue reads: “If there ever was a time when wholesalers and retailers should work together, that time is now – today.”
Also showcased on the new site is a gallery of industry innovators, whose visions provided the foundation for today’s dynamic grocery industry. Each month, the online channel will be further enhanced and populated with new historical figures on the 9 Decades of Leaders section, among which include John Hartford of A&P, The Kroger Co.’s Barney Kroger and Piggly Wiggly’s Clarence Saunders.
The Industry Evolution section further provides an in-depth view of the grocery industry’s development in the areas of store design; marketing and merchandising; and commercials, ads and promotions, along with decade-specific overviews of major events, including links to illustrative photos and videos.
PG’s 90th anniversary microsite will be continually updated throughout the next 12 months, adding new decades of exclusive content and insights.
To contribute historical stories, photos and videos for inclusion on the site, please e-mail them to [email protected]. For sponsorship opportunities, contact Jeff Friedman at [email protected]..