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In what I think is one of the most brilliant move marketing campaigns of the past few years, 7-Eleven has turned 11 of their stores into Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience store from the Simpsons. This is to promote the upcoming release of the Simpsons movie. 11 stores across the country have been outfitted in Kwik-E-Mart branding, complete with brands featured in the show that never actually existed before (Buzz Cola, Squishees, and KrustyOs cereal).

What makes this interesting is that 7-Eleven is putting up the bulk of the cost associated with this promotion. They’ve put out the money (“somewhere n the single millions”) to outfit their stores with the new look for the month. They believe this will show that they have a sense of humor about themselves and attract new customers.

It is a big gamble for the company, but the press they will generate from this will probably be great. The important thing is that they didn’t half-ass this – this is a company who took an idea and ran full force from it. The level of detail is impressive and will attract die-hard Simpsons fanatics, as well as casual viewers and non-fans alike.

The messageboard the No Homers Club has a thread with tons of photos of the interior and exterior of one of these converted locations while the Associated Press has more on the business end of things.

This weekend, the New York Times ran a pretty interesting piece examining how some supermarkets are changing to a one line for all registers approach, versus the traditional one line for each register. Called A Long Line for a Shorter Wait at the Supermarket, they explain:

By 7 p.m. on a weeknight, the lines at each of the four Whole Foods stores in Manhattan can be 50 deep, but they zip along faster than most lines with 10 shoppers.

Because people stand in the same line, waiting for a register to become available, there are no “slow” lines, delayed by a coupon-counting customer or languid cashier. And since Whole Foods charges premium prices for its organic fare, it can afford to staff dozens of registers, making the line move even faster.

This approach has worked well for banks for years and has been adopted by some retailers and department stores. I believe that it (usually) a great way to expedite the checkout process, as I hate when I get in a line and realize that a person is paying by check and making a dozen exchanges and has questions about all of the merchandise.

My local Old Navy usually maintains a single line for all registers – but I’m not sure if it is by Old Navy’s design or whether the customers who frequent the store have adopted the practice on their own. I’ve yet to see the same thing happen at any other Old Navy.

I know Kohl’s has their stores running a similar program during the holiday season and it works. It not only helps to create a (more) efficient checkout experience, but it also cuts down on the confusion that would be created from long lines for each register. On the busiest of busy days, I know it even cuts down on arguments between customers!

So, I support the single line process but I wonder how well it will translate to supermarkets. I can see some supermarkets adopting this policy, but on a whole, traditional food retailers will shy away from this innovation. Fact is that the majority of supermarkets aren’t designed for a system like this and a single line would eventually force customers down aisles and block merchandise. If a retailer redesigns their supermarket layout, with a single line concept in mind, they can get it to work. But the majority of supermarkets will never see this.