Branding the Grocery Shopping List
January 7, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Comments Off
It is interesting to note that consumers will almost always buy exactly what they put on their shopping list. If they write down flour, they are going to buy flour. What do you think will happen if they write Gold Medal Flour on their list? Getting the consumer to write your brand name on their shopping list almost guarantees they will buy your product instead of your competitors, but how do you get them to do that?
The simple answer is continued brand advertising overtime. This helps cement your brand with consumers, but where do you advertise? Having your advertisements running next to the online recipes that mention your product will certainly build brand awareness. Especially since the consumer is usually looking at related recipes while they are planning their trip to the grocery store.
Of course, you could even take that whole concept a step further by providing the recipes on your website where you could also provide the shopping list for that recipe complete with your products brand name. Think of the possibilities…Some consumers don’t write their shopping list down or maybe their printer is out of ink. What would happen if they could get that branded recipe or shopping list sent right to their cell phone by email or sms text?
How about a branded iPhone application that would allow the consumer to look up the recipe and download their shopping list right in the grocery store while they are trying to decide “what’s for dinner?” The possibilities are endless once you start thinking outside the box of conventional advertising and meet the consumer right where they live.
Technology is becoming more and more integrated with our lives and the consumer is using the internet and their cell phones to help them with just about everything including planning their meals and grocery shopping list. Getting your product listed by name on their shopping list means getting your product in their shopping cart. The best way to get on their shopping list is to advertise next to online recipes.
To learn more download a copy of our media kit.
Advertising Growers Associations
January 6, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Growers associations provide a great way for growers of produce like nuts, corn, grapes or sugar to come together and pool resources to attract new consumers for their products. There’s growers associations for nearly everything that’s grown, for example; corn growers, apple growers, sugar growers, wheat growers, strawberry growers, potato growers, blueberry growers and cranberry growers associations to name just a few.
Unfortunately, even with an association, money is a limited resource and must be spent wisely. Advertising online is ideal for growers associations because it allows the advertiser to reach a highly targeted audience with their message which means their advertising dollar goes further.
Television ads are expensive and may not necessarily reach the desired audience, but online advertising can be tailored to reach the consumers most likely to purchase your product. Advertising for your growers association online with Gourmet Ads allow you to target foodies and those looking for recipes online. These are the consumers who really love food and are always looking for new experiences and tastes when it comes to food. Foodies enjoy researching and preparing new recipes that they find online and your advertising can be placed conveniently next to these recipes to entice them with your offerings.
A growers association’s budget is always a little tight, but in these tough economic times it can be squeezed even tighter. Advertising is a necessity to keep your product in the forefront of the consumers mind when they reach the grocery store, but you don’t want to spend more than is necessary to accomplish this goal. It could be the difference between consumers buying frozen products or fresh produce.
Online advertising with Gourmet Ads is probably the most cost effective way to advertise for growers associations. Online advertising directly to your target audience with recipe ads allows you to reach as many consumers as is possible at a far more reasonable cost than most other forms of advertising. As your growers association searches for ways to spend less while reaching more consumers with your advertising message, you will definitely want to consider advertising with Gourmet Ads.
Request a copy of the Gourmet Ads Media Kit.
Advertising Consumer Packaged Goods
January 5, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Because consumer packaged goods (CPG) like breakfast cereals, detergents, tomato sauce and orange juice have a reality short lifespan in the household, they need to be replaced frequently. That is why it is vital that consumer packaged goods are continually advertised in order to influence and engage with new consumers as well as retaining existing consumers.
If you are looking to move more Consumer Packaged Goods you already know the importance of keeping your brand at the forefront of the customer’s mind when they enter the grocery store and face choosing from amongst a sea of competitors. But, are you aware that online advertising is fast becoming the best way to reach your target market right before they make that crucial decision? Many Consumer Packaged Goods manufacturers are becoming aware that the main grocery buyer is using the internet more and more and specifically to look up recipes to prepare for their families.
Advertising your Consumer Packaged Goods right next recipes online allows you to reach consumers right before they head out to the grocery store. These are also the same people who will share their product experiences with other people through forums and blog posts. If you are running a contest or advertising a coupon next to online recipes there is a good chance for your ad to go viral, with people posting a link to that recipe and ad all over the internet. Keep in mind that the main grocery buyer spends less time watching television and more time on their computer looking for ways to manage their lives more successfully, researching which products to buy and searching for recipes.
Gourmet Ads allows you to advertise right next to recipes as well as reach your target audience. This is why Gourmet Ads is the best choice for keeping your Consumer Packaged Goods at the top of consumer’s shopping lists. Download our media kit.
Your New Year’s Resolution
January 3, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
If you’re a marketer, advertiser or media buyer at an agency, then your new year’s resolution for 2009 needs to be about spending your advertising budget where you can measure the return on investment and advertise cost effectively. So what does this mean?
Well unlike all other advertising mediums, online advertising is the only medium which can provide clear metrics on the performance of your campaign. This means that you can quickly and accurately measure the return on investment, and increase or decrease the advertising budget as required to ensure performance.
For TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazine Outdoor Advertisers
If you don’t advertise online, then now is the time to start dipping your toe into some sort of online advertising. Online not only allows you to measure the return on investment, but compared to other mediums is not only cheaper, but much more cost effective to run your campaigns.
Online also allows you to target your user in ways that other mediums just can’t do. For example Gourmet Ads can target by Vertical, Geography (Geo Targeting), Time and day targeting, Bandwidth, Browser & Operating Systems, Language or even Frequency capping; allowing you to reach your target audience and completely control the conversation with your consumers.
New Year’s Resolution – Dip your toes into online advertising instead of spending it on advertising you can’t measure.
For Online Advertisers
If you are advertising online, where are you buying your advertising? Are you buying advertising in a vertical network which is related to your products or services? I.e. if you are selling gourmet foods or premium wines are you advertising on quality food sites or wine review sites? Or are you advertising on large portals which don’t really allow you target your audience?
New Year’s Resolution – begin advertising in vertical advertising networks online instead of large portals
So, no matter if you’re an existing online advertiser or new to online advertising, Gourmet Ads can help deliver your message online and on budget. Contact us for a digital media kit and we work with you to deliver your New Year’s Resolution in 2009.
Advertising Restaurant Gift Certificates
December 30, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
You may have noticed that selling restaurant gift certificates has been steadily growing in popularity over the past few years and has become quite competitive lately. There are so many competitors selling their restaurant gift certificates online and the competition is so fierce that many of them are now selling them at below face value. You may wonder why they would do that. The reason is simple, they want more customers to walk through their doors and restaurant gift certificates bring customers in.
So, how do they make money on restaurant gift certificates sold below their value? In two ways, first of all the majority of restaurant gift certificate recipients will go to the restaurant and spend more than the amount of the certificate when they come in. Next, if they don’t spend the whole amount they usually tuck it away somewhere and the restaurant keeps the difference. And finally, there are some people who just don’t bother redeeming the certificate at all, which still profits the restaurant. No matter which way it goes the restaurant gets more advertising and makes money in the end.
So, what is the best way to advertise restaurant gift certificates online? You want to reach the people who are most likely to give restaurant gift certificates—foodies. Foodies are the people who love great food and dining experiences. They love to partake of them, they love to talk about them and they love to share them with others. These people spend a great deal of their time online researching restaurants, new foods and recipes. Placing your ad for restaurant gift certificates right next to food articles and online recipes is the best way to reach this highly targeted audience and sell more restaurant gift certificates.
Reaching the Main Grocery Buyer
December 29, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
If you are selling grocery products you are probably well aware that successfully, reaching the household’s Main Grocery Buyer (MGB) or otherwise referred to as the primary grocery buyer has the greatest impact on sales of CPG (consumer packaged goods) or FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) products. Sometimes, however, this task can seem easier said than done. Where can you find the main grocery buyer and how can you influence their purchase decisions?
The latest research shows that the Main Grocery Buyer spends a lot of time online and can often be found researching new dishes and recipes online. Gourmet Ads allows you to target, influence and engage with the Main Grocery Buyer while they are research dishes and recipes online by placing your ad right next to these online recipes. Recipe ads are extremely effective because the Main Grocery Buyer tends to look for recipes while determining their shopping list right before heading to the grocery store. That puts your product at the top of their list and makes it likely to be one of the first items in their shopping cart when they reach the grocery store.
The recipe ads facilitated by Gourmet Ads are highly targeted and highly effective. There is no easier or more cost effective way to put your ads right in front of the people who are directly responsible for making the purchase decisions—the Main Grocery Buyer. Having your product in the forefront of the Main Grocery Buyer’s mind right at the moment they are making the purchase decision is the surest way to get your product into their grocery cart. Getting the best ROI means getting your ads to reach your target audience and getting as many of them to purchase your product as possible. Putting your advertisements right next to the recipes that contain your product for the Main Grocery Buyer to see right before heading to the grocery store is about as highly targeted and cost effective as you can get.
Advertising Grocery Coupons
December 28, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Times are tough these days and most people are looking for ways to save money wherever possible. This includes using more coupons for grocery purchases. Particularly in America, discount coupon use is at an all time high and is only likely to rise as the economy is predicted to get even worse.
This is great news for food companies that want to sell more product. No matter how bad the economy is, people will continue to buy food, in fact we’ve seen a recent increase in grocery sales as restaurant sales decrease. Consumers will continue to seek out new recipes online and there is a great opportunity to promote grocery discount coupons along side the recipes. As a food marketer, you couldn’t ask for a more targeted opportunity than to advertise your product coupon right next to these recipes. You can’t get more targeted than that.
When you place a coupon in your ad, you are virtually guaranteeing increased product sales. Manufacturer’s coupons that are distributed in newspapers usually result in a 1% redemption rate. Why so low? These coupons are not targeted. Senior citizens receive coupons for baby formula and young mothers receive coupons for Motor Oil.
Studies have shown that people who view online recipes usually actually use them and often view them right before heading to the grocery store. Not only are you getting a targeted market, you are getting them while they’re ripe!
Finally, the greatest benefit about advertising your Grocery Coupons with Gourmet Ads is the tracking and statistics. It’s so easy to track your results of the campaign and you can truly see how successful your marketing campaign has been in a very short period of time.
To give your coupon campaign a boost, contact Gourmet Ads and request a Digital Media Plan.
Advertising Trends for 2009
December 24, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Recently I sat down with Mark Pollard and during the discussion he pointed me to guest blog he did over at Talking Digital Blog called 9 trends to look out for in 2009. This is one of a few industry players who’ve written their opinions of 2009 and the trends. Make sure you check out them here.
Inspired by Mark and the team at Talking Digital Blog, I’ve written my Advertising Trends for 2009. Mine aren’t as wide reaching as the ones on Talking Digital. I’ve tried to keep them related to the space that Gourmet Ads works in (food, wine and beer advertising) as well as reducing the focus on the downturn in economy. So here are my 9 Advertising Trends for 2009;
1. TV Budgets going to Online
Advertising budgets allocated for TV & Print will finally begin to be allocated to online. Ok, so everyone says this from year to year, but 2009 will be the year. This will be mainly driven by company management who will be required to show a return on investment in advertising during the economic downturn. Stupid and willy nilly advertising spends that can’t be measured will be the first thrown out the window.
2. Testing (or smarter media buying)
This is something that’s we’ve seen as a company during the 4th Quarter in 2008. Savvy media buyers are not just buying huge media buys upfront for their clients. Media buyers have been buying small campaigns of say $5000 with a series of different creative to see what best performs on a network. Once they know what creative works with a given audience, they’ll do another media buy which they know will perform as they require. I think given the economic situation we’ll see more testing campaigns during 2009, especially for companies that are advertising online during 2009 for the first time.
3. FMCG & CPG will embrace online
FMCG & CPG companies have for a long time resisted moving their advertising online. This is because they’ve felt it’s been difficult to reach consumers. Research has shown that in economic downturns consumers tend to buy “no name” or “private label” products to save money. Companies like Kellogg’s who’ve been through a number of recessions actually increase their advertising to ensure that their brands are top of mind when consumers are in the supermarket or grocery aisles. With this in mind I think we’ll see companies companies in the food space like cereals, pastas, tinned foods etc as well as dishwasher and cleaning goods start to advertise online in 2009.
4. Companies Buying Direct
In an effort to save money, medium sized businesses will start buying their advertising directly and avoid advertising and media buying agencies. Even though the majority of Gourmet Ads advertising campaigns come from advertising agencies and will continue to be, I think during 2009 (particularly though the 3rd Quarter) we’ll begin to deal with more companies direct.
5. Advertising doing Discounts & Coupons
No brand wants to be known as a “discounter” but given the state of the economy brand advertisers will begin running advertising with discounts, offers and deals. Companies that need to track ROI will also begin using or offering online coupons for consumers to print for redemption in supermarkets and grocery stores. This wont be something that is restricted to CPG or FMCG products, we’ll see it across a range of industries.
6. Less creative more straight to the point advertising
There is a lot to be said for actually saying what the deal is with the online advertising twisting, rotating, spinning or rolling. Related to my 2nd point above about testing, I think you’ll see more advertising that just gets to the point and says the message.
7. More companies hiring Online Marketing Managers
As companies finally decided to embrace online they’ll begin to need internal experience to either work independently of agencies or work in tandem. We’ve already seen a number of out clients in the 4th Qtr hiring Online Marketing Managers or Interactive Managers to take the pressure off the marketing manger. Not only will Online Marketing Managers be responsible for media buying and planning, but they’ll be responsible for strategising and ensuring that their product is translated to online to drive brand awareness and sales.
8. More Vertical Ad Networks
Throughout the US there are Vertical Ad Networks covering nearly ever niche. During 2009 I believe there’ll be a number of Vertical Ad Networks just like the Gourmet Ads network pop up all over the world providing advertisers a smarter avenue to reach their target markets. We’ve already seen in Australia, AdTorque which is another Adify powered automotive network. I predict that travel, finance, business, IT and other niche areas of will become a focus. With this increase in Vertical Ad Networks, we’ll also see advertising agencies understand the difference between Vertical Advertising Networks and Horizontal Advertising Networks, something that some agencies battle to understand.
9. Google will begin to acquire vertical advertising networks
I don’t think I need to add any more comments here…
10. Gourmet Ads launches new verticals networks
As mentioned in our 2009 media kit, we’ll be launching three new verticals during 2009. These will in BBQ, Restaurants and Coffee.
In Market Advertising
December 17, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Although Gourmet Ads specifically services advertisers and publishers in America and Australia, we are very much these days a global vertical advertising network. In the past few days we’ve had enquires from Singapore, Vancouver, Auckland, London and San Paolo in Brazil.
One of the advantages of Gourmet Ads for advertisers is the ability to buy advertising in a foreign country where you export to. For example we recently developed an advertising media plan for an Australian winery which exports to over twelve countries. We were able to provide them advertising in every country they export to, allowing them to create brand awareness in multiple markets. The Gourmet Ads system offers the ability to run advertising concurrently with different languages, yet the same branding, messaging and CPM pricing.
So no matter if your in are one market or multiple markets, Gourmet Ads can cost effectively reach your target audience no matter where they are around the globe. If you’d like to receive a digital media plan reaching all the counties you export to, then contact us for more information.
No Budget! Just ROI
December 16, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Recently a prospective client said they had no budget for online advertising. I immediately thought he was trying to be misleading as this company’s advertisements appear on a number of sites on the internet. So I said to this to the company’s marketing manager that I’d seen there ads on sites on the internet and they said, we have no budget, just ROI. At the time their strategy wasn’t clear to me, but after learning and seeing it action, I now understand it backwards. Since that first conversation, I’ve heard this a number of times after talking with prospective clients and thought its worth sharing with you.
Most professionally run online stores know their conversion rates when a particular audience visits their store, ie a 5% conversion rate means that for every 100 people that visit the site, 5 actually make a purchase. Apart from conversion rates, most ecommerce managers know how many times consumers visit the online store before they purchase, how many pages they’ll look at, where they are located and how much they usually spend. Most of this intelligence can be sourced from various web analytic tools like Google Analytics or Web Trends as well as custom reports and metrics.
So after they know the kind of customer that spends, the challenge is how to find these consumers online, and then drive them to the store. Savvy advertisers will generally run a short trial campaign for say 2 – 4 weeks with a budget of say $5000 to see what kind of audience an advertiser like Gourmet Ads delivers and if they are actually buyers. Some channels drive traffic, but they don’t buy.
Once these savvy advertisers know the conversion rate, they can work out the return on investment (ROI) on the advertising costs. Once they’ve got a return on investment in mind, they’ll book ongoing advertising over multiple months, monitoring the return on investment and not the budget. As long as the sales continue these savvy advertisers purely monitor the sales and renew the advertising. The key here isn’t to get complacent; it’s essential to continually change the advertising message, branding and look and feel of the advertising as well as the deal to ensure that audiences continue to be engaged with the advertising.
Because the quality of the click in vertical advertising networks is much more qualified than horizontal networks, we can continue to drive the same levels of return on investment for advertisers over time. See a recent post titled Vertical Advertising Increases ROI.
If you’d like to learn more about the Gourmet Ads vertical advertising network, request a media kit.
