Grocery Advertising
December 2, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Grocery Advertising online is about reaching the main household grocery buyer ( or Mr Household Grocery Buyer) when they are in the decision making phase. Running adverting for your grocery store next to recipes where the main household grocery buyer is researching food ideas and making critical family meal planning is the key for any grocery advertising campaign.
In the past, grocery stores used newspapers, television, radio and magazines to advertise their grocery stores and weekly specials. The previous focus was on mass branding, now it’s much more about spending advertising budgets more efficiently in order to reach the right person in the household, opposed to everyone in the household which is what you get with mass brand advertising.
From our perspective more and more Grocery Stores are shifting their grocery advertising budgets to online networks such as Gourmet Ads. This shift in moving grocery advertising budgets to online has been fuelled by a combination of key reasons, such as;
- Cost efficiencies offered by online
- Ability to target on a geo targeting basis from national right down to Zip Code
- Time and Day Part targeting – advertise throughout the day and evening
- Rich media opportunities that online presents
So what kind of advertising are grocery stores undertaking? Well it varies greatly from grocery brand to grocery brand. Large national grocery brands usually have their own grocery advertising budgets, plus Co-op advertising budgets which means that can run wide reaching and impactful campaigns online. However smaller, more regional grocery brands will tend to rely heavily on geo targeting to only reach local customers. Some of the grocery advertising we’re running includes;
- Brand advertising campaigns
- Grocery Coupon based campaigns
- Grocery Loyalty Card campaigns
- Weekly Specials Campaigns
- Pre Roll Video Campaigns
So if you’re grocery store isn’t running grocery advertising online, now is the time to start with more and more consumers online it makes sense to allocate a proposition of your budget to online. By running advertising with Gourmet Ads you’re reaching a network dedicated to reaching the household grocery buyer. That’s all we do. Download our Media Kit or Request a Proposal from us.
Reaching Holiday Shoppers
October 29, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
The global financial crisis is still very real for many consumers which means like last year, this holiday period, a vast amount of consumers will be tracking down deals online. With consumer determined to limit their holiday spending some will print coupons online and take them to the store or supermarket, while others will buy online. Because the Gourmet Ads network features an audience of grocery buyers and household decision makers it’s essential to ensure that we are part of your holiday advertising media mix.
There is no doubt that year after year, the holiday season is the busiest time for online retailers, so if you’re not advertising during this period then you’re definitely missing out on sales. In order to reach holiday shopper we’d recommend running targeted campaigns near key holiday dates.
Apart from simply booking advertising campaigns, it’s essential to have key messages in your advertising creative which engage with consumers driving them to your online store. Some online retailers will use coupons like percentage based i.e 10% off the product or total order. While other online retailers during the holiday season will offer a credit or rebate towards their next purchase with them.
In terms of key delivery based messages to help convert customers, make sure you use phrases like “Free Shipping”, “Flat Rate Shipping” and “Overnight Shipping” which are familiar with consumers who order online. There is a great deal of evidence in the market place that suggests that free shipping can significantly help conversion rates online.
Finally, we’d suggest booking a variety of advertising units such as regular display, interstitials, expandable ad units, video and rich media. You might also be interested in Holiday Advertising blogs we’ve written in the past. Each have a different take on the event and these are focused to Q4 Holidays, see;
If you haven’t already booked your Holiday Advertising, then don’t delay as the Gourmet Ads network often books out during key holiday dates throughout the year. Download your copy of the Gourmet Ads Media Kit which includes information on other key event days throughout the year that you should be booking.
Super Bowl Advertising
October 27, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · 1 Comment
When you think of Super Bowl Advertising, you’ll probably immediately think of the advertising during the game, you know the ones that cost millions of dollars per 30 seconds. But the kind of super bowl advertising we’re talking about is the advertising to driver consumers to buy your food and beverage products prior the end of season game.
Each January the Super Bowl draws an enormous audience of viewers from right around the country, most at super bowl parties. So in order trigger Super Bowl party planning ideas with consumers undertaking a targeted Super Bowl Advertising campaign can provide great results. Because the Gourmet Ads network features an audience of grocery buyers and household decision makers it’s essential to ensure that we are part of your Super Bowl Advertising media mix.
So what companies can benefit from Super Bowl Advertising online? Well any companies that are associated with their products being served at Super Bowl Parties. With mostly a range finger food styled dishes being served at Super Bowl parties any ingredient or pre-made products which make dips, guacamole, chili, bbq ribs, nachos, spicy hot wings, sliders, hamburgers, hot dogs and quesadillas. Don’t forget chips, crisps, pop corn, crackers, cheese as well as beverages such as sodas, wines and beer which traditionally buy the million dollar TV advertising.
With the super bowl being played on the first Sunday in February, ideally your Super Bowl Advertising should commence in the last week of January which means you’ll have a two week campaign flight to drive consumer intent and engagement. Campaign ideas include using regular display advertising, expandable creative, interstitials, video and rich media. Campaign ideas which perform well include competitions and the ability to download Super Bowl coupons for product purchases.
It’s never too early to book your Super Bowl Advertising as this period tends to book up quickly as you can imagine. To book your two week Super Bowl Advertising campaign with Gourmet Ads, download our media kit or contact us with your campaign requirements.
Food is Recession Proof
May 19, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
The New York Times recently ran an article entitled Food Brands Compete to Stretch a Dollar which talked about how food brands are advertising their products during the recession to maintain market share. If you’re in the food or advertising business the article is a must read.
The article discusses how some more expensive brands are being left on the shelf, while cheaper private labels and store brands sales soar. To combat the trend of private label sales increasing, large food companies are vamping up their advertising spend to ensure that sales continue and they maintain market share. “shoppers eager to save money are trading down from full-price, brand-name fare to cheaper private labels and store brands. That means advertisers concerned about losing market share must make persuasive arguments about the value propositions of their wares”. Which in other words means things like 20% extra value, $2 per serve and snacks for $1 as examples of the messaging. They are designed to grab the attention of the main grocery buyer.
The article also mentions the decline of consumers’ dining out and discusses how companies such as Kraft and Nestlé, hope to capitalize on the opportunity by heavily marketing the perceived value of packaged foods. Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh meats is also doing this by proclaiming in their marketing how their meats taste “deli fresh. But without the deli counter price.” Other examples from Kraft include advertising campaigns for boxed dinners like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Velveeta Shells and Cheese, carrying the theme “Save. Share. Smile”; Kool-Aid, carrying the theme “More smiles per gallon”; and Kraft Singles cheese slices describes how a Singles cheeseburger can be made for less than a dollar.
Gourmet Ads has been running campaigns with creative like those discussed above; however we’ve seen a bigger trend in the use of coupons. I think 30% of the campaigns running today on our advertising network have some sort of coupon based creative in the messaging.
While many other industries slash advertising budgets, I think over the next 6 to 12 months we’ll see a great percentage of food companies heavily investing during this recession. Kellogg’s has always been a company which has heavily advertised during recessions and generally comes out of periods of decline with greater market share. Some of the food companies we’ve spoken to have increased their spend by up to 50% more then compared to last year.
If you’re looking at running a campaign aimed at reaching the main household grocery buyer and influencing them, then download a copy of our media kit or request a proposal for a digital media plan from us.
Schwans Foods Top Online Retailer
March 1, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
Every ecommerce site on the planet is trying to work out how to increase their ecommerce site’s conversation rates by tweaking the site here and there. Literally just a 1% increase in conversion rates can make a significant impact on revenue and profitability. We’ve previously written about this in a blog on Landing Pages and Conversion Rates. but we’ve never discussed the impact on conversion rates on an ecommerce site till now.
What prompted this blow was when I saw by surprise, that the Top Online Retailer by Conversion Rate for January 2009 was a food site – www.schwans.com. As you can see from the graph, Schwans Foods converted over 50% of their traffic to customers. To be considered, e-commerce sites must have had a minimum of 500K unique visitors during the month and was based on visitor conversion rates, not session conversion rates.
For those that don’t know Schwans Foods does home delivery and mail order of frozen foods and dairy products including ice creams, entrees, meats and desserts throughout American. I don’t know what Schwans Foods has done to increase their conversion rate, it’s probably not just one thing but a host of changes. It could even be promotional emails, coupons or online food advertising which has driven the sales.
If was the owner of an ecommerce site, I’d be taking a look over the Schwans foods website looking for some of the techniques which has helped them got to the number one Top Online Retailer by Conversion Rate for January 2009.
DayPart Targeting
February 19, 2009 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
When we work with advertisers and adverting agencies we always ensure they advertise on relevant sites and implement some sort of geo targeting. However depending on your advertising campaign at hand, targeting by the day and time might be an important targeting option to consider.
Daypart targeting is when the advertising campaign runs only on the days and times as defined on the insert order. By only delivering the campaign at relevant times of the day the campaign has maximum impact at the time and days that matter. Often we receive campaigns that are capped at say 5 impressions per day, but because we allow advertisers to purchase specific times during the day, advertisers max out the impressions knowing their target audience is on the site at the time.
DayPart Targeting can be used for both branding campaigns and direct response campaigns.
Some advertising campaigns ideal for DayPart Targeting;
- Breakfast Cereals – running in the mornings from 6am – 10am
- TV Shows – running the ads a few hours before the show is broadcast
- Weekend Sales – all day Friday when people are planning the weekend
- BBQ’s and Accessories – All day Friday, Saturday and Sunday
- Restaurant Coupons – afternoons encouraging dining out in the evening
- Wines – running in the afternoon between 4pm – 8pm each day
- Travel – on Fridays after people have had a tough week at work
To learn more about DayPart Targeting or any other of our campaign targeting options for your next advertising campaign, contact Gourmet Ads.
Advertising Trends for 2009
December 24, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · 2 Comments
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.
Online Coupons Thrive
December 12, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · Leave a Comment
This week, USA Today wrote an article on how food and consumer packaged goods companies are using online coupons to drive sales. An interesting fact from the article is that 38.6 million Americans will use online coupons this year, up 22% from the same period last year.
Articles like this one certainly support the fact is that online coupons do drive business and sales. For companies that actually have online coupons and are seeking more promotion, Gourmet Ads can provide an ideal platform, as we reach an audience of main grocery buyers in the food and wine verticals.
The article can be read at More consumers click on ‘print’ for online coupon savings.
Landing Pages and Conversion Rates
November 12, 2008 by Benjamin Christie · 2 Comments
Today we are going to take a moment to discuss the importance of landing pages and their effects on conversion rates. First of all, let’s go over the vocabulary: A landing page is the first page a customer sees when they click on your advertisement. Your conversion rate is the percentage of the viewers to you website that take a desired action which might be purchasing a product or signing up for your newsletter. Even those companies, who have no intention of selling their products directly online, such as breakfast cereals and ice cream manufacturers, need to have effective landing pages in order to make the most of their online marketing campaigns.
A landing page should usually not be the same as the company’s homepage in most cases. In order to prompt a viewer to action and achieve high conversion rates the website needs to be as specific as possible and make the desired action very clear. A great example of an effective use of landing pages to increase (and track) conversion rates would be a potato chip brand that places an ad. When a viewer clicks on the advertisement they are directed to a landing page all about that brand of potato chips. The call to action on the landing page encourages the viewer to “click here” to download a coupon for the potato chips. Since the person was interested in the potato chips when they clicked the ad, the conversion rates are likely to be quite high. Many people will likely download the coupon and buy the chips on their next shopping trip.
There are several ways for a company to judge the effectiveness of their landing pages and increase their conversion rates. One of the most effective ways is through the use of split testing. Split testing allows a company to create two or more different versions of landing pages and send a segment of their clicks to each one. Then they can view the conversion rates for each landing page version and choose the most effective one. The companies with the highest conversion rates make a habit of regularly split testing their landing pages and making various tweaks and adjustments, because the market is ever changing and there is no guarantee that what worked last month will still be as effective this month.
So how effective do you think your landing page is? Feel free to leave a comment below.
