Advertising creates branding for the emerging market of artisan cereals

Artisan Cereals are flooding the niche cereal shelf space and are becoming a popular choice for not only breakfast but also snacks and other meals. With so many existing cereals already widely recognized and so well renowned, Gourmet Ads is here to help create branding and help reach out to this relatively newer market of consumers.

Although kids’ cereals might appeal to the younger generation, parents all over the world are well aware of the unhealthy ingredient that some of these cereals contain. With the increase in awareness of living a healthy lifestyle, advertisers can now capitalize on the fact that consumers want to be health wise.

Artisan cereals are an emerging trend in the cereal market and instead of being mass produced and churned out of multiple factories, artisan cereals have a great image for being natural and organic and are produced in small batches. This ‘handcrafted’ image is a great way to target customers. Consumers love to feel important and by emphasising the fact that the artisan cereals have been specifically created for them, advertising the cereal will make them feel more significant, not just another customer, but an individual.

Artisan cereals companies are usually small to medium in size, and although their products might find space on the shelves in supermarkets, their branding often needs to be increased to raise awareness of their range of products on offer and to reach a wider audience.

Gourmet Ads can help companies producing artisan cereals reach the common grocery buyer

Even for small companies, web sales are very important. After all, large cereal companies all started off as small businesses once too! Many food web retailers are now featuring artisan cereals companies on their website. The products that these companies offer creates a very wholesome image for any site so the organic and natural aspect of the product can also reflect on the hosting website itself as well. The variety of flavours of artisan cereals available is also definitely going to appeal to those who like a mixture of tastes at breakfast.

By using Gourmet Ads to create advertising campaigns to promote artisan cereals, you can not only increase the popularity of your company (no matter how small it is), but you can also raise brand awareness too.

Using Gourmet Ads to advertise artisan cereals can educate consumers as to the type of product that artisan cereal is. By increasing brand awareness online, you can boost sales and generate more revenue. By targeting the health-conscious masses and appealing to those who care about where their food is made, you can therefore get more loyal customers who like the fact that your ad campaigns for artisan cereals are targeted at them.

Advertising Artisan Cereals is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.

The rising popularity of Mobile Food Apps for Food and Groceries

With the rise in popularity of mobile applications aka ‘apps’, so comes the rise in popularity of mobile food apps used for grocery shopping and food. A relatively new way of advertising, mobile food apps when advertised by Gourmet Ads can not only help you reach your target audience, but can also help you increase sales too.

The use of mobile food apps is an emerging trend in a brand new market; instead of simply looking on the internet for recipes etc, customers now rely heavily on mobile food apps that deliver up-to-the-minute updates of what’s hot. The apps are mainly increasing in popularity as more and more people begin to buy smartphones, iPads, other tablets and various other mobile devices.

For all consumers who hate their grocery shopping or are often at a loss for what to buy, mobile food apps are ideal. Mobile apps are now a hot trend, and to make the most of this new advertising method, advertisers can use Gourmet Ads as a platform to create a loyal following of app fans.

Often, advertisers find that making their apps well known is half the struggle. By advertising your mobile food apps on Gourmet Ads’ network of sites, we can help create further visibility. Whether this is for quick meals, healthier options, cheap recipes or ‘How-To’ instructions, Gourmet Ads can help you reach your ideal consumer.

Mobile food apps are all about getting customers excited about food – offering them ‘secret recipes’ from their favorite restaurants for example are a great way of building a rapport and loyalty with your customers. The best thing about these apps for the consumer and the advertiser is that they are real time tools which are available literally at your fingertips – cool and convenient!

Once a consumer has your app on their smartphone/iPad etc, an icon will appear with your company’s logo. Having this constant reminder of your brand is also another great aspect of mobile apps.

Reach the right audience with advertising your Mobile Food Apps on Gourmet Ads

By using Gourmet Ads to advertise your mobile food apps, you know that you are reaching the right audience. The Gourmet Ads network has a lot of users, and the people that come to the sites are all interested in food. Advertising on a totally irrelevant site on the other hand, is less likely to get you the audience you would like.

As mobile food apps are seen as a very current trend, they are ideal for use by small companies. If you are a small company who really wants to stand out from the crowd, using apps to connect with your customers will not only educate them about your company, it will also increase brand awareness. Gourmet Ads is all about the exposure, so if you really want to get yourself well known within the food industry, use Gourmet Ads as your platform – not only will you be targeting specific audiences, you will also be able to keep that audience up to date through the use of mobile food apps.

Advertising Mobile Food Apps is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.

Advertising Trends for 2012 from Gourmet Ads

For the past 4 years, and as the year comes to a close, I’ve looked forward to the future trying to predict what the Advertising Trends for the year ahead will be. Looking back I think for the most part I’ve predicted the advertising trends rather well. That said I’ll be the first to say that we’ve got some predictions wrong, but for the most part I think I’ve been on the money. My advertising trend predictions are simply derived from what we as a company are seeing in-market.

So here are our Advertising Trends for 2012

1. Real Time Bidding Budgets to Increase
Real Time Bidding Budgets was something I predicted last year and again it’s my number 1 advertising trend prediction for 2012. Why? Well late in 2011, Gourmet Ads launched our private ad exchange called the Gourmet Ads Marketplace. Since then we’ve had an amazing response to real time bidding and if anything we’ve started to see many more advertisers start buying media like this. As the year came to a close, we spoke to all our major media buying partners and not one of them said that budgets were going backwards. Nearly all of them said they will have many more advertising clients in 2012.

2. Media Buying with Data
Just like Real Time Bidding, we also mentioned Data in last year’s advertising trends. In 2011 the buzz term by Q2 was DMP (data management platform), now if you believe everything you read in the digital press, DMPs will be no longer around in 2012. Then there is the debate of 1st Party Data vs 3rd Party Data and I’m not going anywhere near that.

Our prediction is that digital media buying using some sort of data will grow significantly in 2012. I think it’s the sole motivation for advertisers contemplating a move to real time bidding platforms, i.e. the fact they can pair the media buy up with data and then buy the impressions they actually want at scale. Once advertisers have developed a clear use of their own 1st Party Data sets and can begin to only buy the impressions they want we will see continued growth in data.

3. Mobile Advertising to Grow
During Q3 in 2011 we started seeing questions on both the advertiser and publisher sides regarding mobile advertising. We had advertisers asking about inventory and publishers asking about demand ( which is always great). When publishers in the food space are asking our publisher team about mobile advertising because their building an App or dedicated mobile site, then 2012 will be all about mobile. We saw during 2012 a number of supermarkets launch iPhone and Android apps which have been highly successful with consumers. See Woolworths in Australia which have a great mobile app. As a company we too have invested in mobile. Our development team is currently working on the RecipeBridge Mobile site which is scheduled to be launched in January 2012. Mobile content aside, I wonder if we’ll see better quality mobile advertising from advertisers in 2012. It does seem that text ads are still the main type of creative used on mobile devices.

4. Branded Recipes
During 2011 we saw a major advertising trend from food manufactures and some supermarkets seeking to integrate their branded recipes on our network publisher sites. I would say nearly every RFP we received requested some sort of recipe integration as part of the media plan. We believe this is only the beginning for Branded Recipes. Observing this trend, Gourmet Ads developed our own platform for branded recipes on RecipeBridge.com, where we add all the recipes of a brand into the RecipeBridge site. Then when people search for a recipe such as “fondant recipe” then brands with fondant recipes will be displayed alongside other recipe sites, where consumers can then click through to the brands website for the ingredients, cooking method and presentations.
Early in 2012, Gourmet Ads will be announcing the launch of our Brand Solutions on RecipeBridge to help brands get more exposure for their branded recipes to household grocery buyer.

5. Video Advertising
Video Advertising for the digital advertising industry in 2011 was huge. If you don’t think it was you’ve been on another planet. I recall sitting @ Digiday New York in November and watching the “State of the Industry on Digital Video” report and being amazed by nearly every statistic being presented. This is why I’m adding it as an Advertising Trend in 2012.

Why the huge recent growth in Video Advertising? There are a number of answers why. It’s so very similar to buying television and advertisers (and their advertising agencies) understand how to buy TV media. Engagement rates are consistently solid (notice I didn’t mention click through rates). Creative is rather standard now. Most video advertisers are using a 15 or 30 second pre roll video together with a 300×250 Companion Ad using either VAST or VPAID formats. We’ve also seen in 2011 more non linear advertising solutions come to market.

For Gourmet Ads, Video Advertising was the fastest growing section of our business in 2011. We’ve seen huge demand from advertisers and we don’t think this will subside anytime soon. We believe that video based revenue will increase significantly for the company over the next year or so. That said, there are still lots of challenges for video. Lack of quality video inventory is one. We’ve worked hard to build a large collection of Cooking Videos on Tastydays. The second is the technical requirements needed to setup a publisher to accept video pre roll ads. We have made some great progress with our own video hosting platform for publishers, but more education is required.

6. The 300×600 Ad Size
There is something to say for big things and the 300×600 is one the largest display ad sizes available with many calling it the “half page ad unit” Not only from a creative aspect is there lots of room to get the message across, but in our testing we’ve seen engagement rates from 3 to 10 times better than regular display sizes.
Over the past 6 months we’ve slowly started to see more advertisers ask for the 300×600 size and given the great performance of the unit, we believe that in 2012 will see more advertisers using this size.

7. Vertical Ad Networks will Continue to Grow
As I had predicted last year, there was plenty of consolidation across the digital advertising ecosystem. We saw video companies acquire other video advertising companies, we saw ad networks acquire other ad networks and major web portals continue buying investment that make sense them. What we didn’t see was any acquisitions of Vertical Ad Networks in 2012.
Many in the Digital Press predicted that Vertical Ad Networks will die a slow death, which really cracks me up. Gourmet Ads which just focus on Food Advertising are very much alive and kicking. We’ve seen amazing growth again this year and are looking forward to continued growth in 2012. I’m often talking to my peers at other vertical ad networks and all report solid growth and revenues. Gourmet Ads in 2011 strengthened our inventory by investing in RecipeBridge and I know other networks have been quietly acquiring more web properties and inventory which they can call their own.
So yes, I’m predicting that Vertical Networks will continue to grow in 2012.

7. CPG Brands to Increase Budgets

Again an advertising trend we mentioned last year and the year before. We saw a number of new advertisers in the CPG space in 2011 and we’re already seen new brands at major CPGs advertising for the first time. That said we would like all CPGs to start using online. In 2011 we started to see CPGs run longer campaigns, compare to previous years where they were just concentrating on Q4, then going dark for the rest of the year.

We have two predictions as an advertising trend in 2012, is that we’re going to see smaller to mid sized companies move to online in 2012 where they can easily compete with large FMCG / CPG companies, possibly more so on a localized / geo targeted basis.

8. Contextual Advertising for Food Advertisers 

Another advertising trend we’ve seen from food advertisers in 2011 is the request to advertise on pages where recipe content is closely related or is contextually relevant. We’re predicting this will continue into 2012 as some advertisers want to only reach the exact target each and every time.

An example of contextual advertising for foods would be say a seafood company running a campaign for salmon and they only wanted to advertise on pages where salmon was being mentioned. Pages might be smoked salmon recipes or grilled salmon recipes. Now this is relatively easy for a single site to provide this type of targeting and Gourmet Ads has a few sites where this is possible. We’re working on contextually being able to target against videos with pre roll video advertising. The challenge has always been one around how much inventory is there.

Rolling in 2012, we predict that companies will use Contextual Advertising for part of their media plan, it might be in two ways. 1. They will allocate 10-20% of the media plan’s budget to contextual to ensure the plan remains relevant, then use retargeting and then general run of food. 2. They will book a 6 or 12 month media plan to “own” the term. I.e. they will own “salmon recipes” in very much like a sponsorship type investment, changing the ad creative when required.

What do you think about my Advertising Trends 2012 Predictions ?

If you’re curious to see what I wrote in previous years they can be seen here ;
Advertising Trends 2011, Advertising Trends 2010, Advertising Trends 2009

Advertising Trends 2012 is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.

Advertising Frozen Vegetables to Household Grocery Buyers

The frozen vegetable market is growing and the debate of whether frozen vegetables are better than fresh still continues to be a hot topic amongst food lovers everywhere. It is the growth of the frozen vegetables market that makes this such a good time to capitalize on advertising these particular products.

So the Fresh vs. Frozen debate continues, and so does the fact that so many people’s opinions are split on the matter. By advertising frozen vegetables, you can explain to the consumers the great nutritious value that frozen products have over fresh. Frozen vegetables have to go through a process to ensure that their nutrients stay locked in, they are frozen as quickly as possible so that they remain rich with all vitamins and nutrients. Fresh vegetables on the other hand are picked before they are at maximum ripeness (which makes sense if tropical fruit has a way to travel before it hits our supermarket shelves). However, due to them being picked before they are ripe, fresh produce in fact contains fewer nutrients than frozen. This is a great angle to use when advertising frozen vegetables to consumers. There are a lot of very health-conscious people out there, and it can be your job to steer them toward your product with promises of great nutritional value.

By advertising frozen vegetables, you can put emphasis on the amount of money your consumers would be saving. Buying fresh produce and preparing it for a meal can be time consuming and very expensive, however with frozen vegetables, they are already prepared for you and only take minutes to steam or boil (although steaming is better for keeping the nutrients in the veggies!). When you boil your frozen vegetables, a lot of the vitamins are drained away when the water is, so explaining to your consumers the best way for keeping your vegetables nutritious and delicious is to steam them.

Frozen vegetables are a great way to add health and nutrition to the daily diet

Bags of mixed frozen vegetables are a great way to show your consumers that you understand that they like variety and are a great way to show how convenient eating healthily can be. Ad campaigns about ‘getting your five a day’ are everywhere and although it may not convert all consumers all at once, at least the seed has been planted in their minds about changing the way they eat.

Emphasising not only the health benefits but also the economic benefits of buying frozen vegetables could well have consumers coming round to your way of thinking. If you think about how much fresh produce gets thrown away after it rotting at the back of a cupboard, consumers would much rather have the easy option of removing a bag of frozen vegetables from the freezer and placing them back after use, it’s quick, easy, and means that the vegetables can be used weeks after purchase!

By advertising recipes using frozen vegetables, you can also create an excitement amongst your consumers about a new way of cooking – they will love how easy it all seems. The major players in the frozen vegetables market include companies like Birds Eye, Ardo and Heinz. You can join these massive names and promote your products too and become a part of the growing trend in selling and advertising frozen vegetables.

Advertising Frozen Vegetables is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.

Organic Foods Advertising is experiencing unprecedented growth

The Organic Foods industry is one that over the past few years has begun to grow at an immense rate. With so much health advice available to consumers, people are now more aware of the types of food they are putting in the bodies. It is with the growing worry of obesity and ingesting harmful pesticide residues that so many people are now compelled to do something about their health and start to buy foods that are organically grown and are good for them.

It is therefore this increased awareness of the goodness of organic foods that advertisers can capitalize on. Generally speaking, customers are more inclined to look at organic foods as a much healthier alternative to the products that they currently buy. Since the release of the movie ‘Food, Inc’ back in 2008 there has been a great surge in people wanting to change the way they eat and buy products from places where the food is humanely produced and has the most nutritious value. It is since the release of this documentary film that people have obviously become much more aware of the way the food industry works. The film has been a massive contributing factor in influencing the change in people’s buying habits, now with many people opting for organic food brands in the knowledge that they are better for them.

It is this consumer awareness that advertisers can now use to draw in consumers to buy organic foods. Organic food advertisements are more likely than ever to get a consumer reaction due to the public being more educated on the subject of organic foods – now more than ever.

Gourmet Ads network will create  brand awareness for your organic foods range

It is now that is a great time to educate your consumers with regards to organic foods, advertising and the organic food websites available out there to help them. Due to the customers’ eye being more drawn towards the word ‘organic’ than ever before, means that they not only search for organic foods, but also beverages as well. And with a vast range of organic wines now available for purchase, it is no wonder that their popularity has grown, after all, who doesn’t enjoy a good quality tipple?

When it comes to advertising organic foods, it is important to mention targeted advertising to organic markets and grocery stores. If you want to advertise a specific organic food brand, it is these places that will get your product noticed. Back in 2009, Waitrose had the right idea about joining forces with Duchy Originals, an organic foods company in Britain. By combining the two companies, awareness of the organic foods industry in Britain was raised and made much more accessible for consumers.

This is a great time for advertisers to make the most of the organic foods industry and capitalize on the publicity that organic products receive. With the advertising comes a keen consumer interest in becoming healthier people and therefore much happier. And of course, Gourmet Ads network of sites can put these organic foods right in front of the targeted consumers.

Organic Foods Advertising is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.

How are you Advertising Consumer Packaged Goods ?

Unlike other stores, the products sold by supermarkets and grocers are considered Consumer Packaged Goods, or CPGs.  Also known ac FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods outside of North America), these products are purchased frequently by customers, are inexpensive, and don’t require much purchase planning. For retailers, these are products that they sell in high volume; buy from large distribution networks, and for which there is a high stock turnover rate. Groceries are a perfect example of these goods, and the marketing rules that apply to these products are different from those of other, longer lasting goods.

Consumer Packaged Goods include everything from perishable goods (produce, meat, dairy) to staple items (dry cereal, noodles, canned food) and household products (paper towels, laundry detergent, etc). Manufacturers of these products understand the short shelf life of such products, and they are constantly aware of the need to get new products on the shelf. Manufacturers also understand that they are facing a high level of competition and that they need to support their products through advertising and promotion in order to influence consumer buying decisions. Consumer Packaged Goods generally have a relatively low profit margin per item, and so manufacturers rely on high volume sales in order to make a profit. Every sale counts, and the more loyal customers that a brand can generate, the more likely they are to see large profits.

Consumer Packaged Goods Advertising to Reach Consumers On Target

For these reasons, the key to successful sales of CPGs is creating a powerful brand identity that will ensure customers keep coming back to your product.  Creating a strong brand identity means that you have a loyal following of shoppers who turn to your brand again and again, even when it is not the least expensive or easiest to find. The changes in the economy have sent many customers on a search for cheaper food items, which is why creating a strong brand is more important than ever.  It also means that the traditional methods of reaching customers are no longer enough to build and maintain the loyal shopper following that keeps a brand profitable in the long run.

The most important tool for creating a strong brand in today’s market is the internet. Online advertising has become more valuable than any other type of advertising- market research consistently shows that today’s shoppers are turning to the internet for coupons, recipe ideas, and for information about products they are considering buying.  Whether you are a small brand that operates in a specific region or a large brand that is found in most supermarkets, Gourmet Ads can increase the number of consumers who see your product before they ever enter a store. Gourmet Ads offers CPG manufacturers the opportunity to market their products directly to the people who buy CPGs.  Our audience is made up of the primary household shoppers and food preparers, the very same people who regularly purchase CPGs  Gourmet Ads can help you manage your online advertising campaign to help put your ads in front of the right people.  Changes in the shopping habits of consumers have created an opportunity for manufacturers to build brand loyalty for Consumer Packaged Goods by developing a strong online presence that appeals to the needs of today’s shoppers.

Advertising Consumer Packaged Goods is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.

Advertising Cooking Classes is an ideal way to cross market products

Have you ever sat home and watched a cooking show or cooking classes with the same sense of awe that you watch science fiction? You think, that would be awesome, but I’m never going to be able to do it. For many devoted food television watchers, this is a pretty common experience.  The rapid growth in food-related television has fuelled an equal boom in the number of shoppers who have the desire to create food-TV worthy dishes, but who lack the confidence to do so. This trend is probably the biggest reason for the demand for cooking lessons that teach everything from sauces to soufflés. Consumers are looking for someone to show them how to make great meals at home, and there are a number of ways that retailers can step in to fill this void.

If you have been to a better quality cooking implement store such as Williams Sonoma, you have probably seen one of their cooking classes or cooking demonstrations. This is a tactic that has paid off so well for these stores that many smaller retailers are competing to offer the same experience to their customers. The great part about advertising this way is that it is cost effective, manageable, and an ideal way to cross market products. For example, a grocer could demonstrate a recipe that uses not only foods found in the store, but also cooking gadgets that the store may also sell. Or, local stores can team up, with kitchen stores offering discounts at local grocers, or by allowing chef-demonstrators from a local store to come into a grocer to try out a new recipe for shoppers. The possibilities of such cooking classes are endless, and can be used at grocers, book stores, kitchen specialty shops, department stores, and even trade shows.

Another way that retailers can take advantage of the growing interest in food and cooking lessons is to bring in new customers by offering lessons on food preparation and targeting food-television lovers. Customers who watch food television are often the primary shoppers in their household, so getting these shoppers in your door is a sure fire way to get them interested in what you have to offer. Take advantage of internet and traditional marketing tools to get the word out about your upcoming demonstration, and you’ll find that customers flock to your store to see what you have to offer. Just make sure you’re advertising to the right group of customers, and be prepared for a busy day!

Celebrity chefs providing cooking classes create a high loyalty among the customers

The elevation of TV Chefs to near-celebrity status can be a particularly useful tool for retailers. Whether you hire a celebrity chef to provide cooking lessons in your store or have a local chef teach students how to prepare a favorite celebrity dish, consumers love the idea of being able to learn from these high-power chefs. If you plan to offer cooking lessons, consider those that are centered on a particular chef (or group of chefs) to attract the loyal followers of these top cooks. You may also want to sponsor demonstrations given by a favorite chef in another location.

No matter how you choose to take advantage of consumers’ craving for culinary education, the effort is worthwhile due to the high level of loyalty that this inspires among your customers. Talk to your existing customers, and find out what they want to see. Once you are ready to hold a chef-cook event, make sure to spend some time marketing it to bring in the biggest number of shoppers. Cooking classes and demonstrations are surely the way to your “foodies’” hearts.

Advertising Cooking Classes is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.

Co-Branding Examples which have embraced this effective trend

We’ve written previously about Co-Branding Advertising, so we thought we’d support that blog with a few Co-Branding Examples.

There are many co-branding examples following this important advertising trend, and a number of companies have successfully employed the technique to promote their brand, build brand awareness, and attract new customers. If you have ever considered using this method, the following are five co branding examples that can show you how well the method works:

• Starbucks’ partnership with home-coffee company Tassimo has led to increased sales of Tassimo coffee and coffee makers by leveraging the power of the Starbucks brand. As with other co-branding examples, the partnership provides benefits to both companies. Starbucks is able to create a new product that increases total corporate revenues, and Tassimo maker Kraft improves product salience to their consumer.
• The GE Profile Refrigerator has partnered with Culligan to provide filtered water to consumers. The partnership is ideal because it is a direct response to the needs of the marketplace and consumers who spend millions annually on filtered water products. The partnership allows GE to leverage its own strengths (providing mid-range to high-end kitchen appliances) while providing Culligan with a new market for it’s replacement filters.
• Shoe giant Nike was one of the first companies to realize the value of co-branding, by pairing with beloved basketball star Michael Jordan in 1984 to create a line of shoes that remains one of the most popular in the industry.  Another benefit of co-branding is the ability for one company to introduce its products to followers of another brand – in this case, Nike was able to sell shoes simply because the Michael Jordan brand already had a loyal following that was willing to try anything the athlete endorsed.  The trend of athletes co-branding with food related businesses is still strong – George Foreman grills and Wheaties are just a few co-branding examples.
• Fast food companies are another one of the co-branding examples that shows how a partnership can work to bring in new customers.  For example, there are a number of fast food restaurants that now share the same physical space as well as advertising together.  Pizza Hut and Taco Bell are one example of how two seemingly disparate products can create a strong partnership. Chicken restaurant KFC has partnered with A&W soda to create joint restaurants that feature a traditional KFC menu combined with A&W brand beverages and ice cream.
• The trend of co-branding has also reached the cooking world, with pairings of favorite chefs and food and beverage manufacturers both large and small. For example, Naked Wines (founded by Rowan Gormley) has paired with “Naked Chef” Jamie Oliver to create a marketing plan that appeals to fans of the cooking show.  Cookware brands have also used co-branding examples to come up with marketing ideas, such as Paula Dean and Rachel Ray’s lines of cookware.

These Co-Branding Examples show the strong presence of co-branding in the market

There are many co branding examples that you may not have even noticed, but take a look around during your next trip to the grocery store.  Partnerships include Lay’s and KC Masterpiece, Coca Cola and Splenda, and Hershey’s chocolate in Betty Crocker cake mixes. These co-branding examples show that co-branding can help companies of all sizes, and you don’t have to limit yourself to products in your market, as companies such as Disney and McDonald’s or Nike and iPod prove.

Co-Branding Examples is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.

Co-Branding Advertising can be more effective than traditional advertising

There are some foods that just naturally go together- think of peanut butter and jelly, coffee and cream, or rum and Coke, and here comes the idea of co-branding advertising. While all of these foods are natural compliments to the other, very few of them are created by the same company.  That’s where the idea of co branding advertising can help you make the most of your advertising dollar. Co-branding advertising is a partnership between two companies or brands designed to mutually benefit both companies. Co-branding advertising is even more important than ever as companies vie for customer attention online as they hope to increase sales and improve brand recognition.  When co-branding advertising is used to its fullest potential, this form of advertising can be even more effective than traditional advertising methods.

The key to making co-branding advertising a success is to partner with the right company. The goal of co-branding advertising is to partner with another company that has a good reputation and strong brand recognition that also makes a logical pairing with your company. You should never attempt co-branding advertising with a company that competes with yours- instead, work with a company whose products compliment yours. In fact, you may even consider using co- branding advertising with one of the components of your product – one of the best known examples of co-branding advertising is a cola manufacturer who has partnered with an artificial sweetener company.

Co-branding advertising is not just for food companies

As with any type of advertising, co-branding advertising should be designed to help you bring in new customers. Many companies who have used co-branding advertising have chosen to create websites specifically dedicated to explaining how products can be used together. Other companies simply choose to launch campaigns that promote the products together.  Campaigns are often based around a particular season, which is a smart idea to bring in shoppers who are often looking for new food ideas for entertaining. For example, a three company team has launched a campaign aimed at summer entertaining that combines graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate which are marketed together for the purpose of making s’mores in the summertime during camping and outdoor cooking events. The options for food companies are endless- turkey and stuffing companies at Thanksgiving, wine and chocolate manufacturers at Valentine’s Day, or anything else that is used for entertaining.

Of course, the benefits of co-branding advertising aren’t just for food manufacturers. Supermarkets that team up with a local restaurant, beauty lines that market alongside vitamin manufacturers, and movie rental stores that team up with local pizza companies are all examples of co-branding advertising at work. Like any other marketing plan, co-branding advertising requires a comprehensive marketing scheme to ensure the best results.  Gourmet Ads can help by placing your online advertisements on our network of sites, helping you promote co branded recipe ideas, and showing your television commercials to our online audience. Our audience is made up of people who love to entertain, an ideal audience for co-branding advertising campaigns. Contact Gourmet Ads to find out how we can help you reach a new audience with your co-branding advertising campaign.

Co-Branding Advertising is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.

Targeting your advertising to Supermarket Shoppers directly

If you’re reading this blog, you already know that one of the most effective ways to market your product is by targeting advertising to supermarket shoppers directly.  Reaching supermarket shoppers, however, does take a little bit of experience and know-how to help you get the most bang for your advertising buck.  Essentially, all advertising programs fall into three categories- local, regional, and national campaigns.  Each one plays an important role in getting the word out to shoppers about your brand, and a good campaign will target all three audiences.  The following are the top ways to reach supermarket shoppers and get the word out about your brand:

• TV Advertising – Primarily used by large food manufacturers to reach a broad, national audience, television advertising remains one of the best ways to reach supermarket shoppers. While you do reach a large number of television viewers simply by airing your commercial, a truly effective campaign must take into account not only reaching viewers but giving them a reason to act- for example by visiting your website, printing out a coupon, or going to the supermarket to purchase your product.
• Newspaper Advertising – Coupon usage is at an all time high and many consumers still get their coupons from their local newspaper. If you have a new product that is being released in a certain area, newspaper advertising can be a way to target a regional audience that you may not be able to reach through other mediums.  Newspaper advertising can bring in more customers than even television advertising if it is done correctly.
• Outdoor Advertising – Outdoor advertising is another traditional method that is still effective in today’s market. Supermarket shoppers, like the rest of us, are spending more and more time in their cars, and outdoor advertising has become more sophisticated to appeal to these busy consumers.  While outdoor advertising primarily involves either traditional or electronic billboards, other media like travelling advertisements on buses or other exciting methods.
• Radio Advertising – With the increase in the amount of time that families spend in their cars, radio advertising is reaching a larger and more family-oriented audience than ever before.  Radio advertising reaches busy working moms and stay at home moms as they transport kids to school and activities.  Research shows that mothers are still the primary grocery shoppers and make the majority of decisions about meals, and so reaching these mothers through radio advertising is a smart way to market to a regional audience.
• Catalogue Advertising – Print advertising remains a smart way to appeal to customers even in the age of digital media. Specialty advertisements in catalogue allow you to reach a highly specific target audience that is likely to be interested in your product.
• Supermarket Loyalty Programs – Supermarket shoppers who use loyalty programs are more likely than other shoppers to purchase products from a particular store. You can take advantage of advertising directly to loyalty program users to encourage shoppers to purchase your product.
• Online Advertising – Shoppers are more web savvy than ever, and one of the best ways to bring new consumers to your product is by creating an online advertising campaign. There is a large amount of research dedicated to finding ways to catch the attention of supermarket shoppers online, and creative agencies can help you create advertisements that encourage customers to click through to your website.
• Email Advertising – Creating email advertisements that your customers will notice is a great way to ensure that your brand remains in front of supermarket shoppers  Not only can you create your own email advertisements, you can advertise within other newsletters to reach an even larger audience.
• In-Store/ POS Advertising – The best place to reach many customers is while they are still in the supermarket. In-store and point of sale advertising is one of the best and most cost effective ways to reach both new and repeat customers and encourage them to add your item to their cart.  There are a wide range of in-store advertising options, including print, grocery cart ads, in store coupons, in store radio advertisements, flyers, and more.

A combination of strategies work best when Advertising to Supermarket Shoppers

Advertising to supermarket shoppers is an effective tool in any brand’s marketing arsenal. Multiple campaigns and platforms can combine strategies to create a marketing plan that reaches a wide audience and increases sales. Gourmet Ads can help you choose the right digital advertising program for your brand, so that you can directly advertise to the supermarket shoppers.

Advertising to Supermarket Shoppers is a blog post from Gourmet Ads Food Advertising network, providing Display Advertising , Video Advertising and Supermarket Advertising solutions to reach the Grocery Buyer online.