Digital CPG Blog

Photo Credit: Artbyheather.

In a suprising bit of research, it seems young adults still seem to prefer offline offers to online. Mailed and printed deals that you can hold onto are taking a lead aganist digital coupon offers among those aged 18 to 34 by a rate of two to three times. Preferences for offline versus online included food, personal care and cleaning products; over-the-counter and prescription medications; and sensitive health products.

This may have something to do with that trust in online sources is dropping, with 25% saying online information can’t be trusted compared with 19% in 2008.

Have you had more success with printed or digital deal campaigns?

Johnson & Johnson launched their health channel on YouTube two years ago. And not even their director of video communication Rob Halper knew how successful it would be.

Since it’s launch, Johnson & Johnson videos have garnered more than 2.3 million upload views and nearly 2,800 subscribers, reports OnSense.

“People already are talking about us and our brands on social media. We might as well participate in the conversation,” the 15-year J&J veteran says. “In a way, we’re already out of control of the message.”

The videos average two to three minutes and “are produced in-house by J&J’s five-member video staff. Freelancers create the rest. The most popular three videos (of the channel’s 300-plus) address an array of topics: gastric bypass surgery, yoga for children, and a 40-second animation of how a coronary stent works.”

The average cost for each video? $5,000. Read more about Johnson & Johnson’s strategy here.

Photo Credit: Ocularinvasion.

Michelle Greer makes the obvious, but often left unsaid argument, that consumers don’t care about your brand. “You give them service, they give you money,” Greer argues. “The transaction has ended. They are under no obligation to fan you, friend you, or do anything beyond this.”

So what’s a brand to do?

Greer says that you’ll have to pony up the cash in terms of promotions and deals, exclusive content and over the top service, not to mention advertising your Facebook page around the web. In this case, your investment is probably worth it.

“According to this study on GigaOm, the average Facebook fan is worth $136.38, as fans spend an extra $71.84 more than non-fans, are 28 percent more likely to be repeat customers, and 41 percent more likely to recommend a brand to friends than non-fans,” Greer reports.

“For food and beverage manufacturers and retailers, it’s all about getting on the list,” said Ann Hanson, executive director of product development for NPD and author of a recent report on the topic.

“With so many purchasing decisions being made at home where meals are being planned and shopping lists assembled, it’s important to focus on the consumer at home before they leave for the store.”

While not explicitly stated, I’m guessing a good number of those consumers are comparing prices and researching products online before they leave for the store. Just another reason to integrate your offline and online marketing!

Loved this simple truth from E-Consultancy:

It’s important for marketing to be integrated online and offline because the consumer doesn’t distinguish between online or offline.

The customer doesn’t see which department produced the content/wrote the script/spoke to you last Tuesday. Or who should respond to their Facebook comment at 4:56am Sunday morning.

They just see a brand.

The most successful campaigns as of late have integrated between ad campaigns and social media outreach and content (think Old Spice).  Do you distinguish between your online and offline marketing efforts? Why or why not?

In looking at what makes the most impact through social media efforts, brands report that mobile makes a huge impact. Bringing your brand to the consumer through a mobile app such as an iPhone app or Android app is increasingly important as consumers bring their lives with them on smaller and smaller devices.

Facebook is also increasingly important, and both trends point to the value of meeting consumers on the platforms where they are already instead of trying to build a new one — unless you can build a very cool new platform.

In case you haven’t heard, Tide is getting into the dry cleaning business, while Mr. Clean is now vying for your car-washing business. Caitlin McCabe argues that such forays into the service industry from large brands are a result of of social media:

Social media has showed us the importance of having a story.  With television, you had 30 seconds to a minute to tell a story so we were conjuring up quick and simple stories for viewers.  After that, people went on their merry way.  With social media (and I’m not talking just online here, social media is really the way connecting is going on nowadays) there became a major emphasis on stories.  Even long stories like the Johnny Cash Project where people uploaded their Johnny Cash portrait to become part of an ever changing collective view of the man in black.  You can follow stories about how car companies come up with new designs or how clothing is chosen to become part of fashion shows.  The story is huge.

So what’s the story on a simple product from a major company that makes a billion products?

…from a marketing standpoint this makes sense as well because the brand will own the story from start to finish.  Mr. Clean doesn’t have to send video crews to some other car wash in order to do “behind the scenes car wash” videos, they can just film their own.  People can check in on Facebook and Foursquare to an actual location.  The addition of a location will undoubtedly boost their online buzz a million fold.

Will brick-and-mortar locations increase word of mouth and social media cred? How much will these initiatives strengthen the existing CPG brand? Could they dilute the brand as well?

Photo Credit: kitsu.

“Consumer-products makers continue to see shoppers stock up on necessities around payday, a sign that some of the frugal habits consumers picked up in the recession linger,” Anjali Corderio reports in the Wall Street Journal.

“The so-called ‘paycheck cycle’—where shoppers make purchases in tandem with salary checks or government payouts and then pull back on spending as they run out—became more prevalent at the height of the recession. But many consumers are stubbornly sticking to that buying pattern even as the economy improves,” Corderio reports, signaling that families are still feeling the pain even if the fog is lifting.

CPG brands will need to respond accordingly, and continue to focus on cost as a primary driver of sales. Doing this more creatively through targeted couponing, loyalty programs and exciting campaigns could find brands a new cadre of grateful consumers, however. Over time, consumers will respond to brands that are human and understand their day-to-day struggles financially and otherwise.

We’ve talked before about how customer service is no longer just your toll-free number. Such “traditional models of delivery are being replaced by a wider variety of channels and touch-points,” Jake Hird argues. That maens your marketing and PR efforts are intricately linked to customer service in a way they haven’t been before. If you aren’t looking at these two areas in the same breath, Hird suggests you ask yourself the following questions:

- What is your current customer service culture?

Start with excellence before you try to integrate it with new initiatives.

- Are your goals for customer service in line with your overall business objectives?

Customer service doesn’t provide that direct financial return, but it can feed sales positively. Evaluate who is championing your customer service and whether your approach is too much, too little or just right. Customers want service where they’re at, but don’t want to get confused.

- Where are your customers and what are they doing online?

Don’t put all your resources on Twitter if most of your customers are on Facebook. Easy.

- Can you keep customer service universal?

Everyone in your company represents your brand and even your non-customer facing departments can create internal conflicts or successes that bleed out to the general public. Rally your employees around the common goal.

That’s what Matt Owens argues in a recent E-Consultancy post. He aruges that the supremacy surrounding social media is creating a number of problems and calls out these key assumptions:

- Assuming social media is more influential than traditional media

We agree with Matt on this one – social media should be used in tandem with other marketing and advertising initiatives for full effect. Particularly the broadcast arena, which Owens argues is still alive and well.

- Social media is the best place to create brand awareness

I do think social media is a great place to create initial brand awareness through expediting word of mouth, but like Owens, I agree you must have a long-term plan to maintain your brand’s exposure. You can only be featured on the same blog so many times after all…

- The audience can be trusted to curate their own content

Owens argues that with more content than ever, it’s important to have editors and curators to build trust with your customers. We agree, but also took a different stance – don’t be afraid to let those customers create their own content either. Sometimes that’s even more powerful than organizing what’s already out there.

What do you think? Are we relying on social media too much to the detriment of other areas of marketing and advertising?