brandcentric blog

Inmar recently published a press release highighting that 2009 saw year-over-year sequential growth in coupon redemption for the first time in 13 years.  This activity translates into 27% annual growth from 2008 with nearly 3.3 Billion coupons redeemed.  Pretty impressive statistics, but not at all suprising given the anemic global economy and cash-strapped consumers.

But the real news here is the contribution that digital coupons continue to deliver to this equation.  The numbers tell the story all too well:  Print coupon distribution via FSI accounted for 89% of total coupons in circulation and about half of redemptions…which leaves the balance to digital,  mobile and point-of-sale coupon delivery.  So roughly 10% of total coupon distribution (via digital and other means) drove roughly half of all redemptions. 

On a related note, just today Cellfire and Verizon announced a pretty cool distribution partnership.  It’s essentially a white label version of the Cellfire store, and will put digital coupons in front of a large swath of Verizon mobile users.

Given this very apparent shift to digital, it’s amazing that Valassis and other print media publishers are still able to command the insertion rates they do.  I wonder how long it will be before they dump their print FSI service and go all-in to digital delivery only.  Time will tell.

As an associate brand manager at ConAgra foods in late 1998, I remember pondering how digital media would eventually impact our overall consumer marketing mix.  With that thought, I did a quick landscape analysis taking note of media opportunities (Yahoo! and Excite at the time), plus the proliferation of direct-to-consumer grocers, including NetGrocer and Webvan.

While the needed scale was probably a few years out from that point (my boss at the time felt that our consumer wasn’t online and might never be online), the market has clearly evolved.  What a telling sign to see ConAgra Foods make a fairly significant  investment in digital media with Yahoo! as outlined in today’s press release.

Here’s a little sneak peek into what ConAgra will accomplish with Yahoo! — a fairly immersive consumer experience overall.

This is a great presentation on digital promotions and the role they play in the marketing mix for CPG brands.  The key takeaways here that I have also observed from own experience include:

1. Now more than ever, consumers are responsive to online promotions.  All the data I have seen supports this reality.

2. Integration, integration, integration — into the broader media plan, into mobile, via social media, onto packaging.  The digital promotion carries the conversation beyond the initial dialog.

3. Online promotions can be messy and wrought with legal complications.  Hire a good promotion attorney to keep you out of hot water.

Thanks to Team Digital for posting this to SlideShare.

Kraft has stepped up and launched what appears to be the CPG industry’s first consumer iPhone application called iFood Assistant.  This nifty little app provides iPhone users with a way to engage with Kraft and its portfolio of brands in a new and exciting way.  Through the iFood Assistant, consumers can search and retrieve recipe ideas, build a shopping list and even view instructional videos right from their iPhone.  Of course, all product shopping lists draw from the Kraft portfolio of brands and exclude competitors.

Hats off to Kraft for taking a stand and making this investment of time and energy.  According to recent research from NPD, the iPhone now ranks #2 in unit sales for smart phone devices (simply amazing after just 18 months since launch), so this investment makes sense.  At first pass, I see three ways that Kraft could leverage the iFood Assistant app to deliver an even richer consumer experience:

1. Contests and games- Expose all Kraft-branded interactive promotions, contests and games through the iFood Assistant application.  Promotions don’t need to be tied to those using the application, but this could present a great awareness channel for Kraft to reach digitally-inclined consumers.

2. Digital coupons- This has a logical fit and could be one of the killer-apps for the iFood Assistant.  Since consumers are already accessing recipes and tips through the application, offering brand-specific digital/printable coupons could be a great tie-in for the next shopping trip.  Extending this idea even further, Kraft could allow consumers to electronically deposit coupon value onto their Kroger-banner loyalty card accounts.

3. Trade promotions- Kraft is already directing iFood Assistant users to local grocers to fulfill their recipe shopping needs.  Taking this one step further, the local grocery store search results could also display retailers that are featuring Kraft brands, or offering a price promotion such as a buy-one/get-one or even a temporary price reduction.

I’ve become a big iPhone fan, and am happy to see Kraft take this pioneering step to better serve consumers.  I look forward to seeing how this application evolves over time.

I’ve become a fan of David Armano, author of the Logic + Emotion blog and VP, Creative / Design Evangelist at Critical Mass.  He has an uncanny ability to distill complex thoughts into really simple, informative visuals.

David recently posted a presentation (embedded above) on the social movement of personal brand builders who can influence large spheres of followers.  Think Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin as two prime examples.  This introduces some real opportunities in the CPG marketing community, as outspoken  individuals who have achieved “micro-celebrity” status online have the power to quickly and efficiently influence a defined market.

Perhaps the strategy for CPG folks is to cultivate relationships with the right micro-celebrities to help proliferate market test opportunities and evangelize new item intros to their vast networks.  I’m thinking Phil Lempert can play that role quite well.

A very interesting topic delivered through an easy-to-digest presentation.