Well, it was over before it really even started. This week’s announcement that Nielsen has suspended the PRISM in-store data program was unexpected, but not terribly shocking. The goal of PRISM was to define generally accepted metrics for in-store marketing and merchandising along with syndicated data from a network of participating retailers. This program would have set the stage for a massive reallocation of marketing dollars from traditional media to in-store activities. CPG marketers, including Procter & Gamble were very excited about the prospects for PRISM and the in-store visibility it would finally provide to the industry.
That was until Walmart unceremoniously backed out of the program last month. This single move took the wind out of the sails for Nielsen’s ambitious plans. Getting this program off the ground without Walmart will be difficult at best, given that many manufacturers source up to 25% or more of volume through this single retailer.
So where does this leave an industry that desperately needs deeper in-store marketing and merchandising visibility? Continuing to throw dollars at legions of in-store merchandising audit teams doesn’t scale and isn’t cheap. Inferring in-store compliance from the patchwork of retail POS and syndicated market data won’t deliver a consistent, comprehensive set of causals to rely on.
Ultimately innovation will prevail and save the day. Perhaps an idea like Store Eyes, which I blogged about recently, will provide that right balance of rich store-level data in an affordable and scalable fashion. I sure hope someone capitalizes on this opportunity, and real soon.
On Feb 3, I will appear on a virtual panel hosted on Second Life titled “Positioning Your Trade Promotion Program for Economic Challenges” . The event and panel is organized by TPMA (Trade Promotion Management Associates) and will feature many of my industry peers from Oracle, SAP, Booz & Company, Information Resources and more.
This should be interesting and fun on many levels. TPMA is touting this as the first virtual event of its kind in the industry, so it’s a bit unclear right now how many folks will take the time to register and attend. But with corporate belt tightening and travel restrictions in full force, events like this make it easy for industry professionals to stay connected without ever leaving the office.
On a related note, Second Life and related virtual worlds have started to attract marketing investment from big brand advertisers including Coca Cola and Procter & Gamble. Use cases range from product concept testing, virtual focus groups and more. I’ll explore this marketing vehicle in a separate blog post as I learn more.
Display ads have worked reasonably well for CPG brands to reach an online audience. This ad format loosely emulates traditional TV media, showcases products well and offers great contextual placement. But the online media world has been waiting (somewhat impatiently) for CPG brands to funnel a piece of the ad budget to paid search. It took a few extra years to materialize, but I now see three compelling use cases for CPG brands to invest in the paid search ad format:
1. Generic category search - While display ads, word-of-mouth and in-store are the more common ways for consumers to discover new brands, online search presents its advantages. Here is a search for “frozen pizza”that shows Kashi and Totino’s brands at the top of the paid results.
2. Solution-oriented search - I view this as the killer app for CPG search investment because it’s an opportunity to reach new consumers during a very influential time. Consumers have problems, and brands have answers. For example a search for “quick and easy meals”returns paid results from Campbell Soup, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury. Note that the word “soup”, “brownies” or “cake” weren’t part of the search term, yet the paid results point to brands offering real solutions in those categories. The search results could easily point to a special offer or coupon for that brand to help drive more immediate trial and consumption.
3. Brand name search – There are two real use cases for investing in brand name search. The first is to influence a loyalist to consider trying a competitive brand — pretty much what Catalina is doing through their printed POS offers. In this example, a search for “eggo” returns a single paid search result for Pillsbury Toaster Strudels. The other use case for brand name search is to redirect traffic to a special promotion, event or loyalty program. The best example of this is found in Coca Cola’s successful loyalty program, MyCokeRewards. A search for “coke” returns a paid search listing for the MyCokeRewards program front and center.
Last fall, Brandweek ran a story outlining paid search adoption in the CPG industry. The story drew comments from a few friends and business associates in the space. I really like Kevin Doohan’s comments (note that Kevin recently left ConAgra for Red Bull) about search being akin to “the electricity in your house, it should always be on.” Just a few short years ago that view would have been a tougher sell, but the industry has come a long way fast.
