Notes and Thoughts on Grocery 2.0

In a recently launched campaign created by McCann Erickson, Dentyne Gum urges viewers to “Make face time” by replacing online social activities with personal interactions. The advertiser links kissing with instant messaging, hugging with accepting a friend request, whispering with leaving a voicemail and other commonplace activities with those personal ones we supposedly do less of because of our addiction to technology. I love this campaign for its ingenuity, creative copy and relevance. But there’s a catch.

Dentyne’s campaign centers on a website, www.makefacetime.com.

Wait a second…Dentyne created a brilliant campaign to remind its core teenage audience that personal interactions cannot be duplicated online, yet they are hoping that it is being online that forces their target to interact with the brand? Talk about irony.

In a New York Times article discussing the advertiser’s strategy, Craig Markus, Executive Vice President and Executive Creative Director at McCann Erickson, acknowledges the disconnect. “There was a real paradox in that we want to have an online presence, but wait a second, we’re telling people not to be online. That’s where we came up with the idea of the three-minute web site.”

The site, unveiled last Monday, opens with a warning that in three minutes, the site will shut down. Messaging appears telling readers, “When people are surfing the Web, they’re missing the best part of life – being together.”

But having a self-destructing website doesn’t mean much since it’s still a website. And one which Dentyne hopes many young adults will frequent.

Zeynep Tufeki, a sociologist at the University of Maryland, says “This is a false dichotomy.” Tufeki, who studies the way teenagers use technology to socialize, says her research shows that the exact people Dentyne wishes to target are most likely going online to increase social interaction, update personal information and connect with friends. “In fact, they’re checking out these sites in the hopes that sooner or later it will end up in a hug or kiss,” she says.

It seems as if Dentyne’s messaging should read, “When people are surfing the web, they’re getting ready to enjoy the best part of life – being together.”

What do you think?

Rachel

Recently we’ve seen signs that confirm what many of us have suspected for a long time: Wal-Mart is entering online grocery shopping. Their Beta grocery site is running and accessible from their homepage. The smooth, calculating and now more socially conscious Wal-Mart’s consistent message about being the low price leader rings true given the bleak economic headlines of today. What are you going to do about?

If you don’t have online grocery shopping, then now would be a good time to get in the game before your existing customers go to a competitor for perceived low cost convenience. If your chain does offer online grocery then this is the perfect time to leverage your position in the marketplace. Taking stock of your current position will help to offer you a good starting point to measure success.

There are two major areas of concentration- in store and online. First, in store customers need to see regular and consistent messaging in the store, weekly sales circular and website. Prominent signs in checkout lines and well marked online express order pickup parking spaces pay huge dividends as they show your customers that you offer an alternative to the time vortex of grocery shopping. This is important to keep your existing customers from shopping at your competitors because they weren’t aware of your online offerings.

The next step is to ramp up your presence online, and here is where you need MyWebGrocer to maximize your efforts. Your traditional print and in store marketing are great at reaching existing customers, but we can help you take your competitors customers. Optimizing your web page for better rank in search engine results, personalized offers, email marketing campaigns, and our customer acquisition program are all the tools we can put to use to drive more business to the bottom line.

Our grocery customers rely on our expertise to give them the digital edge. Interested in maximizing your ROI and building your customer base? Call us at 802.857.1200 to learn more.

As MyWebGrocer continues to grow, fall becomes “job fair” time. MyWebGrocer is looking forward to being a part of the VT 3.0 Tech Jam scheduled for this October at Champlain College. Developers come to the MyWebGrocer table! MyWebGrocer is continuing to add to new clients so they’ll need new employees to back up their additions.

For more information on the event please visit: http://www.vermont3.com/october08-exhibitors.html

and be sure to stop by the MyWebGrocer table for for some freebies…oh yeah and to drop off your resume!

Cheers!
Courtney

Economic downturn?

Not for several large consumer packaged goods companies, who have recently posted better-than-expected sales results across many major brands. Executives have credited cost-cutting as the reason many consumers are eating home more often, bringing lunch to work, and relying on convenient, easy to prepare meals in lieu of take-out.

Last quarter, General Mills saw a 14% increase in revenue. Betty Crocker dessert mixes, Gold Medal flour, Yoplait yogurt, Nature Valley and Fiber One snacks, and cereal and soup sales all grew by double digits. Campbell Soup’s sales increased by 13% while Kellogg Co.’s and Kraft Food’s sales rose 11% and 21%, respectively. “The fact that people are eating at home more is certainly a positive,” Kraft Foods CEO Irene Rosenfeld said.

FMI President Tim Hammonds said, “Consumers are eating at home more but are not showing a renewed interest in cooking, which is why a lot of products seeing the biggest bump are the easiest to prepare: cereal, sandwiches, ramen, and macaroni and cheese.” Kraft Macaroni & Cheese sales grew 20% last quarter and, according to Rosenfeld, Oscar Mayer deli meats “are on fire.”

Pasta maker Ronzoni focused on convenience when it introduced a Bistro line of microwaveable pasta. “We’ve [introduced] the idea of pasta as being consumed in an out-of-home setting,” said Kevin Blacker, brand manager at New World Pasta, which owns Ronzoni. Timing is everything as pasta sales tend to increase in a down economy, said Blacker. “You can buy a one- or two-pound box of pasta and have a meal for four people at one of the cheapest prices you can find anywhere.”

General Mills capitalized on the cost-cutting and convenience trends by boosting ad spending 22% for the first two quarters of 2008. “People are eating more meals at home today, and cereal is a quick, convenient option for them,” said Jeff Harmening, President of General Mills’ Big G Cereal.

In addition to General Mills, The Associated Press reports that, “many major food makers are promising boosts to their advertising in the new fiscal year or reporting their spending is up in the most recent one. Their ads seem to be hitting a variety of outlets…and the Internet – which marketers say helps them hone in on consumers and get the most bang for their advertising buck.”

H.J. Heinz Co. recently pledged to increase consumer marketing by 8 percent to 12 percent in its new fiscal year as part of a two-year growth plan. Hormel Foods Corporation is planning on boosting advertising spending and expanding the number of brands currently being advertised, said President and Chief Executive Jeffrey M. Ettinger.

Sara Lee is hoping a multi-million dollar campaign linking the Soft & Smooth bread brand with Disney’s popular “High School Musical” enterprise will reach a more targeted demographic, said Vice President of Sara Lee Fresh Bakery Tim Zimmer. The campaign features characters’ “favorite recipes” such as Taylor’s “Sweet as Honey” peanut butter sandwich that consumers can look up on the Internet.

Sara Lee’s approach is smart, said Domenick Celentano, Adjunct Business Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. “Mass marketing is sort of dead and really what companies are looking at very heavily is using the Internet to get to the narrower-focused consumer,” he said.

To view additional statistics, visit Advertising Age and BrandWeek.

Rachel

In a move that parallels General Motors’ decision earlier this year, Chrysler Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Meyer said yesterday that the auto manufacturer has dedicated 30% of its advertising budget to digital advertising.

While speaking at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Mixx conference in New York, she cited the auto industry’s economic woes as one of the reasons for the shift.

“Every dollar has to work 10 times as hard as it used to do,” Meyer said. “This is why [the shift to digital] is moving at an incredibly rapid pace. There’s no fat left in the system.”

The auto industry is not the only industry where economic concerns have forced advertisers to re-think ad spend. As the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month, “Spending on Internet advertising is climbing at a healthy clip — rising 20% in the U.S. in the second quarter.” But while some companies have gone online as a conservative move to maximize ad spend, others are using the medium to capitalize on consumer concerns in an uncertain economy.

Folgers recently announced a new campaign focusing on coffee aficionados who have turned to brewing at home in an effort to cut costs. “Given the economy, there is an opportunity to underscore what Folgers offers with people who may have been going out more frequently than they do today,” said Marnie Kain-Cacossa, Executive Vice President and Global Equity Director at Saatchi & Saatchi New York.

In additional to traditional media, web ads will focus on Folgers’ rich taste, enhanced by a new roasting process where the beans are fully dried before roasting. “People may be willing to forgo the high end but don’t want to have a bad cup of coffee either,” said coffee industry analyst and consultant Judy Ganes. “When people are trying to watch their wallets, they may be willing to give this a try.”

Consumers aren’t the only cost-conscious spenders looking to cut spending. As corporations like Chrysler shift budgets online, look for more in all industries to follow.

Rachel