Sara Lee Drives Brand Growth
By Leveraging Shopper Insights
By John Karolefski
Shopper insights have been on the radar screen of most CPG companies for several years.
But being aware of the wants, needs and motivations of shoppers is only the first step on the long road to success. Acting decisively on that information remains the key.
That’s the roadmap used by Sara Lee which credits its insights culture for building brands
such as Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm and Ballpark. This carefully-nurtured culture ensures
that strategies and marketing initiatives are grounded in consumer and shopper observation and feedback.
“Consumer and shopper insights drive strategies,” said Philippe Schaillee, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Sara Lee North America. “They drive our initiatives, and they drive all of our decisions. We consistently ask the ‘why’ question. If we cannot answer the ‘why’ question, we have to go back to the drawing board. We have to go back to the consumer. We have to go back to the shopper.”
Indeed, Schaillee said that his cross-functional teams need to see or hear from consumers in their normal consumer habitats. They need to observe consumers or shop along with them in a retail store.
He listed four critical pillars to the Sara Lee way of marketing:
- Be disciplined and prioritize resources against the right brands and categories in the portfolio
- Be extremely targeted in marketing
- Focus on incremental innovation
- Leverage category leadership platforms to simplify the shopping experience and drive meaningful category growth.
“There are tremendous benefits to properly assessing the potential and the role of each brand in our portfolio and maximizing the value of our portfolio,” Schaillee explained in a presentation recently in San Antonio at conference hosted by Symphony/IRI Group. He outlined how Sara Lee divides its brand portfolio into thee parts:
Strategic Investment Brands such as Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage and Hillshire Farm merit substantial investment because they have the greatest potential for growth.
Support & Grow Brands like Ballpark – potentially the next Strategic Investment brands – receive solid levels of investment. However, they don’t have the overall growth projections of the Strategic Investment brands.
Sustain Other brands in the portfolio have received lower investment, but posted sales growth for improved profitability.
“Jimmy Dean is a prime example of how compelling, differentiating insights, targeted marketing, a powerful sequence of innovation in products and packaging, and a collaborative category-centric approach with retailers can lead to tremendous, consistent growth,” he said. “In other words: insights, innovation, impact.”
He said Sara Lee for a long time defined the competitive set of its iconic brand as other breakfast sausage brands – and that market share was gained within that competitive set.
However, the “big revelation” came when studying the broader breakfast landscape.
“We learned that we only represent 0.7% of all breakfast occasions,” he said. “That was absurd! We finally understood that we had blindfolds on and that the opportunity was so
much larger.”
So Sara Lee studied the need states across the breakfast landscape which led to an insight to target the strongest opportunity for long term volume growth. That target consumer was the “Chaotic Compromiser.”
“This person juggles raising kids, tending to the household, and likely has an out-of-home job,” Schaillee said. “She is often already a Jimmy Dean consumer as well as the household’s primary shopper. This person has defaulted to frozen breakfast items because they are inexpensive, consistent, easy to prepare and frankly because her whole family likes them – especially the kids.
“But this leaves her dissatisfied,” he continued, “because she has two fundamental, unaddressed needs that go into her family’s breakfast. She really wants a breakfast that her family can afford, and she has a need for sustainable energy for herself and for her family. They want a breakfast that will last until lunch, not something that gives them an empty feeling in their stomach early on in the morning. That’s where Jimmy Dean comes in by providing a hot, protein-based breakfast.”
To set its marketing objectives, Sara Lee worked with the Symphony/IRI Group on such
topics as household penetration, buy rate, loyalty, and an aggressive but achievable timeline. In addition, telling the Chaotic Compromiser about the benefits of Jimmy Dean for her family was a priority. This was done via print, web, social media and in-store messaging and on-shelf coupons.
Schaillee explained that one final step was needed beyond a focus on insights, targets, messaging, and path to purchase. To continue to grow penetration, Sara Lee needed to address some key barriers that held some consumers back from purchasing Jimmy Dean brands.
“So over the last seven years, we have been able to drive sustainable growth through product innovation,” he said. “It doubled the size of our brands, and it transformed the category growth rates. You will see much more in the coming years from this brand from an innovation aspect.
“We determined consumers were looking for a convenient weekend breakfast experience,” he continued. “That’s how the Breakfast Bowls were born. We learned that some consumers craved really that hot, protein breakfast, but they were concerned about calories. No problem! That’s how the D-Lights came into the market.”
Beyond product innovation, new packaging and value proposition can radically change consumers’ consideration of brands and translate into a purchase, according to Schaillee.
“So we learned that more shoppers would buy our products if we would offer a four- and an eight-count package instead of a two- and a six-count,” he said. “That’s pretty straightforward, right? But to get to that, we had to test probably a hundred types of combinations with some proprietary ROI tools to really make sure that we would get to the right packaging combinations and the right price points.
“As we reinvented our Jimmy Dean sandwich line,” he went on to explain, “we introduced new products into the marketplace and conducted virtual store testing with one of our preferred partners. We wanted to ensure that we could partner with retailers to ensure category growth, not just add more products on the shelf. That’s what it’s all about.”
He said the overall frozen breakfast category benefited the most from allocating space,
adjusting product adjacencies, and reducing SKUs. Significant increases in facings for frozen protein breakfasts drove overall category improvement.
“Innovation in product, packaging and value proposition [led to] sustainable growth,” Schaillee summed up. “We know that because of the growth rates that we’ve seen over the last two and a half to three years in our business. And we drive category impact. We do that through great cooperation with our retail partners leveraging our category leadership platforms.”
Market Watch
ConAgra Foods Receives Ogilvy Award
For Excellence in Shopper Marketing
By Lynne Cooke
ConAgra Foods was awarded Gold, the top honor, from the Advertising Research Foundation David Ogilvy Awards for Excellence in Advertising Research for its Shopper Seasons research and activation. The research won in the Shopper Marketing category.
Shopper Seasons focuses on six seasons that consumers identified as having unique emotional and practical needs for their families. Stemming from research that showed 68% of moms feel that marketers don’t understand their needs, ConAgra Foods held one-on-one interviews and focus groups with a range of moms who encapsulate the brands’ core consumers. Six seasons were identified throughout the process – Post-Holiday, Spring, Summer, Back to School, October Fling and Holiday.
“We found that the same six seasons exist for moms across the country, but the emotions, needs and desires may vary,” said Danica Konetski, senior director of Shopper Insights for ConAgra Foods. “For example, the Back to School season may be a relief for pre-school moms and more stressful for elementary moms. By uncovering the emotional connections, we can find those ways in which brands like Orville Redenbacher’s or Hunt’s Snack Pack are most relevant to each mom.”
Using the research and insights, ConAgra Foods focused on the six seasons to build unique campaigns for its retail partners: grocery stores and other food outlets. Shopper Marketing programs focused on the Shopper Seasons have shown an average return-on-investment that is 30% higher than other ConAgra Foods Shopper Marketing programs.
“We've seen results in numbers, but we've also seen less quantifiable results from Shopper Seasons, including relationship building with our retail customers,” Konetski said. “Seasons has allowed us a seat at the table for more strategic, collaborative planning and opened up deeper sharing of insights and strategies.”
Named after advertising legend David Ogilvy, The ARF David Ogilvy Awards for Excellence in Advertising Research honor extraordinary and/or creative uses of research in the advertising development processes of research firms, advertising agencies, and advertisers. The winning campaigns provide a keen understanding of how research can be used to create powerful, profitable advertising campaigns.
Beating Winter Blues
While spring signals lighter and brighter days, a new survey of women 45 and older revealed that six of ten (61%) feel sluggish at least once a week, and slightly more (66%) attribute this to unhealthy eating. This feeling of sluggishness can be particularly prevalent during the months leading up to Daylight Savings Time, as winter conditions are often marked by heavier comfort foods and less frequent exercise.
According to the survey, fielded by Kellogg Company and Braun Research, women also attribute this wintertime sluggishness to other factors, including a lack of exercise (75%) and sitting for long periods of time (64%). However, two-thirds of those surveyed agreed that the key to overcoming winter-weather sluggishness is eating healthier foods.
Studies report that increasing fiber intake can result in consumers feeling lighter and more comfortable, as well as reduced fatigue. So, to help women feel renewed this spring the makers of All-Bran products are offering five refreshing, spring-inspired recipes that help get the body back on track to take advantage of the lighter and brighter days of spring: Crunchy Bananas with Greek Yogurt, Mac and Cheese, Cranberry Chicken Burgers, No-Bake Strawberry Granola Bars, and Baked Goat Cheese Salad.
Pay More for Green?
According to Mintel’s latest research on green living, the environment remains a concern for most Americans. More than one-third (35%) of survey respondents say they would pay more for “environmentally friendly” products.
“Given this increased interest in the environment over the past few years, nearly every segment of consumer products now offers a ‘green’ option for shoppers,” said Chris Haack, Mintel senior analyst. “Food and beverage and personal care are the two most mature categories and account for the majority of green products in the marketplace.”
After rapid sales growth of more than 24% from 2006-08, the natural and organic food and beverage category saw only slight growth in 2009 (1.8%) as the recession took its toll. Sales of green personal care products increased by 18% from 2006-08 and – similar to food and beverage – saw only a slight incline in 2009 (1.2%).
APRIL 2010
P&G Deploys ‘Holistic’ Approach
With New Focus on Path to Purchase
By Dan Alaimo
P&G has made a dramatic change in its approach to shopper marketing. The CPG giant has developed a comprehensive “Store Back” program that puts a laser focus on the shopper's path to purchase, and synergistically executes it from research insight to store-shelf purchase.
The ‘back’ in Store Back refers to how the company brings the in-store experience forward as the marketing team develops its ideas, briefs, communications, packaging and other merchandising tools in a “holistic” strategy, said Samantha Avivi, integrated communications manager, The Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati.
“It comes down to getting people to purchase – purchase for the first time, purchase for hundredth time. Every time we communicate with a consumer, we get them to want to buy a product. That’s the idea of Store Back: to get them to want to buy our brands. We begin with the end in mind,” Avivi said recently in a presentation at BLUR – Annual Integrated Marketing Conference of the Association for Integrated Marketing (formerly the Promotion Marketing Association), New York. The conference was held in Chicago.
As with all marketing programs at P&G, the primary reference point is the First Moment of Truth, or the first few seconds after a shopper sees the product on the store shelf, in which the company believes most buying decisions are made.
The first step in the Store Back process is “planning early – from the First Moment of Truth – to win big in the store. At P&G, we used to have this great system of writing TV briefs. We don’t write TV briefs anymore. We write briefs to win where it really matters, which is at the First Moment of Truth when consumers purchase. We need to make sure that we are thinking about the consumer early in the process,” she noted.
Previously, the company would start with a marketing idea that it would use to address consumers and, a few months before the initiative’s launch, it would consider in-store communications. Now, “we start with the end in mind. We make in-store a pillar of every communication, every initiative that we do now.”
The second key in Store Back is a strong communication idea, executed synergistically. “We believe one of the hardest places to communicate an idea is in-store,” Avivi said, comparing the media clutter at retail to “a torture test.”
The last key to this communication planning is to “win big back through the most influential contacts on the path to purchase.” That is, to close the sale at the various touch points the shopper encounters in-store.
“So it takes the path to purchase, it takes the First Moment of Truth, and it takes an idea, and it brings them all together. That’s what we see as Store Back thinking,” she added.
At P&G, it’s only a truly big idea if “you can say what it is and what it is not.” Store Back is not “all about the store, because if it is all about the store, that is not about holistic communication. Holistic communication is to get people to purchase every single time we talk about to them,” Avivi said.
It’s also not about “trashing” TV, she added. “TV has a big important role in our communications. So does in-store communication, so does digital communication, and it’s really about understanding what do we need to do on the path to purchase to get them to purchase the first time, and every time.”
In presenting a case study, Avivi showed how P&G saw stronger results than it would have otherwise.
For the Gain laundry detergent brand, the process started with a consumer insight the company already had: shoppers like to smell things, and in particular, they like the scent
of Gain.
“Knowing that insight, and knowing that it is so important to the First Moment of Truth, we then got a strong communication together” that invited shoppers to open the bottle to “fall in love” with Gain’s scent. The campaign idea of “love at first sniff” worked through all communications, and “every touch point on the path to purchase,” Avivi said.
Secondly, to execute synergistically, certain elements tied together through the entire initiative. For instance, the color green, images of the open bottle, and the “love at first sniff” tagline,
she noted. All this gave reluctant shoppers permission to open the bottle, a concept embraced by retailers.
Third, P&G planned back through the most influential contacts. “We talked about understanding what is in the consumer mindset at every step as she goes along this path to get her purchase of product and re-purchase. Is she aware of the product? When she is aware, does she feel like she is educated, does she understand why she would want this product over another product? When she is at shelf, are there new banners that are going to come up that she might not have thought about when she was just becoming aware of the product?”
So, Avivi concluded, Gain’s “journey” follows Store Back thinking: “We planned early to win big in-store; we had a strong communication idea that that was executed synergistically; and we had a communication plan that went back through the most influential thinking about the mindset on that path to purchase.” Declining to cite specifics, she added that “the results have been phenomenal. Business is stronger than ever. Trial was fantastic.”
Market Watch
Shopping Behavior to Change due to Recession: Study
By Lynne Cooke
As a result of the economic downturn, retailers and suppliers will need to adapt to new consumer shopping behaviors to succeed in today’s evolved marketplace, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) and Retail Forward, a Kantar Retail company.
Titled The New Consumer Behavior Paradigm: Permanent or Fleeting?, the report states that shoppers will be more deliberate and purposeful in their spending, as conspicuous consumption will give way to more conscious or practical consumerism. In addition, rampant deal-seeking will be replaced by more purchase selectivity and the use of shopping techniques and tools discovered during the recession. Finally, the affluent segment of Generation X and the young Generation Y will lead spending in the recovery.
“The recession has tempered the rampant and excessive consumption, giving way to more mindful choices as shoppers increasingly seek out online and mobile coupons, comparison shopping sites, and loyalty and rewards programs,” said Lisa Feigen Dugan PricewaterhouseCoopers US retail and consumer practice leader. “As consumers become more invested with using these tools in their shopping experience, retailers will need to adapt their strategies to appeal to this new generation of consumers.”
Retailers need to make promotion and savings-related information more easily accessible across all shopper touch points, according to the report. As the availability of online resources and new mobile phone shopping apps has made it easier than ever for consumers to find a specific item, retailers and manufacturers should optimize their search engine and paid search vehicle activities.
Although shoppers will retain some of their recession-induced behaviors, the post-recession shopper will be characterized as purposeful, rather than panicked. The report noted that today’s consumer will practice a more reasoned and rational trading down with deal-seeking behaviors like coupons and comparison shopping remaining post-recession.
As the wants of shoppers are steadily reintroduced into the equation, trading-down behavior related to the choice of retailer, product, or brand will lose some traction in the recovery. Yet, the report predicted that private label brands will remain a significant factor due to their increasingly higher quality and low cost since retailers don’t have to advertise or promote them to the same degree as national brands.
Approximately one-fifth of consumers will continue to forgo buying items that seem too expensive, resulting in a contraction for the luxury and gourmet foods markets. The emergence of a more thoughtful approach to spending on luxury and non-discretionary goods means shoppers will place a premium on goods that have qualities of timeliness, usefulness,
and versatility.
“Although we’re starting to see signs of shoppers getting tired of trading down, they remain cognizant of today’s economic realities and need to balance that with personal desires to reward themselves,” said Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president at Kantar Retail. “Retailers and suppliers can take advantage of this ‘frugal fatigue’ and offer affordable do-it-yourself alternatives to pricier products. For example, an at-home substitute to an expensive spa treatment or restaurant-quality meal takeout options that replace dining out will resonate with consumers during the post-recession.”
In the past two recessions, Baby Boomers quickly led the recovery. However, this group has been hit hard by the recession at a point in life when their financial commitments loom large and retirement is on the horizon. Marketers will need to look to the smaller Gen X generation and large Gen Y population to fuel growth in the initial stages of the post-recession recovery. Among Gen X, one segment that will have a meaningful positive impact on spending is “up-market affluents” given their life stage needs and above-average spending potential.
“Retailers and suppliers must realize that there will not be a wholesale return to previous shopping patterns and behaviors,” said Feigen Dugal said. “To succeed during the recovery, they will need to recognize that some shopper segments will still be in a ‘recession’ shopping mode. They must make sure consumer wants are aligned with the marketplace and turn more ‘need to have’ desires into the ‘must have’ needs of Gen X and Gen Y shoppers.”
Safeway’s Haubert Joins VideoMining
David Haubert is the new Vice President of Business Development for VideoMining Corporation, the leading provider of in-store intelligence for shopper marketing. He will play an integral part in maximizing relationships with existing retailer partners, such as Safeway, establishing new partnerships, and growing custom analytics with key Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) partners.
Haubert joins VideoMining from the Marketing Strategies team at Safeway where he served
as Director, Manufacturer Collaboration for three years. While at Safeway, Haubert provided direction, structure, strategic vision and oversight for the retailer’s vendor partnership program, manufacturer-initiated in-store testing program and manufacturer use of loyalty shopper
card data.
“I am very excited to join VideoMining because they are pioneers in the field of in-store marketing intelligence with a wonderful and refreshing entrepreneurial spirit,” said Haubert. “I look forward to using my experience, skills and creativity to contribute to VideoMining’s continued success”.
Dr. Rajeev Sharma, Founder & CEO of VideoMining, said, “We are delighted to have David play a key role in our efforts to expand our retailer programs. His experience at Safeway as well as with leading manufacturers will help us build truly collaborative platforms.”
Hershey-Walgreens Pilot
The Hershey Co. and Walgreens have joined in a shopper marketing pilot that aspires to increase trips and purchases among one of the retailer’s key customer segments in two markets. The program will be run under the auspices of the Retail Commission on Shopper Marketing (RCSM). Pilot results will be incorporated in a final report due for release after the tests conclude this summer.
This initiative is among several to be conducted by members of the commission. Established by the In-Store Marketing Institute and consulting firm The Partnering Group, the RCSM was formed last year to establish a new industry standard for guiding the shopper marketing collaborative process.
New GMDC Research
What is the level of consumer interest in buying health and wellness items? What does health and wellness mean to consumers? What are the top health and wellness categories, products or services do consumers find most important?
The answers are in the latest research report from the Global Market Development Center (GMDC). The report is available to GMDC members in a 180-page downloadable Master Report and companion Executive Summary. The complete research results are available to members via the GMDC website. For Consumer Shopping Habits information, contact: Chris DePetris, Director of Wellness Programs – cdepetris@gmdc.org
Food Fear
During the past two years, 42% of Americans claimed to have gotten sick from something
they ate, according to 2,010 adults surveyed online between January 13 and 15 by
Harris Interactive. While some of this number may have contracted their illness elsewhere, the perception of a food-attributed illness may pose a challenge for food manufacturers
and suppliers.
Approximately 69% of those who attribute an illness to a food item think they know what made them sick. As a result, about one-quarter of those who indicate they became sick from something they ate have eliminated that food from their diet entirely. And another 15% indicate that they advised family, friends and colleagues not to eat that food item, increasing the impact of their individual experience.
Most of those surveyed feel safe eating commercially available food products. But a full 21% of respondents are either “extremely concerned” or “very concerned” that fresh foods are not safe to eat, followed by canned foods (15%), other packaged foods such as boxes, jars, and bags (14%) and frozen foods (13%).
