{"id":45152,"date":"2020-08-19T09:49:39","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T16:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content26.com\/?p=45152"},"modified":"2020-08-19T09:49:39","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T16:49:39","slug":"cpg-retailers-expand-online-grocery-advertising-platforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/987654321.space\/c26_dev\/blog\/cpg-retailers-expand-online-grocery-advertising-platforms\/","title":{"rendered":"CPG Retailers Expand Online Grocery Advertising Platforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way all Americans live their lives, and the legitimate fear of public spaces that has accompanied the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the way people buy food. In the first half of 2020, nearly half of all shoppers bought more groceries online<\/a>, causing sales in the category to increase by up to 40% this year. Brick-and-mortar retailers have had to step up their online presence<\/a>, and brands once focused only on Amazon have begun to branch out into other online grocery advertising options.<\/p>\n

In the online grocery scene, as it is in virtually every online segment, it\u2019s still Amazon versus the field<\/a>. Amazon Advertising is now the gold standard for advertising in ecommerce, with targeted ads delivered at the point of sale, directing potential customers to product pages with customizable enhanced content. But other CPG retailers have seen how effectively Amazon has implemented their advertising wing and are looking to replicate success for themselves with their own online grocery advertising platforms.<\/p>\n

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One thing that sets Amazon apart though, is that none of the other top online grocery sites offer the ability to create content through the site itself. Brands selling on Amazon can customize their basic and enhanced content<\/a> through a preexisting brand account used to sell their products, but anyone hoping to create unique product content on Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, or any other similar retailer must go through a syndicator like Syndigo<\/a> or Salsify<\/a>. There are benefits to using syndicators, of course: The same content is served to a large number of online retailers, so it reaches lots of potential customers, and if something needs to be changed, the content only needs to be updated once, and the edits appear across all channels. For grocery sites, syndication services are also widely used for disseminating core product information and nutritional facts.<\/p>\n

Unlike Amazon’s enhanced content, syndicated content isn\u2019t actually hosted on the product page, but instead is just a line of code that activates when a user scrolls down to it. The layout and functionality of syndicated content and Amazon A+ content are quite similar though, with both options offering bold imagery and customizable templates. Here’s an example of Campbell’s enhanced content syndicated to Target.com:<\/p>\n

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How is Online Grocery Advertising Changing?<\/h2>\n

Many of Amazon\u2019s biggest competitors in grocery are now attempting to implement their own version of Amazon Advertising catered to manufacturers selling on their sites. Here are the most significant newcomers to the online grocery advertising scene.<\/p>\n

Kroger Precision Marketing<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To create their self-service advertising platform, Kroger 84.51\u00b0 (the company\u2019s data analytics arm) partnered with Microsoft PromoteIQ on the back end to offer brands hard data for better transparency into their ad spend. The program<\/a> \u201cdives headfirst into Kroger’s customer-first strategy by providing you with precise, targeted communications that reward shoppers and drive incremental purchases.\u201d Kroger advertising solutions include reaching out to digitally-engaged customers on Kroger\u2019s online properties such as Kroger.com and email, and co-branded digital media campaigns across the web.<\/p>\n

In theory, these co-branded campaigns are more ambitious than anything brands can buy with Amazon Advertising. Kroger advertising claims to have developed personal relationships with more than 500 leading social influencers, with \u201cadded access to an additional army of 4,500+ micro-influencers when activations require an amplified voice and scale.\u201d Word of mouth, even when it is artificially concocted, can be a unique and powerful avenue for acquiring new and loyal customers.<\/p>\n

On the Kroger.com site however, it\u2019s hard to see exactly what advertising on their channel gets a brand outside of a small \u201cFeatured\u201d tag and preferred product placement.<\/p>\n

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Kroger contends<\/a> that the 84.51\u00b0 branch is a \u201cstrong performer\u201d with \u201cindustry-leading\u201d return-on-ad-spend. Perusing through their featured ads though, I was unable to find a single \u201cFeatured\u201d item with enhanced content, even though enhanced content is served to the site by multiple syndicators. A featured Tostitos product on Kroger.com only linked to sparse text, while the same product on Amazon had expanded A+ content (not especially good content<\/a>, but enhanced content nonetheless).<\/p>\n

Kroger:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Albertsons Performance Media<\/h3>\n

Partnered with Quotient as its platform tech provider, Albertsons<\/a> is attempting to leverage its retail loyalty card programs<\/a> into an advertising and attribution engine, as those already in the system can be tracked over time and retargeted online by advertising technology. With shopping information on hand for over 30 million verified users (Albertsons also own Safeway, Vonns, and many other stores) they have quite a bit of data to work with. For brands, their online grocery advertising platform focuses on creating omnichannel experiences that bridge ecommerce and brick-and-mortar, driven by real-time data.<\/p>\n

Their \u201cQuality Media Delivery\u201d options include:<\/p>\n