Audience Measurement Guest Post: My interview with Google: for CPG how important is digital in the path to purchase
This blog is co-posted with the Joel Rubenson on Market Research Blog. Rubenson is a partner for The Audience Measurement Event taking place this May 21-23, 2012, in Chicago, Illinois. The event is focused on the business value and actionability of understanding and translating consumer media consumption, the event features a robust agenda filled with real world-case studies and new, never before seen content by visionary thinkers and industry pioneers. When you register to join Joel for this program and mention AM12BLOG, you’ll receive 15% off the standard rate!
Visit the webpage to download the brochure and find out more about this year’s event.
This is the first of a three part interview with Catherine Roe, head of CPG for Google, leading up to the IIR Audience Measurement Event in Chicago May 21-23 where Catherine and I will both be speaking.
Joel: Catherine, tell us a little bit about your role at Google, what you do, and your responsibilities.
Catherine: I head up CPG. What that really means is that at Google we are verticalized according to certain sectors. …we look to the experts in a particular field to be able to provide that consultative approach to our advertisers as they continue to develop their marketing…especially as consumers are changing.
Joel: I noticed that that your talk at the upcoming IIR Audience Measurement Event is entitled: “Engaging Your Target Audience throughout the Path to Purchase.” … Can you define to the audience what you mean by “path to purchase” and bring the concept to life?
Catherine: what’s really changed and the reason for this “path to purchase” coming to light is there are so many new stimulations that interrupt today’s consumer before she ever makes a purchase decision, whether that be a purchase decision online or a purchase decision as to even which grocery store she’s going to go to.
The key piece here is that consumer habits have changed so much. We have so much access to new information because of the Web, because of our social mediums that we interact with on a daily basis. Our purchase decisions really are affected by a number of different stimuli and different mediums and it really has changed people’s approach to what they buy. So, a great deal of research is done ahead of time and as consumers have become more sophisticated in this research, it’s translated from big ticket items (such as a computer or a car or a cell phone or even a vacuum) all the way down to everyday products like a $3 bottle of shampoo. “Will it make my hair frizzy?” “How will it affect humidity since I’m going on a trip down to Mexico?”
So, those types of decisions are now being researched ahead of time whereas even as much as 3 or 4 years ago, those types of decisions were made right at store level. Everything that mattered was on the packaging and on the product right there. So, when we talk about the path to purchase, we really talk about all those “moments that matter” as we call them.
Joel: Since the great majority of CPG purchasing occurs in-store, how important is digital in the path to purchase?
Catherine: we know that searches on Google.com related to recipes are up 38% in 2011 over 2010. And it’s a huge number. It’s 7.8 billion recipe-related searches on Google.com.
Joel: Did you say: “billion” with a “b”?
Catherine: Yes. Just to give you a perspective, there are more searches around food and recipes than there is travel, beauty, and luxury. It is absolutely huge. To put it in perspective, the iPad or her computer or her phone has replaced her cookbook. So, she’s doing that research ahead of time on Google and then going to either a recipe site or a food site or whatever it might be to get the tips, to get the health information, to get the ingredients to get everything she needs. in a nutshell we know that the recipe searches and we know that searches are only going up.
Joel: What is the zero moment of truth or Z-MOT that Google has discovered?
Catherine: It is this activity that is done after there is a stimulus, whether it be a TV commercial or some type of offline media. In between that stimulus and in between the store shelf there’s this pre-research that she’s doing and that’s what we call the “zero moment of truth” because it happens before she gets to the shelf and even before she gets to the actual grocery store which is the first moment of truth. And then lastly, what we call the second moment of truth (which is when you got that product home) is “Did it meet your expectations?” …the feedback that we get from consumers is that zero moment is just as important as the other two moments within that cycle.
Next up, part two: On a scale of 0 to 10, how does Google rate CPG marketers and retailers in terms of digital sophistication?
Shopper Insights In Action 2012: The Event that Just Keeps Getting Bigger
Register by April 27 and Save an extra $300
The momentum surrounding Shopper Insights in Action 2012 is astounding. The energy is so extraordinarily powerful that we can already say – 2012 is the year that Shopper Insights in Action will make history.
The only thing rivaling our visionary keynotes, thought provoking speakers, brand new tracks, and jam-packed agenda is the attendees signed up-to-date.
With 52% more registrants including, 50% more retailers, 100% more CPGs and 200% more category leaders than last year already, we’re delighted to see the industry already responding in droves.
Thanks to your feedback and that of your peers, the 2012 agenda is not only fresh but captures the very essence of what keeps you up at night.
Join us to navigate The NEW, Integrated, Multi-Channel, Socially Interwoven Journey to Purchase:
Diversity of Insights from Big Box to Boutique Shops
This year, we take a closer look at emerging growth opportunities: what matters to multicultural, millennial and boomer shoppers, consumer revolution in China retail and through a revealing Global Economic Update, you’ll discover long-term implications to shifting shopper behavior and spend.
22 New Companies = New Perspectives
Exclusive Shopper Research, Cultural Anthropology & Global Trends
Embrace unconventional disciplines like neuroscience and anthropology and marry them with traditional approaches.
A Particular Focus on Social and Mobile Commerce
With the integration of so many touch points and blurring of channels in the digital and physical world, social and mobile commerce is going to forever change the way we look at and segment our shoppers.
More Global Perspectives
A full Symposia dedicated to Global Capabilities & Emerging Markets.
Find out what will remain center of the plate for value-minded consumers and the biggest opportunities to expand in China, France, India, Ukraine, Switzerland and more.
Our passion lies in the belief that it’s truly the people at the events that make them so fantastically valuable and our goal is to fill the room with the smartest, most passionate people whose stories will inspire an industry. Join us.
Sign up today to reserve your spot.
Registration Information:
- Online: www.shopperinsightsevent.com
- Email: register@iirusa.com
- Phone: 888.670.8200
Mention code to save an additional 15% off the standard rates: SHOPPER12BLOG
How Do Social Login & Sharing Affect eCommerce? An Infographic
This infographic from Monetatem observes: 40% of consumers PREFER to use social logins for creating accounts and 60% of shoppers say they use Facebook Connect most frequently. 50% or more of consumers say they use social networks to provide feedback. 60% of consumers go to social networking sites to read product reviews.
Keys to Enabling ROI Measurement in a Digitally, Connected World?
In a digital world where mobile is a lifestyle not a technology, we at Shopper Insights in Action recognize that social commerce is going to forever change the way we look at and segment our shoppers. This year pays particular attention to the digital space and segmentation as a focus area.
In an increasingly complex and intensely competitive environment where change and
uncertainty are the New Normal, understanding customer behavior and translating that strategically calls for mass collaboration of retailers, manufacturers and supplier and agency-side thought leaders.
At Shopper Insights in Action, that’s exactly what you’ll get. You’ll have the unique opportunity to learn from the most accomplished storytellers across disciplines, industries and expertise.
The 12th annual Shopper Insights in Action taking place July 18-20, 2012, in Chicago will offer 15 main stage keynote presenters, more than 80 speakers, and 5 brand new tracks covering Segmentation, Mobile and Social Commerce, ROI and Measurement, and Technology as a Research Tool and Shopping Tool.
In today’s Shopper360 Track Spotlight, we highlight the Shopper Insights in Action 2012 ROI & MEASUREMENT Track.
For more information on the Shopper Insight in Action event, download the brochure here: www.shopperinsightsevent.com. As a reader of this blog, when you register to join us and mention code SHOPPER12BLOG and receive a 15% discount off the standard rate!
Main Stage Keynote:
BILLY BEANE, General Manager, Oakland A’s and Subject of Moneyball
discusses objectivity that numbers can bring to the business world…Create Value
ROI & Measurement Sessions:
Trade Spending ROI: Maximizing the Organization’s Profitability
Kelley Peters, VP Integrated Insights & Strategy, POST FOODS
Mike Klein, Associate Director, Sales Analytics & Insights, POST FOODS
The Shopper’s Journey
David Laird, Research Director, B2B Insights, YAHOO!
Improving Conversion Using Member Insights
Dhiraj Rajaram, Founder, CEO & Chairman, MU SIGMA
Understanding the “Shopper Equity” of Your Brands
Mark Berry, Executive Vice President, Retail & Shopper Insights, IPSOS MARKETING
The New KPIs: From Transactional to Relational
Ned Kumar, Web Strategist, FEDEX SERVICES
Insights into Measuring the Walmart Multicultural Consumer
Sharonda Britton, Director of Marketing, African American and Asian, WALMART
LaNoir Washington, Senior Manager, Global Consumer Insights, WALMART
Deanna Canedo, Director of Marketing, Hispanic, WALMART
Main Stage Keynote:
SEAN BRUICH, Measurement & Monetization Analytics, Facebook unveils the new ROI tool that links in-store sales to social, mobile and traditional media…The New KPI’s
About the session: Over the course of the last 5 years, thousands of companies have increasingly looked to Facebook to help fulfill a variety of marketing objectives, yet, questions key to ROI measurement still loom large, particularly for our clients with offline sales outcomes.
Sean addresses three areas key to enabling ROI measurement in a digitally, connected world:
• Why cross platform, person-based audience measurement is crucial
• How earned media and social data can be successfully incorporated into marketing mix models
• Why we believe that massive scale, test/control approaches are crucial to decomposing success into best practices
See you in July!
Shopper Insights In Action 2012: Save $400 When You Register this Week
This year’s Shopper Insight in Action theme “the new, integrated multi-channel socially interwoven journey to purchase” is purposefully on point with what retailers and manufacturers are facing –the blurring of channels as the shopper experience becomes more holistic and increasingly more about capturing in the moment “mindset”.
Hot topics including analytics, neuroscience, segmentation, ethnography are all hugely advancing how well you can know your consumers and subsequently how much more you can deliver experiences that will encourage them to spend more, engage more and become more loyal.
This excitingly new environment calls for mass collaboration of the entire shopper-facing team. That’s why we created a conference agenda that speaks to every thread of the shopper journey from beginning to end. An event that’s reflective of evolving industry needs – this is your invitation to explore new opportunities as you embrace innovative ways to deliver more actionable insights than ever before.
Whether you are a shopper marketer, consumer researcher, category leader, retailer or manufacturer, we designed a comprehensive, cross-function agenda that addresses your specific challenges by sharing stories from the most accomplished retailers, manufacturers and thought leaders in this space.
No matter what your role is in the industry, there’s something for you at Shopper Insights In Action:
Register by March 23 and Save up to $400.
Mention code to save an additional 15% off the standard rates: SHOPPER12BLOG
Registration Information:
Online: www.shopperinsightsevent.com
Email: register@iirusa.com
Phone: 888.670.8200
What draws a person to a brand?
It’s clear that many companies aren’t properly engaging their market when it comes to new products. According to a recent article at Forbes, nine out of ten new products fail. But Buyology is a company looking to understand the minds of consumers more by conducting market research that looks into both the conscious and unconscious mind of the consumer. What they found was that the most appealing brand to consumers, both men and women, was Southwest. They pinpointed the fact that the brand lends itself to connecting to the consumer through providing affordable and accessable ways to make memories. It also connects with the customers on another level by highlighting their employees in their commercials as the actors.
Other brands that struck chords with both men and women were Dove and Google. Surprisingly, Bed Bath and Beyond ranked high for men as all of the gadgets and the clean layout. Dove, surprisingly for men, was identified do to the fact that they grew up around the brand. Now, Dove For Men has resurrected their feelings and further connected with this audience.
At The Market Research Technology Event this April 30-May 2, 2012, Dr. A.K. Pradeep, the CEO of Neurofocus, will be spending an entire day with attendees at the NeuroImmersion Workshop to educate and discuss with attendees that functions of the brain, and share how neuroscience is applied to the world of brand,product and packaging design, shopper experience, market research and advertising. For more information on this full day workshop, download the brochure here. As a reader of this blog, when you register and mention code MRTECH12BLOG, you’ll receive an exclusive discount of 15% off the standard rate!
Staying Ahead of the Game
If there’s one thing we can agree on, it’s that the way to target your primary consumer is constantly changing. While graphs and surveys prove to be accurate, they are no longer the most efficient way to capture data.
More and more companies today are using iPads, new apps, and other various forms of technology to not only capture data, but to also filter and distribute it in real time.
For many, the idea of replacing a human with a computer is difficult. Penry Price of adage.com compares it to Billy Bean’s method of selecting baseball players, “As with Billy Beane and his staff, marketers are now using data more than ever. In fact, we would all agree, there is more data available than we can usefully process. The mantra now has shifted from the amount of data collected to how it is utilized. How is that data put into action?”.
This season Billy Beane’s ‘Moneyball’ wasn’t just recognized by the academy, but also the business world. “Soon, a drug saleswoman will have real-time analytics that tell her to focus on the doctors who spent time on social networks that morning, and who are thus more apt to influence colleagues, says Dhiraj C. Rajaram, founder of analytics company Mu Sigma, of Northbrook, Ill.” Billy Beane’s strategy proves that your team doesn’t need a big budget to win.
This strategy can also cut time by capturing the data that’s actually needed.
By the time you’re finished reading this article there will probably be 10-15 new apps that are being developed. The world we live in today is constantly changing and evolving. We should use these opportunities as a chance to grow. Penry Price states, “Our behaviors have changed dramatically as we have become more comfortable with this all-access anytime to anything world. Shouldn’t we adjust to those new behaviors and look for new ways to find our customers?”. Thus proving that when it comes to new ways to target customers, its best to stay ahead of the game.
Billy Beane, General Manager, Oakland A’s and Subject of Moneyball joins us to keynote on July 19th at 9:30 at the 12th annual Shopper Insights in Action Conference. Immediately following his keynote address, he will sign baseballs and copies of the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.
Join us for Billy Beane’s highly anticipated keynote address that combines baseball and business strategies through advanced data measurement and ROI.
Registration Information:
Please mention code to save an additional 15% off the standard rates: SHOPPER12BLOG
Online: http://bit.ly/zMzyO8 Email: register@iirusa.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kate Devery is a Social Media List Researcher at IIR USA . She studied English and Psychology at Hunter College. She also writes for various pop culture blogs. She may be reached at KDevery@IIRUSA.com.
Communicating Sustainability to Consumers
by Christine Nardi Diette
Since publishing One Green Score for One Earth: How retailers, brands and shoppers can all win with a universal sustainability score (Summer 2011), the news has been full of reports on eco-calculations ranging from merging financial and sustainability ratings to the continued proliferation of raters. While we at Ryan Partnership Chicago applaud these efforts to advance sustainability, we would like to reiterate what consumers expressed in our study–make green ratings easy and universal.
What should a score look like?
No matter how involved consumers are in purchasing sustainable products (e.g., not green to heavy green buying tendencies), three in four would prefer a numerical rating system, as it allows them to quickly and easily digest and compare what is being communicated, without having to remember what symbols or colors stand for, or spend time reading overly descriptive statements that often mean very little to a layperson.
What factors should be included?
Environmental friendliness is clearly an important factor to be included in sustainable communications, but considerable interest in local community origins and cruelty-free practices was also expressed.
The most current consumer sentiment and trend reports indicate interest in climate change may be decreasing among Americans, while concerns regarding corporate transparency and labor practices are on the rise. We anticipate addressing these factors in brand sustainability communications will become crucial in the very near future.
Where do consumers expect to see it?
Vehicles that provide instant information, right at the moment of decision-making within the store environment, are where consumers want and expect to see product sustainability communication.
Satisfying demand
As stated in our One Green Score for One Earth white paper, we believe there is significant opportunity for brands to benefit, simply by responding to consumer demand in making sustainability more clear.
About the Author
Christine is group president at Ryan Partnership Chicago, a leading expert in promotion, shopper, and digital marketing campaigns for emerging and established consumer brands. She also blogs at blog.ryanpartnershipchicago.com.
Green Market Retail Trends
by Christine Nardi Diette
Since publishing the research white paper One Green Score for One Earth (OGS) in September 2011, Ryan Partnership Chicago and Mambo Sprouts Marketing have continued to monitor industry activity pertaining to product sustainability. To date, the market changes forecast in OGS appear quite accurate:
I. Shoppers will devote a larger share of their spending to products and stores that are able to convince them of their sustainability claims.
• Deloitte’s Consumer 2020 report claims: “Over the next 10 years, more consumers will have incorporated sustainable behavior into their lives…. An increasing number of them will be advocates for sustainability and demand it in products and practices.”
II. Shopper sensitivity to greenwashing (misleading shoppers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service) will intensify and they will demand an accurate way of understanding and comparing sustainability across products, companies and retailers.
• The Winter 2012 Ryan Partnership Chicago/Mambo Sprouts Marketing Styling Sustainability consumer apparel survey reports the majority (61%) of consumers are interested in an apparel sustainability rating or index, as it would help their comparison shopping and provide information that could allow them to more easily and speedily find and select sustainable items. Some also thought an apparel index could assist them in determining what stores to shop and which brands to buy.
III. Brands and retailers will increasingly focus on the triple bottom line (people, planet and profit–the key pillars that inspire sustainability), and strive to provide their customers with this information.
• Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) recently published their 2012 Retail Sustainability Report that highlights green leadership within the retail sector. Within the report, RILA states: “Retailers will take an authentic and unobtrusive 360-degree approach to engage customers [in sustainability] via marketing and promotions, as well as through the in-store shopping experience…. With regard to product marketing, creating a common language to ease consumer [eco/sustainability] understanding will be a top priority for the industry.”
As identified in OGS, and substantiated through the above reports, there is clear growth opportunity for those brands that are on the leading edge of marketing sustainability.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Christine is group president at Ryan Partnership Chicago, a leading expert in promotion, shopper, and digital marketing campaigns for emerging and established consumer brands. She also blogs at blog.ryanpartnershipchicago.com.
Final Chance to Save $700 on SIA 2012 – Register by Friday
It’s finally here – The Shopper Insights in Action 2012 brochure is now available for download. The 2012 agenda is designed to be holistic and it is clear that this is the event that never stops growing.
New for 2012
• 100% new main stage keynotes – the most prolific minds today
• New Symposia on Segmentation – what matters to: Multicultural, Boomers & Millennials
• More Global Perspectives than ever: China, India, France, Switzerland, Ukraine and more
• Extension Room offers a full, immersive experience to dive deeper
• New speakers on Digital, Social and Mobile from Groupon, American Express, Yahoo! and Google
• Global Economic Update examining shifts in shopper spending and behavior around the world
Back by Popular Demand
• Global capabilities and emerging markets symposium
• Diverse retail perspectives including Target, Walmar, 7-Eleven, Sam’s Club and more
• Content review board ensuring no commercialism from the podium
• Mentor program for first timers
• 100% all new case studies always focused on the “IN ACTION”
Experience for yourself, why this event is considered the VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY.
Register by this Friday for your final chance to save $700 off the standard rates.
Registration Information:
Please mention code to save an additional 15% off the standard rates: SHOPPER12BLOG
Online: http://bit.ly/yOO1L6
Email: register@iirusa.com
Phone: 888.670.8200
