Mondelez to convert all media investments into buying opportunities
Mondelez International is to let shoppers buy their favourite snacks from all its owned, earned and paid media in an attempt to elevate the return-on-investments from its promotions.
“Buy it Now’ buttons are being embedded into the company’s online media, from brands’ product pages to social media, video advertising and CRM campaigns across 25 markets. Peckish snackers are then taken to one of 130 retail sites where they’ll be able to make purchases within seconds of seeing a piece of content they’ve been moved by.
A deal has been struck with ChannelSight's Buy Flow to facilitate the plan, simplifying the customer-buying journey between media and checkout. It comes after a successful trial in over 20 markets with over 100 retailers.
Mondelez has long talked up the importance of impulse sales, both on and offline, to its future growth and a firmer ecommerce plan would open up new opportunities to shift product. The snacks maker has been struggling for sustained growth since it was spun off from Kraft in 2012 though has prioritised ecommerce as a strategic pillar in 2015 to help steady demand worldwide.
Such is ecommerce’s importance, Mondelez tasked its chief media officer Bonin Bough with overseeing its digital shopper plans at the turn of the year. By turning more of its branded content into buying opportunities for consumers, “we'll also continue to improve our return on investment and this will help fuel growth for our Power Brands," said Bough.
"As a global company, we're looking at converting all our media investments into buying opportunities for consumers by driving e-commerce transactions at key retailers' websites. This partnership is a crucial step in our journey to help accelerate growth through e-commerce.”
Mondelez’s decision not to go at ecommerce alone reflects a wariness to enter a space dominated by retailers rather than packaged goods makers.
FMCG companies have feared alienating their biggest customers if they develop their own ecommerce efforts though advances in mobile and media metrics have paved the way for a realistic, collaborative digital shopper tactics. Both are starting to realise that they need to combine their attempts to overcome the executional challenges of online selling.
It is not just about driving impulse sales. Mondelez plans to mine insights into consumer behaviors, preferences and motivations from the purchases.
For retailers, such a tie-up could pull traffic to their site as well as help boost perceptions of their online shopping experiences. Supermarkets have had online sites for years but are only now investing heavily in turning them into key sales channels, whether it be through click and collect services, mobile apps or tie-ups with brands.
Mondelez isn’t the only FMCG business with its eye on ecommerce wins. Diageo, AB InBev and Unilever have all made moves in recent months, from hires to technology deals, to enhance their propensity to win shoppers online.