Gamification, communities and experimentation: where’s food & drink marketing headed?

“We’re seeing a huge spike in requests for engagement in pubs and bars. Tesco’s Clubcard is the ultimate gamification piece – people don’t see it as one, but it’s gamification in its most traditional sense. We’re seeing a huge resurgence of this type of activity for food and drink brands and for hospitality venues. The data you’re able to collect from those activities is invaluable. Brands who leverage that customer loyalty keep hold of those customers for a very long time.”

Claudia Stephenson, managing director, EMEA, Invnt Group: “As we delve further into web3, we’re seeing different forms of utility. There was the rise and questionable fall of NFTs, for example. But there’s ongoing utility associated with communities and their cross-pollination; there’s an opportunity to bring together multiple communities and reach a much wider audience for brands, across varied ages and demographics. And let’s not forget about that up-and-coming generation that consumes information in a very different way.”

Ryan Green, vice-president of marketing and innovation, Coegi: “I’d love to mention retail media networks, which are really emerging on the media side and play well with both brand and performance. They’re very data-driven, and there’s going to be more of them with the deprecation of second-party data. We’re talking about taking the Amazon model and doing it across everything from Dollar General to Walmart to Instacart.”

Jackie Keller, vice-president of events and hospitality, Wasserman: “I am still (and always will be) the biggest fan of true-blue hospitality. Brands that are as loyal back to their customers as possible, by making things customizable and convenient, are going to continue to win.

“For example, I’m an American Express customer, and I’m continually blown away by how easy the experience is: how few steps there are and how true they seem to me when I have an issue. I know, when I pick up the phone, that they’re going to help me on the other side. Brands that continue to give loyalty and tried-and-true customer service back will continue to win.”

Ben Ducker, executive creative director, Journey Further: “In terms of brand positioning, it would be dangerous to try to be overly relevant, or overly authentic to the landscape. I think there’s a responsibility for marketers with brands and advertising to not provide escapism, like watching a film. There’s a responsibility to not patronize.

“We live in a society where people are becoming wiser to what brands are trying to push. The key sentiment to building brand platforms has to be about hopefulness: looking forward with optimism at what you’re trying to do. It’s about recognizing that there’s a problem and looking forward to a solution – whether through loyalty schemes, or real interactions with customers.”

Christina Daskajiannis, project manager, Rabbit & Pork (part of TIPi Group): “Brands that can provide customers with a really seamless, enjoyable experience – like just walk out tech, launched by Amazon, and you’re now seeing it in sports stadiums, like St. Louis City SC’s integrated stadium, where fans can walk into the bar and out again in 10 seconds. It’s about using automation, taking pressure off staff, and providing a really easy, convenient brand experience.”

Vince Murray, head of partnerships, GreenJinn Ltd: “One brand we work with that does things really well is Heinz. They split their business: they’ve got a ‘core’ part of the business – beans, ketchup, mayo – where they play quite safe in terms of marketing, spend, creative and technology. Then they’ve got a completely separate arm, ‘New Ventures’, where they test new technology, really wacky NPD [new product development], and interesting creative. They use that as a testbed; if they see ROI, in New Ventures, they transfer it across to the core part of business as well. Heinz is definitely up there.”