Food and Beverage Marketing: Reshaped by Influencers

food and beverage marketing

The marketing word of the year, if not “video,” must be “influencer.” Not even celebrity endorsements carry the same weight as recommendations made by popular online personalities. These bloggers and social media stars have changed the way we approach social influence, especially in the food and beverage marketing industry.

All indications are that influencer marketing isn’t going away anytime soon. Consumers are more likely to trust someone they know or follow than they are to believe the brand itself. As more and more brands come to terms with this reality, influencer marketing will only continue to grow. Here’s how we think influencers will impact food and beverage marketing in 2018.      More

Health & Wellness Marketing Trends: Content is Still King!

health & wellness marketing

Health and wellness have become a global movement, as consumers look for ways to live healthy lives for as long as possible. Every brand category, from food and fitness to travel and financial services are framing themselves in terms of wellness. Food is linked to aging well and stress management. Sleep is linked to productivity and beauty. Fitness is linked to mental agility.

And though trying to be healthy certainly isn’t a new trend, consumers are now approaching their health in different ways. Back in the day, good health meant you had your annual physical, limited your salt and sugar intake, and got regular exercise. But with the growing obesity and the chronic disease epidemics in the U.S., it’s certain that the health and wellness category will continue to explode as consumers move toward more aggressive preventative care. Social media and the wealth of online content are empowering consumers to take charge of their health more than ever before.      More

The Role of PESO in Your Content Marketing Strategy

PESO content strategy

Created by Spin Sucks founder Gini Dietrich, PESO stands for Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media, and defines the different channels your business can use to reach customers with your content.

Paid Media: Includes anything paid for, such as sponsored posts, search engine advertising such as Google AdWords, Twitter or Facebook ads, and banner ads.

Owned Media: This is original content that you own and resides on your website and social media accounts, including blog posts, online videos, eBooks, shareable images, webinars, white papers, and podcasts.      More

4 Strategies for Marketing to Moms During Back-to-School Shopping

back to school marketing

That sigh of relief you hear across the nation is the collective hallelujah as moms send their bundles of joy back to the classroom this fall. Preparing for back-to-school can be an exciting time of year for both parents and students, but it can also be a time of extreme stress, particularly for moms who continue to be the primary back-to-school shoppers for kids in elementary and middle school.

According to the 2017 Deloitte Back-to-School Survey, back-to-school shopping impacts about 29 million U.S. households, representing $27 billion in sales. This year’s survey marks some key findings:      More

Surge in Female Economic Power Impacts How Brands Market to Women

female spending power

As the female consumer market continues to explode, now, more than ever, marketers need to understand how to reach these key decision makers. Because 91% of women still say that advertisers don’t understand them.

The average U.S. woman is projected to earn more than the average man by the year 2028. In the United States alone, women control up to $15 trillion annually. As incomes grow, women’s spending power and influence do, too.

Women are responsible for 85% of consumer household purchases—from cars to healthcare, to family vacations—and that power is growing by the day. With such growth drivers as delayed marriage and children, educational attainment, rising incomes and breadwinner status (women are the primary breadwinner in 40% of U.S. households with kids under 18), almost all income growth in the U.S. over the past 15 or 20 years has come from women.

Brands need to look beyond the superficial and understand that the women’s market isn’t a niche–it’s a driving force. Women respond to marketing messages that show marketers understand them, and that portray them in a strong and powerful way. Following are tips to consider when you market to women.

Remember There is No “One” Woman

There is no “one” female demographic; the female market is huge and diverse. From baby boomer women who are experiencing a healthier, wealthier lifestyle as they inherit from parents and spouses to the single professional who has more discretionary spending because they are child-free, each female sub-set has its own unique interests and values that influence purchasing behaviors.

It’s About the Benefits, Not the Features

Understand the differences between men and women, without being patronizing. While men typically focus on exterior styling and horsepower, a woman may or may not care. But tell her how the vehicle can make her life easier and safer and watch her perk up. Fuel economy, safety features, the number of cup holders, built-in cold storage, and third-row seats.  Depending on the life stage she’s in, any of these more practical points will be important to her.

Focus on Time-Saving Solutions

With 70% of women with children under 18 in today’s work force, many women are working both inside and outside of the home. They are multi-taskers seeking solutions and work-life balance. Opportunities to provide stress-management solutions, convenience, timesaving products, and one-stop shopping opportunities will earn her patronage and loyalty.

Lose the Stereotypes

“Shrink it and pink it” is probably the most common stereotype when brands market to women, but there are others that may not be quite as obvious. For instance, 41% of mothers had a child outside of marriage this year. That’s 41% of your audience that doesn’t connect with marketing messages about traditional, nuclear families. Women appreciate marketers who acknowledge their accomplishments, both at home and in the workplace, and show them in roles of empowerment.

Are you confident in your marketing to women strategies? Creating engaging, thoughtful campaigns that reach female consumers is what we do. Please reach out if you’d like to talk about how Girlpower Marketing can help your brand.

Smart Marketing to Pet Owners in 2017

marketing to pet owners

Americans today see their pets as extended family members and are taking more of a parental role with their furry loved ones. This humanization of our pets has been instrumental in building the U.S. pet industry into the seventh largest retail industry in our country, reaching nearly $67 billion in spending last year. That means marketing to pet owners is a big deal, too.

The Demographics of Pets

The fastest-growing groups of pet parents are empty nesting Boomers and Millennials. While today’s Millennials may be putting off having children due to college loans and lower starting salaries, they are sparing no expense when it comes to their pets. And empty nesting Baby Boomers see their pets as the new children in the home. These two groups combine to make up the largest percentage of the population with the money, time and emotional space to treat their pets as the kings and queens of the households.

Purchasing Trends

According to Mintel research, the growing trend toward humanizing pets has led to increased specialization of pet products and services. Pet owners aren’t just purchasing food, veterinary services, and toys. Many are utilizing pet psychologists, doggie spas and daycare for their pampered pets. They’re purchasing high-end natural foods, clothing from pet boutiques, and seeking out homeopathic treatments. Other pet services increasing in popularity include massage, portrait photography, pet behavioral consulting and mobile grooming.

The attachment owners feel for their pets has also led to a significant rise in sales of products driven by technological advancements. In addition to webcams and smart feeders, 68% of pet parents are purchasing microchips for their fur babies.

Marketing to Pet Owners

For today’s marketers, pets may be the ultimate influencers. Pet owners are no strangers to social media, with many having Instagram accounts for their pets and 65% sharing pet posts at least twice a week.

Brands are also jumping on the bandwagon, with Jet Blue posting about Marnie the Dog and other brands using popular pet influencers to drive visibility and engagement. The biggest increase in participation is on Instagram, where brands are seeing up to 295% more comments on content relating to pets.

Those who are smart about marketing to pet owners are working to cash in on this trend, with a combination of social media campaigns, content marketing, and witty Facebook Live and YouTube videos designed to touch emotions, build awareness and drive sales.

Understanding your consumer is key to engaging them. And that’s what Girlpower Marketing specializes in. For more information on engagement strategies that will get your product or service noticed by today’s pet owners, give us a call.

Latest Yoplait Ad Empowers Moms to Ignore the Haters

moms ignore haters

It’s never been easy being a mom, but in the age of social media it’s gotten more complicated. Wanting to shine a spotlight on the struggles moms feel in today’s judgmental world, Yoplait has unveiled its newest ad campaign from 72andSunny called “Mom On.”

The 60-second spot features a montage of moms talking about their experiences that have elicited judgment from family, friends and total strangers, including breastfeeding in public, working away from home, and having kids later in life.

The ongoing criticism moms face results in many of them losing their mom mojo, and even changing the way they parent. Conversations with moms, along with a study commissioned by Edison Research, reveal that:

  • 75 percent of moms agree they’d feel happier if they felt less judged.
  • Nearly one in three moms (29 percent) adjust their parenting decisions in public because they worry others will judge them.
  • One-third of moms (32 percent) say they choose not to post, share or comment on social media because they fear others will judge their parenting.

As part of the campaign, Yoplait is also partnering with the comedians and moms behind the Facebook web series, #IMOMSOHARD. Jen Smedley and Kristin Hensley will bring their “Mom’s Night Out: Summer Break Tour” comedy tour about the ups and downs of motherhood to 40 markets across the country.

Yoplait’s tongue-in-cheek ad pushing back on the haters is a quiet victory for moms everywhere.

How Boutique Marketing and PR Firms Can Compete with Big Agencies

boutique marketing

When seeking marketing and public relations services, many companies lean toward the larger, better-known agencies. The reasons aren’t surprising: many heads equal many ideas, access to more resources, perceived authority—the list goes on. And obviously, a large agency is doing something right to get as large as it is. However, don’t underestimate the benefits of working with a smaller, boutique-style agency that you might miss out on if you’re exclusively focused on the big guys.

In fact, working with a boutique firm may be the best choice you ever make. How can a smaller firm compete with a Goliath? Let’s consider some of the ways:

Small Is Agile

Like any startup, today’s boutique firms can turn on a dime. Smaller means agile, and that is a huge competitive advantage. A large agency can often be unwieldy; decisions take longer and are often risk adverse. It takes longer to coordinate a multitude of calendars, ideas are tossed around, and approvals move up and down the ladder of seniority until finally, the project is underway.

With so many people involved in the process, pivoting to a new idea can be nearly impossible. This isn’t the case with a boutique marketing or PR firm. If trends change, a boutique marketing agency can change direction, reboot plans, and respond more quickly to market and customer needs.

Always Catch the Big Fish

In a small pond, all the fish are huge. That means you’re more likely to work with one of the founders of a boutique firm than you are when you contract with a larger agency. While size does matter to some clients, the majority of the ones we meet hire based on the quality and chemistry of the team. Need some reassurance about that new strategic direction you’re taking? At a smaller firm, you can pick up the phone and talk to a principal, rather than an assistant to the assistant.

Perhaps even more importantly, that principal you’re working with will remain the same throughout the life of your project. If you’re tired of watching your account change hands as new account managers are introduced, promoted, or let go, then you may be ready to work with an agency that functions as an extension of your company and in-house marketing team.

Smaller Agencies But Equal Staffing

Even with larger agencies that have hundreds on staff, there are a finite number of team members who actually work on your business—probably close to the same number of staff that would work your account in a boutique firm. But the smaller firms understand that they don’t have to keep all of their talent under their own roof. They build ongoing relationships with outside production teams because they know the pool of talent outside their walls is deep, plentiful, and easily engaged.

Boutique marketing and PR firms also have the freedom to structure their business in innovative ways that work best for their clients. The model can be a flexible mix of office and virtual staffing, eliminating the need to hire by geography and lowering infrastructure costs. Today’s technology has significantly improved the ability for people to connect and work from anywhere, regardless of location. You have the freedom to hire the best people – period.

Provide a Specialty Niche

Sure, bigger firms may have more resources at their disposal, which might seem like a better deal. However, those agencies may be more inclined to walk the straight and narrow with their immense resources. Companies looking for highly specialized PR and marketing campaigns may end up with something that leans toward safe and predictable.

This typically isn’t the case with boutique agencies. In fact, many find success by providing specialized services that precisely meet your needs. They may specialize in a particular type of work (influencer engagement, content marketing strategy), industry (health & wellness or food & beverage marketing), or in a specific audience segment (marketing to women or millennials). With a specialized focus, boutique firms can more easily demonstrate their expertise in a particular area.

Neither the big agencies nor the boutique variety are the “best” choice in every situation. But I’d argue that smaller firms more often than not have the luxury of being fearless, resourceful, clever, and nimble—a departure from the larger agencies that may be more inclined to play-it-safe because of the big numbers they have to meet. If you’d like to learn more about how a boutique marketing agency can help with your marketing and communications needs, reach out. We’re excited to talk to you.

5 Influencer Marketing Insights That May Change Your Strategy

influencer marketing

It’s no secret that traditional advertising is losing its reach. Television ads are now fast-forwarded; pop-up ads can be disabled. Along with that, celebrities are not the endorsers they once were. They can build brand awareness, but not necessarily sales. Social influencers have eclipsed celebrities in consumer trust. In fact, 92% of consumers trust word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends, family, and social influencers above all other forms of advertising, including celebrity endorsements.

The power of these social influencers isn’t based on their follower count but on their ability to influence through authenticity and curation. Following are some key influencer marketing insights:

1. Why marketers love influencer marketing.

An authentic recommendation by a trusted influencer is effective for several reasons. First, influencers know what kind of content their followers want to see. The influencer’s interpretation of how to showcase content may not always be exactly the way you’d like, but when given the freedom to create, they produce what most resonates with their audience.

Influencers are also a more affordable choice than traditional celebrity endorsements. That equals more content, greater reach, more reliable advocacy, and ultimately, more engagement with your brand.

2. How to find the right influencers for your brand. 

Influencer marketing isn’t new; the only thing that’s changed is the status of the influencer. Realistically, most of us aren’t influenced by what Emily Ratajkowski is tweeting. We’re much more likely to be influenced by friends, family, and the people we’re following on Instagram, Twitter, or our favorite blogs.

There are great tools available to help find your best influencers, including BuzzSumo, or Moz’s Followerwonk. Sometimes it’s as easy as examining your brand’s current fans on social media feeds. You may have already caught the attention of influencers who love your products and services.

3. How to work with influencers for the best outcome.  

It’s important to note that not all influencers are right for your brand, so before jumping on board with someone merely because they have the most followers, take the time to make sure you’ve chosen the perfect advocate for your products.

You should be comfortable with the influencer’s style, and how it will mesh with your brand vision. Don’t try to control the relationship; for the best results you need to trust the influencer to weave your brand messaging into their narrative in an authentic way. They’ve invested time building their audience relationships based on their own unique voice, perspective, and storytelling style, and they need to maintain their credibility to be effective. Though they should have control of how they talk about your brand, certainly be clear about what you’re trying to achieve. Authenticity and transparency are essential in a successful relationship, so make it as easy as possible for them to understand your vision, and then step back and let them do their thing.

4. Influencer marketing gone wrong.

Sometimes influencer campaigns can go horribly wrong. The blame may rest on the influencer, on the brand that doesn’t deliver on its promise, or both.

Consider the Fyre Festival, forced to close on opening day due to poor planning and execution. The marketing plan for this disaster was missing a key component of any good influencer campaign: transparency. The organizers contracted 400+ celebrity influencers, including Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, who pretended to have an interest in the festival and promoted it through their social media channels, encouraging fans to buy tickets. Rather than the transparency and honesty required for a successful partnership, these young celebrity influencers didn’t disclose that they were paid to promote the festival, per FTC rules. Ultimately, the organizers spent so much money on influencers that they didn’t have enough money to execute the actual event.

Each influencer and brand have their own stories, and when working together, they can reflect poorly on each other. In Pepsi’s recent “Live for Now Moments” ad featuring Kendall Jenner, the objective was a message of unification and diversity. The campaign, however, was wrong for both the influencer and the brand, and the result was a complete backlash by the public. A smart approach would have been to test the concept before investing in the campaign to gauge public reaction.

5. Benefits of micro-influencers.

Influencers with large followings may not be the best choice for your brand. Micro-influencers with fewer followers often have more quality influence and deeper engagement with a more tailored audience. That engagement leads to trust, which leads to more response.

The benefits of micro-influencers are many: they are typically more affordable, their audiences more targeted, and they produce quality content in a genuine way that can ultimately result in a higher response rate.

Influencer marketing shows no signs of slowing down in the immediate future. As it continues to grow, brands need to search for those influencers who align with their marketing objectives to generate impactful campaigns that are believable, transparent and honest. If not, the trust you’ve spent years building for your brand can be gone in an instant.

If you’re planning to work with influencers this year and would like some guidance, give us a call. We’re always here to help.

Why It Pays for Brands to Embrace Baby Boomers

marketing to baby boomers

Madonna. Bono. George Clooney. Tom Hanks. Oprah. All Baby Boomers.

Not exactly the clichéd stereotype of grandma and grandpa using a walker to get from one room to another.

Though Millennials (75.4 million) have recently surpassed Baby Boomers (74.9 million) in sheer numbers, today’s Baby Boomers represent nearly 40% of the U.S. population and control 70% of all disposable cash in the United States. That’s $3.2 trillion in spending power. So why are marketers so willing to ignore this vibrant and lucrative market?

Following are key reasons why Baby Boomers represent a great opportunity for marketers trying to identify a consumer sweet spot:

  • They spend $400 billion more than younger demographics each year on consumer goods, including restaurants, personal care, and entertainment
  • Contrary to popular thinking, these consumers are willing to try new brands that talk to them and earn their loyalty
  • They dominate spending in 119 out of 123 CPG categories
  • Boomers are hungry for experiential products and services, and on the prowl for the next big thing
  • They plan to leverage technology for a more fulfilling, comfortable life
  • Boomers spend nearly $7 billion online annually, well ahead of Millennials
  • They purchase 62.5% of all new cars and 80% of luxury travel products
  • By 2022, Baby Boomers, particularly women Baby Boomers, will have inherited nearly $15 trillion from their parents and spouses

Women Baby Boomers, in particular, represent a huge opportunity based on their significant spending power. Consider these facts:

  • As a whole, women over the age of 50 have a combined net worth of $19 trillion
  • Having focused on looking after families in their younger years, these now empty nesters have become the biggest consumers of luxury, security, and convenience items in the country
  • Women over the age of 50 spend, on average, 250% of what the population in general spends in any given year, including purchases of technology-related items, cars, and various financial services

Boomers are social, mobile, and online. They’re working well beyond the traditional retirement age, creating new businesses and products, and staying healthy beyond their years. Boomers are most interested in the experiences their money can buy, so key industries that will flourish with this group include health & wellness, travel, auto, entertainment, and pets. Whether they’re spending $120 billion on travel or $30 billion on pet care, they’re spending their money differently than previous generations as they reinvent aging.

It’s unfortunate that these two vibrant generations are pitted against each other in the media and for the attention of marketers. It shouldn’t be either/or; both Millennials and Baby Boomers, particularly female Baby Boomers, represent powerful economic forces. Marketers would be wise to welcome Baby Boomers into their fold and establish meaningful connections that prioritize this group.

Is marketing to Baby Boomers part of your business strategy? If so, give us a call. We’d love to talk.

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