Melissa Meisel, Associate Editor06.01.15
Motivate, activate and educate—consumer packaged goods professionals who take these actions can impact the success of their brands like never before in today’s hyper-connected marketplace that moves faster than ever. But to stay on top of consumer trends, stay ahead of the competition and fuel bottom-line growth, CPG companies need up-to-the-minute insights that enable innovation in a flash by way of market research and more.
Enter the 2015 IRI Summit. This annual event—held this year on April 20-22 in Austin, TX, was touted as a “pedal-to-the-metal” event for accelerating growth in global CPG business. Experts from leading companies including Walmart, Starbucks, Campbell Soup, Tyson and Mastercard shed light on everything from cross-channel media targeting to merchandising to growth-oriented analytics.
The goal of this conference is to fuel the “consumer buying revolution,” according to Andrew Appel, president and chief executive officer of IRI, Chicago, IL, who opened up the event after a welcome from emcee Dave Gaudet, creative director for Williams-Gerard and a musical “howdy” from The University of Texas Longhorn Band. The Monday evening prior also celebrated the heritage of Austin with a jazz band playing on the outdoor patio at sunset complete with a local food favorite, “Frito Pie” served in a bag, at a reception. Tuesday and Wednesday consisted of general sessions, smaller breakout sessions and an innovation showcase. Tuesday evening was capped off by the IRI and Maxpoint Rock and Roll Oasis with music by rock legends Cheap Trick, who belted out fan favorites such as “Dream Police,” “Surrender,” “The Flame,” and “I Want You to Want Me” to an enthusiastic crowd.
“The future is closer than you think,” said Appel about the latest industry innovations at the first general session on April 21. Recent news at IRI includes a shopper marketing cloud with Mastercard and a new business in China with a retail program and partnership with NCS, a global infocommunications technology (ICT) service provider.
“We are turning Big Data into Smart Data,” said Gary Kearns, group executive, information services, Mastercard, who co-presented with Appel about this new development. “In turn, we implement smarter marketing strategies.”
To plan for the future, one must study the past. Just ask Tom Greco, chief executive officer of Frito-Lay/Pepsico, whose presentation was “Sustainable Growth on Demand.” He compared the progression of retail trends from 1995 to 2015—for example, from the Sam Goody music store to downloading songs on Spotify; turning pages of the Sear’s catalog or clicking through Amazon.
“Today’s consumer is older and younger, coming from smaller households with more diversity,” noted Greco. And with a widening income gap, affluent shoppers are seeking “premium experiences” like natural, organic choices. But how can CPGs deliver?
According to Greco, there are quite a few ways:
“From first dates to job interviews, they say ‘meet me at Starbucks,’” he said. “We have 22,000 stores in 66 markets across the globe with 300,000 employees. As a fairly young CPG company, we are boosting our in-store experience with a consistent look and feel with new kiosks.”
Besides expanding its retail presence, the company is expanding on its Starbucks app with a new mobile order feature with a pilot program right now in the Pacific Northwest. It is also testing a delivery service.
Online video is also an expanding avenue of choice for the CPG industry. Liz Ross, global chief marketing officer for IPG Mediabrands, and David Ervin, vice president of marketing services for Tyson Foods, took the crowd on a journey, “From Big Data to Smart Data.”
“Every minute, 100 YouTube videos are uploaded. 50% of mobile traffic is video,” said Ross about the rise in this method of online communication. “The shift in demographics includes behavioral data, as who you are is what you search.”
“Data enables us to learn faster than before,” added Ervin of Tyson. “Big data is all around us—but smart data connects us!”
A panel moderated by Joan Lewis, former senior vice president, consumer and market knowledge and media transformation at Procter & Gamble, followed addressing “The Future of The Consumer Revolution.” Participants includes Serge Matta, president and CEO, Comscore; Bill Livek, vice chairman and CEO, Rentrak; Eric Roza, CEO, Datalogics/an Oracle Company and Kathryn Casavant, CEO, Kantar.
For example, when asked about rising opportunities within the space, Livek of Rentrak notes that in television, it is optimal to know how to use brands in segmentation.
In the digital domain, it is ideal to follow the consumer across all platforms, said Matta. And, Casavant observed that, in retail, businesses must understand the customer to get them into the store for initial and return purchases. She also said that “relevance is key” by way of local-based advertising and content delivery.
“There are so many ‘what’ assets—but we need to find the ‘why’?” added Casavant.
Walmart also presented at the IRI summit. Cindy Davis, executive vice president of global customer insights and analytics, Walmart, shared “Harnessing the Power of ‘And’: Understanding Customers at the Intersection of Physical and Digital.”
“Put yourself in the customer’s shoes,” she said. “We are not living in an ‘or’ world but an ‘and’ world. Shoppers are able to shop on mobile device, pick up in store or have delivered to home.”
Technology—especially mobiles—is the key to “make it happen with the power of And!,” she said.
Today’s consumer is leveraging technology to manage busy lives, so marketers need to strive to exceed expectations. For example, create solutions to shop when and where they want.
“We also need to know why they buy and how they choose where they shop, as the definition of convenience has changed,” she said.
At press time, Walmart is testing ordering online and pickup at the store with no extra fees and no markups. “The power of ‘And’ is a global opportunity,” said Davis. “Help us integrate new solutions, bring your best ideas and always put the customer first!”
Enter the 2015 IRI Summit. This annual event—held this year on April 20-22 in Austin, TX, was touted as a “pedal-to-the-metal” event for accelerating growth in global CPG business. Experts from leading companies including Walmart, Starbucks, Campbell Soup, Tyson and Mastercard shed light on everything from cross-channel media targeting to merchandising to growth-oriented analytics.
The goal of this conference is to fuel the “consumer buying revolution,” according to Andrew Appel, president and chief executive officer of IRI, Chicago, IL, who opened up the event after a welcome from emcee Dave Gaudet, creative director for Williams-Gerard and a musical “howdy” from The University of Texas Longhorn Band. The Monday evening prior also celebrated the heritage of Austin with a jazz band playing on the outdoor patio at sunset complete with a local food favorite, “Frito Pie” served in a bag, at a reception. Tuesday and Wednesday consisted of general sessions, smaller breakout sessions and an innovation showcase. Tuesday evening was capped off by the IRI and Maxpoint Rock and Roll Oasis with music by rock legends Cheap Trick, who belted out fan favorites such as “Dream Police,” “Surrender,” “The Flame,” and “I Want You to Want Me” to an enthusiastic crowd.
“The future is closer than you think,” said Appel about the latest industry innovations at the first general session on April 21. Recent news at IRI includes a shopper marketing cloud with Mastercard and a new business in China with a retail program and partnership with NCS, a global infocommunications technology (ICT) service provider.
“We are turning Big Data into Smart Data,” said Gary Kearns, group executive, information services, Mastercard, who co-presented with Appel about this new development. “In turn, we implement smarter marketing strategies.”
To plan for the future, one must study the past. Just ask Tom Greco, chief executive officer of Frito-Lay/Pepsico, whose presentation was “Sustainable Growth on Demand.” He compared the progression of retail trends from 1995 to 2015—for example, from the Sam Goody music store to downloading songs on Spotify; turning pages of the Sear’s catalog or clicking through Amazon.
“Today’s consumer is older and younger, coming from smaller households with more diversity,” noted Greco. And with a widening income gap, affluent shoppers are seeking “premium experiences” like natural, organic choices. But how can CPGs deliver?
According to Greco, there are quite a few ways:
- Use “demand science” as the foundation; i.e., Gatorade’s 60th anniversary focuses on the athlete
- Breakthrough on innovation, such as the recent collaboration between Doritos and Taco Bell
- Leverage and localize, as seen with the “Do Us a Flavor” Lays campaign, which received 15 million ideas for limited-edition potato chips.
“From first dates to job interviews, they say ‘meet me at Starbucks,’” he said. “We have 22,000 stores in 66 markets across the globe with 300,000 employees. As a fairly young CPG company, we are boosting our in-store experience with a consistent look and feel with new kiosks.”
Besides expanding its retail presence, the company is expanding on its Starbucks app with a new mobile order feature with a pilot program right now in the Pacific Northwest. It is also testing a delivery service.
Online video is also an expanding avenue of choice for the CPG industry. Liz Ross, global chief marketing officer for IPG Mediabrands, and David Ervin, vice president of marketing services for Tyson Foods, took the crowd on a journey, “From Big Data to Smart Data.”
“Every minute, 100 YouTube videos are uploaded. 50% of mobile traffic is video,” said Ross about the rise in this method of online communication. “The shift in demographics includes behavioral data, as who you are is what you search.”
“Data enables us to learn faster than before,” added Ervin of Tyson. “Big data is all around us—but smart data connects us!”
A panel moderated by Joan Lewis, former senior vice president, consumer and market knowledge and media transformation at Procter & Gamble, followed addressing “The Future of The Consumer Revolution.” Participants includes Serge Matta, president and CEO, Comscore; Bill Livek, vice chairman and CEO, Rentrak; Eric Roza, CEO, Datalogics/an Oracle Company and Kathryn Casavant, CEO, Kantar.
For example, when asked about rising opportunities within the space, Livek of Rentrak notes that in television, it is optimal to know how to use brands in segmentation.
In the digital domain, it is ideal to follow the consumer across all platforms, said Matta. And, Casavant observed that, in retail, businesses must understand the customer to get them into the store for initial and return purchases. She also said that “relevance is key” by way of local-based advertising and content delivery.
“There are so many ‘what’ assets—but we need to find the ‘why’?” added Casavant.
Walmart also presented at the IRI summit. Cindy Davis, executive vice president of global customer insights and analytics, Walmart, shared “Harnessing the Power of ‘And’: Understanding Customers at the Intersection of Physical and Digital.”
“Put yourself in the customer’s shoes,” she said. “We are not living in an ‘or’ world but an ‘and’ world. Shoppers are able to shop on mobile device, pick up in store or have delivered to home.”
Technology—especially mobiles—is the key to “make it happen with the power of And!,” she said.
Today’s consumer is leveraging technology to manage busy lives, so marketers need to strive to exceed expectations. For example, create solutions to shop when and where they want.
“We also need to know why they buy and how they choose where they shop, as the definition of convenience has changed,” she said.
At press time, Walmart is testing ordering online and pickup at the store with no extra fees and no markups. “The power of ‘And’ is a global opportunity,” said Davis. “Help us integrate new solutions, bring your best ideas and always put the customer first!”
• Get from “roots to trees to forest” with a new book from Harry Kraemer, executive partner at Madison Dearborn Partners and clinical professor of management and strategy at School of Management, who presented at the conference. His talked was based on his new book, “In Becoming the Best: Build a World-Class Organization Through Values-Based Leadership” (Wiley). It’s a follow-up to his bestselling “From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership,” the author, professor and former CEO shares how values-based leadership can help accomplish this. What does it mean in practice to be a values-based leader? When faced with real situations, how can you be your best self and create best teams while also being a best partner with customers and vendors, a best investment for your stakeholders, and a best citizen making a difference in the world? It’s a tall order, but these are the expectations for world-class organizations today. More info: http://harrykraemer.org/ |