Google Data » Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager, CPG https://googledata.org Everything Google: News, Products, Services, Content, Culture Fri, 03 Apr 2015 21:58:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1 Official Google CPG Blog 2009-11-09 20:38:00 https://googledata.org/google-cpg/official-google-cpg-blog-2009-11-09-203800/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/official-google-cpg-blog-2009-11-09-203800/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:38:00 +0000


Case Studies & Learnings for Consumer Packaged Goods Webinar

Join us to learn how Google's advertising solutions drove effective and efficient advertising for CPG advertisers.

During this webinar we will learn from three separate case studies as measured through 3rd party research to help you answer the following questions:
  • Pepsi POPTUB Branding YouTube Study: Can brands effectively convert consumers into brand advocates by driving traffic to a branded YouTube site?
  • Heineken Cross Media Branding Study: Can Search and YouTube build brands? How efficient are they relative to other media? How synergistic is Search with TV?
  • The Online Impact of YouTube HomePages for CPG: Do YouTube homepages drive web activity? What types of lifts do we see in search volume on Google and YouTube? How impactful is a Masthead format?

Webinar Date: Monday, November 16, 2009

Webinar Time: 1:00 - 2:00pm EST, 10:00 - 11:00 am PST

Register for this CPG Case Study Webinar.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/official-google-cpg-blog-2009-11-09-203800/feed/ 0 Searching for the Perfect Recipe for Holiday Campaigns https://googledata.org/google-cpg/searching-for-the-perfect-recipe-for-holiday-campaigns/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/searching-for-the-perfect-recipe-for-holiday-campaigns/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:48:00 +0000 Posted by Guest Blogger: Heather Dougherty, Research Director at Hitwise

The holidays are almost upon us again, which means one thing – time to eat! Every year, the search term variations for ‘recipe’ and ‘recipes’ peak during the weeks of the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays. There are two major types of destinations for searches on recipes, naturally the websites specializing in recipes & food content, followed by the websites of CPGs. Search is the key driver of traffic for both recipes and CPGs. During the peak holiday weeks last year, the share of upstream traffic from search engines to recipe websites was 60% and 32% for CPG Food websites.


Drilling into the relationship between search and food-related websites during the holidays, there is an interesting distinct pattern to when search engines delivered the highest share of traffic to the websites. Last year, the first & highest peaks took place on the day before the Christmas & Thanksgiving holidays and the second happened 3-4 days prior to the holidays. The highest peak is likely to be the creation & cooking of the recipe – so depending on the cooking skills of the chef, anything to help simplify the process during a busy day of preparations is going to help engender loyalty with your brand.

The latter peaks were over the weekends, suggesting weekend shopping trips, a good time to get coupons & promotions in front of the consumer, as well as recipes to help plan the holiday meal.
The same pattern occurs for recipe websites with the peak of downstream traffic from search engines taking place immediately before the actual holidays, without the weekend increases.


Last year, websites started to receive traffic from a portfolio of Thanksgiving-related search terms in mid-October although the majority of the activity took place the week before and the week of Thanksgiving. Dollars followed that same trend, with the share of paid search traffic beginning to ramp up in mid-November. Overall, the share of paid traffic generated by all search terms within the Thanksgiving Recipes portfolio for the 4 weeks ending 11/29/2008 was 22%.


Searches for holiday recipes start earlier and build up over a longer time period due to many events that take place during the entire month of December leading up to the holidays, such as parties and cookie baking (a personal favorite). Last year, over the 4 weeks ending Dec. 27, 2009, the share of paid search reached 32%, highlighting increased competition for sponsored links during the Christmas holidays than Thanksgiving.


Timing is definitely everything, so reflecting on the past can help drive your holiday campaigns for this year to help anticipate and capture the search peaks. There are also plenty of opportunities to try to drive earlier demand through coordination with your other marketing efforts along with search campaigns.

To learn more, please join us on November 18, 2009 for the Hitwise Webinar - Recipes & Food during the Holiday Season.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/searching-for-the-perfect-recipe-for-holiday-campaigns/feed/ 0 Heineken Cross Media Study Proves That Search Effectively Builds Brands https://googledata.org/google-cpg/heineken-cross-media-study-proves-that-search-effectively-builds-brands/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/heineken-cross-media-study-proves-that-search-effectively-builds-brands/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:14:00 +0000 Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager for CPG

Google search advertising is widely used as a tool for driving direct response, but it is not as widely recognized as a branding tool. In a recent study Metrixlab, Google Netherlands, Heineken and their agency Twist came together in a collaborative effort to measure the brand effect of Search, compare the effectiveness and efficiency of Search against other media, and to look at the interaction of Search with those media.

The study measured the impact of Heineken's "Jouw Heineken" campaign, where it led consumers to this site: www.jouwheineken.nl to custom design Heineken bottles for purchase. This campaign was supported with TV, online display, YouTube and search.

The study findings showed:

  • A Search impression alone creates 23% more brand preference for Heineken than the whole Heineken campaign without search. A search click creates 69% more brand preference.
  • The fact that search was able to affect a brand metric like brand preference shows the ability for search to move consumers further into the purchase funnel, beyond just awareness.


Further, the study showed:
  • The addition of Search to TV increased overall brand effect by 1.5 times, illustrating the synergistic effects of Search and TV.
  • Search proved to be 53% more cost efficient than TV in creating Top of Mind Awareness.
  • The eye-tracking heat map portion of the study concluded that the 1st search result on the left side captures and retains the most attention.
  • Frequency testing showed that three impression contacts were 39% better than one at moving brand preference.

Play this case study video below to learn all the details and to hear testimonials from Heineken and Twist:

]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/heineken-cross-media-study-proves-that-search-effectively-builds-brands/feed/ 0 Think with Google: Consumer Intentions for Holiday 2009 https://googledata.org/google-cpg/think-with-google-consumer-intentions-for-holiday-2009/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/think-with-google-consumer-intentions-for-holiday-2009/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:51:00 +0000
Attracting the right consumers this holiday season will be more important than ever. Join us as we share findings from new retail research on consumer plans for the 2009 holiday season and strategies marketers can take to better target and reach their customers.

During the webinar, we will discuss:
- How consumer behavior has changed and how shopping habits look headed into the holiday season
- What changing consumer behavior means for your search and online marketing strategies
- Recommendations for how to effectively target your audience

This webinar is ideal for beauty advertisers with a holiday eCommerce focus.

Date & Time
Tuesday, October 20th 2009
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST / 11:00 am – 12:00 am PST
Register Here
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/think-with-google-consumer-intentions-for-holiday-2009/feed/ 0 Branding Study Shows Strong Positive Correlation Between POPTUB Site Visitation and Pepsi Brand Favorability https://googledata.org/google-cpg/branding-study-shows-strong-positive-correlation-between-poptub-site-visitation-and-pepsi-brand-favorability/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/branding-study-shows-strong-positive-correlation-between-poptub-site-visitation-and-pepsi-brand-favorability/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:20:00 +0000 Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager, CPG

As referenced in an October 2008 TechNews article, Google and YouTube launched an entertainment-focused original video series called POPTUB back in the fall of 2008. The series, which was produced by NY-based Embassy Row, was an "Entertainment Tonight for the YouTube generation" and featured host Maria Sansone, promotional interviews and a premium Pepsi sponsorship. Segments often included pop culture coverage of YouTube homegrown personalities and the branded channel, lived on YouTube at www.youtube.com/POPTUB.

The series wrapped up August 2009, and had garnered over 3.2million channel views and over 45,800 subscribers. YouTube and Pepsi wanted to better understand the branding impact that POPTUB had over their target demographic and cola drinkers. A branding study was commissioned with research vendor Dynamic Logic to get at this question.

The results of the branding study showed that:

medium to heavy visitors were statistically more likely to be more aware and favorable of POPTUB, as well as of the overall Pepsi brand. 48% of medium to heavy visitors of the POPTUB channel had a more favorable opinion of Pepsi as a result of knowing that they were the sponsor of POPTUB.

When asked why that is, one female respondent to the branding study, age 20 said, "[It] makes them seem more current." One male daily visitor, age 18 says, "If POPTUB is a sort of representation of Pepsi, Pepsi is represented well."

When asked the main reason why POPTUB-ers visit the channel, 50% selected because "videos are entertaining" and 39% said it was because they loved the host (Maria Sansone). 28% reported that it was unique content that could not be found anywhere else and 23% said they like to stay current with pop culture.

When asked open endedly, what's your favorite thing about the POPTUB channel, one 19 year old male, who visits daily, exclaims, "I love discovering videos that are funny, Poptub is like Local News to me." Another visitor, male age 22 who visits several times a week summed it up with "Quick access to funny videos". Another daily male visitor, age 29, shares "I like watching the lovely hostess introducing new or somewhat new videos I have not yet seen. In one word refreshing."

This study proved that a branded media site can effectively move a number of branding metrics for a brand. Further, the more a brand is able to drive visitors to the site, the more likely they are able to convert the visitors to become brand advocates.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/branding-study-shows-strong-positive-correlation-between-poptub-site-visitation-and-pepsi-brand-favorability/feed/ 0 Fast.Forward. Connecting marketers with innovative ideas and other marketers https://googledata.org/google-cpg/fast-forward-connecting-marketers-with-innovative-ideas-and-other-marketers/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/fast-forward-connecting-marketers-with-innovative-ideas-and-other-marketers/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:01:00 +0000 As consumers become more and more technologically savvy, businesses and marketers have worked quickly to keep up. As a result, many companies are left questioning what they aren't doing that they should be, or what they should do next to stay in front of the right people, in the right place, at the right time, in an increasingly digital world.

To address some of these questions, we have partnered with The Wharton School to launch our Fast.Forward. Channel on YouTube, which highlights insightful perspectives from industry experts and academics on how marketers can stay ahead in the changing landscape. (You might have seen a similar site launched by our UK marketing team in partnership with London Business School earlier this year.)

In over 100 short videos on www.youtube.com/fastforward, industry and academic thought leaders — including Jerry Wind, Lauder Professor at The Wharton School; Nancy Hill, CEO of AAAA; and our very own CEO, Eric Schmidt — share their views and insights on how the marketing world has changed. Perhaps more importantly, the videos also take a look at the implications of those changes for marketers and consumers. These experts tackle topics ranging from the importance of innovation and insights, to the new definition of speed. On the flipside, we also have videos from interviews with everyday folks, where we learn about the roles advertising and online content play in their daily lives.

In addition to the library of videos, the brand channel offers a "barometer" gauging consumer confidence levels and links to free tools designed to help marketers understand the online world a little better, as well as information on the Future of Advertising. A Wharton-led, research-based project, the Future of Advertising aims to explore and address a number of the business and marketing challenges in the current "Advertising Reality", while developing new models and empirical generalizations for advertising.

So if you're interested in hearing what others really think about "advertising", if you want to check out what happened at Advertising Week, or if you have your own opinion that you'd like to voice, check it out.

Posted by Cindy Goodrich, Google Business Marketing
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/fast-forward-connecting-marketers-with-innovative-ideas-and-other-marketers/feed/ 0 Brand Managers Need to Practice Consumer Collaboration https://googledata.org/google-cpg/brand-managers-need-to-practice-consumer-collaboration/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/brand-managers-need-to-practice-consumer-collaboration/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:22:00 +0000

Posted by Guest Blogger: Dave Knox, Procter & Gamble Brand Manager

Brand Managers have historically been reliant on Consumer Research such as focus groups and surveys to be “in-touch” with consumers. But in this day of 24/7 access to consumer opinions from blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, Brand Managers need a new approach for understanding why people buy their brands. One of the most powerful ways to do so is through Consumer Collaboration. In its most simplistic form, Consumer Collaboration is about monitoring and participating in the conversations around our brands, listening to changing opinions in real-time. It is about tapping into what Google calls the “Database of Consumer Intentions” to gain a new sense of what our consumers are thinking each and every day. In fact, Google is a company making it easy for marketers to be in touch with the “database of intentions” every day through tools like Wonder Wheel, Insights for Search, Blog Search, and YouTube Insights for Video.

But true Consumer Collaboration is about going beyond that, giving marketers a chance to tap into the passion of consumers and collaborate with brand advocates. The world of digital gives CPG Marketers the chance to harness the energy of consumers to build remarkable brands.

In that regard, the need for moving towards a mindset of Consumer Collaboration is driven by three facts:
  1. Consumers are sharing their opinions about the brand, with, or without, a Brand Manager's blessing.
  2. Consumers will be heard whether or not companies give them an outlet.
  3. The amount of information about our brands (and access to that information) has never been greater.
Today’s Brand Managers must recognize a new approach to move beyond research and instead focus on collaborating with our consumers and your most passionate fans. This means we should invite consumers to collaborate with us to improve our brand. Scott Cook, founder of Intuit and Board Member of P&G, eBay and Amazon calls these “User Contribution Systems.” As Cook pointed out in the Harvard Business Review:

"Every day, millions of people make all kinds of voluntary contributions to companies -- from informed opinions to computing resources -- that create tremendous value for this firm's customers and, consequently, for their shareholders,"

This fact has not been lost on CPG Brand Marketers. Whether it is Tide using the services of Get Satisfaction, or Hugo Boss Fragrance tapping into consumer creativity with HugoCreate.com, brands are starting to see the true value of Consumer Collaboration.

However, one of the best examples actually comes from a non-CPG company: Starbucks with their program, MyStarbucksIdea.com. Launched in March 2008, the site arrived one year after Howard Schultz famously wrote an internal memo that said “[we] desperately need to look into the mirror and realize it's time to get back to the core and make the changes necessary to evoke the heritage, the tradition, and the passion that we all have for the true Starbucks experience.” MyStarbucksIdea was a way to regain that heritage and passion by inviting Starbucks loyalists to collaborative on reinvigorating the brand. As Starbucks describes the site:

What would make your Starbucks experience perfect? We know you've got ideas - big ideas, little ideas, maybe even totally revolutionary ideas - and we want to hear them all. That's why we created My Starbucks Idea. So you can share the ideas that matter to you and you can find out how we're putting those ideas to work. Together, we will shape the future of Starbucks.

When the site first launched, the critics classified it as nothing more than a “glorified comment card.” But over the past year, Starbucks has shown that they are truly committed to making the site much more than that. In the spirit of Consumer Collaboration, Starbucks enrolls people throughout the lifetime of an idea. At the heart of the process is a team of Idea Partners - Starbucks employees who are experts in their respective field. These Idea partners read all ideas and comments on the site, but also guide ideas through the Starbucks organization. And just as important, they keep consumers up to date via the Ideas in action blog where Starbucks writes about the ideas that are recommended for implementation and details where they are in the process (Under Review, Reviewed, Coming Soon or Launched).

This is consumer collaboration at its finest. Starbucks isn’t inviting consumers to a two hour focus group where they give ideas and never talk to the company again. Instead they are inviting people to give their opinions and providing an outlet to do so. The result is that consumers are acting like part-owners of the company because their ideas are being heard. More brands need to follow the lead of Starbucks in this area, leveraging the power of digital to practice true Consumer Collaboration.

This guest post is written by Procter & Gamble Brand Manager, Dave Knox. Dave serves as P&G’s Corporate Marketing Brand Manager for Digital Business Strategy, responsible for driving digital innovation and capability across P&G's 300+ brands worldwide. The Digital Business Strategy team makes the strategic choices on which digital brand building skills and innovations will be areas of focus for P&G's brands. Author of the branding blog, HardKnoxLife.com, Dave was named by AdAge as “1 of 25 Media People You Should Follow on Twitter.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/brand-managers-need-to-practice-consumer-collaboration/feed/ 0 Think 2010: Google Webinar – Using Data to Better Connect with Your Customers https://googledata.org/google-cpg/think-2010-google-webinar-using-data-to-better-connect-with-your-customers/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/think-2010-google-webinar-using-data-to-better-connect-with-your-customers/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:32:00 +0000

Attracting the right customers to your website will help you finish off 2009 strong and charge ahead in 2010. Few marketers realize that there is free data available, which is easy to access and can help you better target your advertising.

Please join us to discuss where to find this data and how to utilize it to make educated decisions and develop a sound targeting strategy.
Avinash Kaushik will lead a discussion to share ways for “Using Data to Better Connect with Your Customers.” You'll learn how to find and use data from Google Trends for Websites, Insights for Search, and Ad Planner. Avinash will offer tips for using this data to focus on your most relevant audiences and maximize your return-on-investment immediately. And you'll walk away knowing how to make the most relevant decisions to drive your business forward.


Avinash Kaushik
Analytics Evangelist
Author and Blogger
Google, Inc.


Avinash Kaushik is the author of both Web Analytics 2.0 and best-selling Web Analytics: An Hour A Day. He is also the Analytics Evangelist for Google and the co-founder of Market Motive Inc.

As a thought leader, Avinash puts a common sense framework around the often frenetic world of web research and analytics, and combines that with this philosophy that investing in talented Analysts is the key to long term success. He is also a staunch advocate of listening to the consumer, and is committed to helping organizations unlock the value of web data. Avinash works with some of the largest companies in the world to help them evolve their online marketing and analytics strategies to become data driven and customer centric organizations. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences in the US and Europe, such as Ad-Tech, Monaco Media Forum, iCitizen, and SES, as well as at major Universities, such as Stanford, University of Virginia and University of Utah.

You'll find Avinash's web analytics blog, Occam's Razor here.

Webinar Date & Time
Tuesday, October 6th 2009
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm EST / 10:00 am – 11:30 am PST

Register Here
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/think-2010-google-webinar-using-data-to-better-connect-with-your-customers/feed/ 0 Real Time Trends Show How Consumers Are Driven to Search After Exposure to Product Introductions on TV https://googledata.org/google-cpg/real-time-trends-show-how-consumers-are-driven-to-search-after-exposure-to-product-introductions-on-tv/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/real-time-trends-show-how-consumers-are-driven-to-search-after-exposure-to-product-introductions-on-tv/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:03:00 +0000 A review of the Google Hot Trends that took place on September 14th show the usual suspects..."US Open Mens Final 2009" was number 1..."Monday Night Football Schedule 2009" was number 2...and "Kayne and Taylor Swift Vdeo" was number 5 (looks like Kayne's behavior at the VMAs has driven Americans to search in masses, to comment and re-live the moment).

When scouring the list of hot trends for CPG type products, someone may notice "fiber wafers" at number 93.

Fiber wafers? That might seem like an odd search query; how many people could be motivated to search for something as specific and niche as fiber wafers in a high enough volume to hit #93 on the Hot Trends List?

Clicking on the word in the Google Hot Trends tool brings up some clues, via Related Searches: fiber biscuits, dr. oz tv show, dr oz, dr oz website, tv guide listings...

Search volume trends by the hour look like:


It looks like searches peaked at around 12 Noon on September 14 -- the same day as the season premiere of the Dr. Oz Show -- evidence that TV triggers consumers to search at the same time as watching TV or shortly thereafter. Even for CPG products!

Further, Dr. Oz's expertise -- he is an American cardiothoracic surgeon and author, with his own YouTube channel, who was a featured health expert on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” for more than five seasons and 55 episodes -- seems to have influenced the public. He recommends taking a fiber wafer one hour before a fast food meal to curb an unhealthy appetite and aid in making healthier fast food choices.

Will fiber wafers now be part of the vocabulary of every American seeking healthier ways? Perhaps.

Only search will tell.

Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager, CPG
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/real-time-trends-show-how-consumers-are-driven-to-search-after-exposure-to-product-introductions-on-tv/feed/ 0 Channel Migration: Escalation of Deal-Seeking Drives Battle for Share to a New Level https://googledata.org/google-cpg/channel-migration-escalation-of-deal-seeking-drives-battle-for-share-to-a-new-level/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/channel-migration-escalation-of-deal-seeking-drives-battle-for-share-to-a-new-level/#comments Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:34:00 +0000 Posted by Guest Blogger Susan Viamari, Editor of Times and Trends, Information Resources, Inc.

Recent reports point to an improving U.S. economy, but battle-weary shoppers remain fully entrenched in savings mode. Consumers are looking to trim back expenditures wherever possible. Dining out is down sharply, self-care is pervasive, and trading down—even out—is an increasingly common part of consumers’ money-saving strategies. Today, consumers are infinitely more aware of how and where their money is being spent.

Last year, when Information Resources Inc. (IRI) explored channel migration trends within the monthly Times & Trends report, supercenters were securing sizable share gains across every major CPG department. These gains cut across income segments, reinforcing the notion that reaction to economic turmoil ran broad and deep.

The recession continues to play out. Consumers are evolving rituals and CPG shopping strategies based on their current financial situation, confidence in the future, prices, promotion and a rapidly changing value perception. Many of the rituals that are developed in response to today’s difficult economic environment will remain long after the recession has ended. IRI’s August issue of Times & Trends, “Channel Migration 2009: The Blurring of Shopper Loyalty,” clearly illustrates that shopper loyalty has become an exponentially more complex phenomenon over the past two years.



Supercenters play a major role in providing U.S. consumers with affordable CPG solutions and continues to gain share of consumers’ CPG dollars. But, retailers from competing channels have stepped-up efforts to attract and retain shoppers, and supercenter share gains have waned over the past year. Innovative marketing efforts, such as every-day low price strategies being developed and rolled out across several large grocery retailers, and CVS’s Beauty 360 concept, are being well-received by deal-seeking shoppers, resulting in mitigated losses and/or slight gains across a majority of retail channels. (Note: Gains come largely at the expense of the mass merchandise channel, which is in a multi-year slide due to consumers’ increasing preference for one-stop shopping and the on-going conversion of traditional mass merchandise stores to supercenter formats.) The battle for share of CPG spending continues.

Retailers and manufacturers are notching up their efforts to connect with and influence consumers with the help of a powerful—and growing—marketing tool: the Internet. One of the early CPG players to the game was Walmart. The retailer’s first foray into the social media scene was an internal social network where employees could share ideas and get answers to questions. The idea gained traction and has led to several new online initiatives, including free classifieds on Walmart.com and several theme-based blogging sites. Other CPG marketers are joining in, showing presence on Twitter, Facebook and other online blogging sites. Reach and impact is multiplied greatly by non-affiliated bloggers posting their thoughts and experiences online for all to see.

And consumers are certainly logging on to the Web en masse. According to Internet World Stats, three-quarters of Americans are now online. Penetration has increased 60 points since 1995, and migration to online living remains strong. In IRI’s recent “Consumer Dynamics” survey, shoppers predicted that 76% of their shopping decisions will be made before they get to the store. In a recessionary economy, and likely beyond, consumers are embracing the Internet as a money-saving tool. For example, IRI research reveals that 44% of shoppers are using the Internet to find coupons, and 52% rely on Internet-based research to obtain basic healthcare information.

The Internet has brought immediacy to shopping discovery efforts. A rapidly growing number of shoppers indicate that information from the Internet or email has influenced their health and beauty care product purchases. The medium provides an excellent opportunity to connect with consumers in the privacy of their own home, and it serves as a central repository for comments from other shoppers. The power of the Internet is vast and quickly intensifying. CPG marketers that are able to effectively leverage this tool to understand and connect with key shopper and target groups will have a powerful competitive advantage in the battle for share of CPG spending.

For more on the burgeoning battle for share of CPG spending, and the important role the Internet is playing in informing and influencing fiscally-weary shoppers, read IRI’s August 2009 issue of Times & Trends, “Channel Migration 2009: The Blurring of Shopper Loyalty”.

For more great insights into critical trends impacting the CPG industry, be sure to check out IRI's CPG Blog.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/channel-migration-escalation-of-deal-seeking-drives-battle-for-share-to-a-new-level/feed/ 0 Gettin’ Google With It https://googledata.org/google-cpg/gettin%e2%80%99-google-with-it/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/gettin%e2%80%99-google-with-it/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:30:00 +0000 Posted by Guest Blogger: Liz Dodder, Nestlé USA’s Online Communications Manager

I admit it; I’m addicted to Google. I Google everything from prospective boyfriends, song lyrics and frittata recipes to Argentinean vacations and rush hour driving times (not to mention the best thing on Google Maps, Street View). So when I learned I was going to Nestlé’s Google Boot Camp II, a program designed to help Nestlé marketers and communicators better understand online strategies and tools, I was thrilled.

I couldn’t wait to see this Corporate America Nirvana (surely you’ve heard some of the benefits of working at Google: free food and foozball for all, massage and yoga, every employee being granted the luxury of free time and the ability to make a difference). It sounded good on the surface, but I wondered, what makes Google work? How do they stay on top as the technology leader in organizing the world’s information? And how can we apply it to improve our business? Here it is, straight from the inside (tip: don’t try to Google it).

Top 10 Ways to Get Googled

10. Inject your culture with cool. Google culture is really cool. They do have free meals and snacks in cafes all over campus with a focus on nutritious, local, high-quality food. Their dress code of “You gotta wear something” fosters creative expression and hip comfort for all. Music/movies/vegetable gardening on the lawn: all free. Not to mention free time each week (20% to work on your own projects). The happiness shows, and Google benefits.

9. Beef up on-site benefits. Google has a tech stop/help desk in each building. Seriously, you can take your laptop down anytime and they will fix it right there, no hold music required. Also, every building has fitness areas and casual areas with couches, games and massage chairs – and every one of them is full of employees engrossed in their laptops. Mobile, comfy work stations also = very cool.

8. Get your message out there, try something new. Even Google bathrooms give you data. Just as I can read ads in the stalls of my favorite restaurants and bars, here I can “Learn on the Loo,” improving my own Search results, finding out about company training and more – all while multitasking. This definitely gets my attention; I am captive, interested in the topic and I don’t even have to make time to get the message. I’m already looking forward to future bathroom visits.

7. Give to Search, and it will give back. At Google, Search is king. And there is much to learn about how Nestlé can optimize our online properties for Search. We learned that we don’t spend enough time or money in online search to get the optimal results for our brands. When you run a Search program (with the help of our agency, Moxie), you get to decide how much to spend, which search words make sense, and then test it out real-time. Looking at the click-through data gives you immediate feedback on which terms work best. Then, you can make changes to your program immediately. And studies show that being top-of-search increases top-of-mind.

6. Get on the Tube. YouTube channels are free! (Our agencies can’t compete with that.) Although you can lose many hours of your life browsing YouTube, you can also find real answers (it’s the second-most visited Search page on the internet, after Google). People are looking for video content more and more to get information on a variety of topics. YouTube can be your video library – a place to collect all brand videos from each of your websites, with free hosting, comments and user analytics (just make sure to check our rights over the content). You can even add links back to your website right in the video. Whether you go with professional videos or a more creative approach, it’s an easy way to reach a huge audience of consumers that might not make it to your site.

We also discovered that our brands are on YouTube whether we’ve posted the content ourselves or not – so it’s important to understand how our brands are being portrayed. We’ve all heard of the nightmare customer service video being posted by a disgruntled customer. These videos have taken over the brands’ top search spots, leaving the consumer without any messaging from the brand. More video content or free channels can help counter that.

5. Leverage other video/content. So you never aspired to be Martin Scorsese. You can still increase brand lift on YouTube without creating tons of video. You can buy sponsored links (like a Google Search program), pay for Pre-Roll advertising or partner with brand-sympathetic content that is already popular. Check out Burger King, who partnered with comic Seth McFarlane on his video content (http://www.youtube.com/user/bk).

4. It’s all about content. These days, you’re not only advertising; you’re creating content. You’re asking consumers to engage with your brand – and that takes content, which is something consumers are looking for (50% of all sales are researched online prior to purchase). Google helps you push (with Search) and pull (with GCN ads) consumers to your content with Search programs, GCN Ads, YouTube channels, free blogs and more. We heard about digital strategies and lessons learned from brands like Safeway, Nature Valley and Lipton, where Google programs moved significant offline sales.

3. Keep your eye on the phone. Everyone wants to invent the next “iPhone” – the product that consumers can’t do without. Smart phones, those with integrated web browsers, are already beating computers in number per household – and mobile computing is growing fast. Our number one priority here is to create mobile-optimized websites, and we can look next to mobile promotions and iPhone apps.

2. Get to know Social Media. The Skinny Cow has more friends on Facebook than I do (well, I can be a Facebook Snob, and the Skinny Cow has never met a person she doesn’t like). Wonka Nation gives consumers virtual backstage passes with its video content on Facebook, the Nesquik Bunny spreads brand cheer on Twitter and the Skinny Cow has actual conversations with her consumers on Twitter. Your brand needs friends. A question for you: why would a consumer want to be your brand’s friend? What value can your brand add to a consumer’s life? For a successful social media plan, you have to answer these questions, and then create content and timing to support it.

1. Relearn Google math. At Google, 1+1=5 (don’t show this to the Finance folks). This equation seems a little off, but after realizing the online world is not just a selling transaction point, but a communication platform that influences consumers from all sides, it makes sense. The other boot campers and I have seen that online strategies such as Google Search, content networks and video/social media have an exponential impact on brand lift. And we all want that.

]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/gettin%e2%80%99-google-with-it/feed/ 0 New Research Shows Online Ads An Effective Driver of Offline Sales and Branding for CPG https://googledata.org/google-cpg/new-research-shows-online-ads-an-effective-driver-of-offline-sales-and-branding-for-cpg/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/new-research-shows-online-ads-an-effective-driver-of-offline-sales-and-branding-for-cpg/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:48:00 +0000 comScore and DunnHumby recently released a co-sponsored study proving that the offline sales lift from online display ads can exceed lifts realized from TV. Not only were sales lifts from the internet higher than TV, but they were also achieved sooner. Additionally, an impact was seen across 80% of the campaigns that ran on the internet.

Offline Sales Lift from CPG Brand Advertising
Comparison Between TV and Internet
Total U.S.
Source: Information Resources, Inc. and comScore, Inc.
TV (IRI)Internet (comScore)
Sales Lift+8% over 12 months+9% over 3 months
Percent of Campaigns Showing Statistically Significant Lift36%80%


In 2008, Google commissioned a study with Harris Interactive among three CPG brands to compare the brand building effectiveness between traditional TV and online platforms. Effectiveness was equated to impact and engagement.

Identical traditional TV ads were shown on three distinct platforms: 1) on TV, 2) on a computer screen replicating a YouTube video environment, and on a computer screen replicating a click-to-play video embedded in content. The Harris Interactive results showed that :30 commercials on YouTube and embedded video ads performed at parity with TV. All three were on par with the ability to communicate key messages about the brand, strengthen likeability, and drive purchase intent.

The two pieces of research referenced above support that internet advertising is an effective medium to increase offline sales and branding, both very important metrics for CPG.

But have CPG companies been shifting ad dollars from TV to Offline?

Trended data from TNS Media Intelligence show that TV spend accounts for about 58% of total ad spend and this has been a consistent share of total ad spend since 2005. Even for year to date June 2009, this percentage still holds. However, we see that so far in 2009, internet ad spend has increased from about 2% to 4%, but these ad dollars were reallocated from newspaper and radio. It will be interesting to see if and when shifts occur from TV.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/new-research-shows-online-ads-an-effective-driver-of-offline-sales-and-branding-for-cpg/feed/ 0 Video is the Catnip Du Jour for Modern Moms https://googledata.org/google-cpg/video-is-the-catnip-du-jour-for-modern-moms/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/video-is-the-catnip-du-jour-for-modern-moms/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:56:00 +0000
Posted by Guest Blogger Jessica Hogue, CPG Research Director at Nielsen Online

They watch it (entertainment factor). They create it with handheld cams (community building factor). They also entertain and interact with their kids through properties like PBS Kids, Nick, Noggin and Disney (family factor). And online viewership is growing. Across all categories, moms spent nearly 43 percent more time viewing video online (in minutes) in June 2009 compared to the previous year. There are two key reasons why video seems to be gathering momentum among online moms.

The first reason, albeit a bit perfunctory, is simply accessibility. Widespread broadband is certainly important here, but video is also an enabler of sorts, allowing moms to participate in activities they might not otherwise have time for. For the same reasons that DVR’ing is addictive, moms can troll for content at any hour of the day (or, more likely, night) and catch up on, say, old episodes of Grey’s Anatomy.

Earlier this year, the Online division of The Nielsen Company conducted a video ethnography to better understand why, and specifically how, moms engage with digital applications in their everyday lives. We equipped select respondents with video cameras and tracked their interactions with social media, devices and technology daily for a week. In video diaries submitted from women hailing from Denver to Atlanta, moms captured moments sitting at the table with their tween or a toddler on their lap playing games online and engaging with educational content.

This ability to connect – to social networks and to those nearest and dearest – is a critical driver in moms’ viewing habits. Online video enables moms to engage with their social networks (a word on vlogging communities in a minute), as well as with kid-centric content. It is also creating new opportunities for moms to interact with and engage with their kids in a manner that is wholly relevant to their increasingly wired lives. Beyond our qualitative ethnography insights, the numbers support this: After entertainment video viewing, moms 21 to 54 collectively over index by 54 percent for time spent streaming kid-centric, gaming and toy properties.

Importantly we’re seeing just how much mom’s age and the age of her children matter to the types of video content she finds valuable, which is critical to informing marketers on how to better target, reach and develop relevant messaging for these women.

For example, in June 2009, more than 9 percent of unique visitors to gaming and toy properties were moms aged 21-34 with children between the ages of 2-11, compared with almost 14 percent of moms 35-49 (also with children between the ages of 2-11). While many may assume that younger moms might be more predisposed to streaming video than their predecessors, this doesn’t appear to be the case. Moms 35 and up have increased their viewership of kid-centric streams in the last year by more than 38 percent in June 2009.


Vlogging

Vlogging is still a fairly niche activity among online moms but there are signs that it is growing. Not only do most mom-oriented social communities have vlogging capabilities, but there are increasingly dedicated networks for vloggers, such as MomVloggersClub.com and MomTV.com; moreover, sites like Momversation that feature content from influential bloggers inspire conversations around topical issues. Even Wal-Mart’s site enables video uploads by its Elevenmoms (now numbering in the 20s). Moms gravitate to the intimate nature of video-sharing for everything from frank product reviews (the rationale goes that if you can physically see how another mom uses something in her daily life that perhaps that is even more persuasive than a text-based endorsement) to vlogging about challenges with vaccinations and special needs.

Knowing that moms today engage with video on a variety of fronts is useful from a consumer insights perspective. But that’s just scratching the surface. The data suggest there are opportunities for marketers to further segment moms beyond traditional demographic lines to better understand their viewing needs and to fine tune how and when we reach them. Through our ongoing research into the digital lives as moms, we’ve integrated learnings from audience measurement, mobile usage as well as mining mom blogger and mom discussion forum buzz to continually evolve our understanding of moms needs (online and offline) and issues she’s most passionate about. We hosted a webinar in May presenting additional insights from this work, available here: http://en-us.nielsen.com/main/insights/webinars.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/video-is-the-catnip-du-jour-for-modern-moms/feed/ 0 More Google Tools for Food Advertisers, Food Content Providers and Foodie Minds of America https://googledata.org/google-cpg/more-google-tools-for-food-advertisers-food-content-providers-and-foodie-minds-of-america/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/more-google-tools-for-food-advertisers-food-content-providers-and-foodie-minds-of-america/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:22:00 +0000 Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager - CPG

Google Wonder Wheel

Google has a product called Wonder Wheel. It creates a visual representation of search results in a spider diagram-like format. Clicking on the Wonder Wheel option brings up a tag cloud of hyperlinked search phrases. To use wonder wheel: conduct a search on google.com, on the results page, there is a expandable 'show options' link next to 'web'. You will see Wonder Wheel as an option under Standard View. Let's take a ride on the wheel and dig deeper into what consumers are searching for related to summer salads.

According to the wonder wheel results for 'summer salad recipes', consumers are looking for 'cucumber salad', 'chicken salad', 'fruit salads' and 'pasta salads'. They are also looking for recipes that are easy. If one clicks on the result for 'easy summer salads', we see that consumers will go so far as to type in the word 'simple' into the search bar, searching for simple 'avocado salad' and 'simple cabbage salad'. We also see that consumers will even search for salad recipes based on ingredient varietals like 'olive oil salads' and 'balsamic vinegar'.


When one expands the wheel to focus on balsamic vinegar, we see that consumers care about its health benefits, whether or not it has calories, if balsamic vinegar from modena italy is somehow different from others, how to make a reduction and what would be a suitable substitute if one dislikes balsamic vinegar or finds that it stains the ingredients.

You can, of course, continue to build new Wonder Wheels by continually clicking on new related searches.

Google Timeline

On the flip side, what does the content look like on the provider side to fulfill the consumer curiousity? Are people or publishers writing about easy summer salads? What does the trend look like? For this, you can consult the timeline tool, found under the wonder wheel selection.

You can alter the dates to the current year and see the monthly trend of articles that talk about easy summer salads. The article must note all three words.
In the monthly trend for 'summer salads', you can see the ramp up that steadily takes place reaching the peak in July and August.


This timeline tool is particularly useful for tracking the “zeitgeist” of certain keywords and topics. For CPG, we see increases in information being written about 'acai' and 'probiotics' as one would expect.

Cookin' With Google

A product called Cookin' With Google is listed under Custom Search in Beta. It is a tool that consumers can use to help hunt and peck specific recipes that match up to ingredients they may have already on-hand or already have in mind. For instance, perhaps a look into the fridge yields the following random ingredients: eggs, chicken peas and cheese. If this string is punched into this tool, we see this search result:


What's nice about the tool is that it can be further refined for Vegan, Crockpot, Vegetarian, Atkins, Weight Watchers, and Gluten-Free to name a few. A really neat tool for consumers looking for recipes that suit their lifestyle.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/more-google-tools-for-food-advertisers-food-content-providers-and-foodie-minds-of-america/feed/ 0 Consumers Seek Value. But Value Means More than Low Price. https://googledata.org/google-cpg/consumers-seek-value-but-value-means-more-than-low-price/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/consumers-seek-value-but-value-means-more-than-low-price/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:22:00 +0000 Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager, CPG

According to a recent Harris Interactive study, 62% of online consumers are purchasing more generic brands as a result of the recession.
But are consumers willing to switch to generic brands across all categories?

Mintel, a CPG solutions and research provider, says that U.S. consumers have a much closer relationship with their branded personal care and health products than food. This is especially evident when you compare this U.S. behavior to that in Europe. In Europe, private label personal care products are a lot more commonplace. Some of these European private labels like Boots have even entered the US market as a strong competitor.

This relationship was confirmed in a recent ICOM survey who's stats provide a rank list of product categories.
Respondents of the survey said they would switch to generic brands as follows:

59% for food and household products
48% for health products
48% for personal care products
23% for pet care products
12% for child care products

Not surprisingly, consumers are least willing to switch to generic store brands when it comes to their pets and kids. In those categories, the brand equity is something that consumers are willing to pay for.

Another thought occurs to us as we visit this story. It's common for prescription health products to have a "generic" version. But it seems odd to refer to traditional consumer packaged good products found in food, drug and mass as "generic". As a matter of fact, these days, private-label brands are everything but generic.

According to Mintel, private labels are providing more than just cheap alternatives to national brands. They are attracting shoppers with premium ingredients, portability and health benefits.

In the first half of 2009, Mintel has seen almost 1,800 new U.S. private label introductions in food, which accounts for 27% of all new food products introduced year to date. Compare this with that in 2005, when only 13% of new food product launches came from private label.

The new product innovations coming out of private label lines no longer rely on 'me-too' products. According to Mintel's Krista Faron as quoted from QSR magazine, "Private label manufacturers realize 'value' means more than 'low price' to consumers, so they're wisely creating new products that deliver on some of today's most exciting food trends."

This includes giving shoppers convenience, nutrition and even ethnic fare that may help target the local demographic. Examples taken from the QSR article include: SuperValu's Culinary Circle line features an upscale Pork Carnitas Enchilada Casserole. Safeway has jumped on the portable and high-quality lunch bandwagon with their line of Rice Noodle Soup Bowls which makes "desk-dining easy". Lucerne Foods has an Eating Right brand that includes kids' Whole Wheat Mini Ravioli with fiber and protein and Light Ice Cream Cups containing probiotics.

It seems that one of the big advantages to being a private label brand is the ability to compete across many different categories which allows them to identify trends from one category and implement it in another. They also know their local demographic well, and can cater to the taste and value attributes of their immediate audience. These make private label brands a force to be reckoned with. It therefore becomes all that much important for CPG brands to maximize top of mind awareness and show that they are an expert in their field.

Google research conducted in 2008 showed that paid search is an effective way for CPG brands to effectively lift top of mind awareness. Across four different CPG industries, a search result served in the top sponsored position triggered with a non-branded keyword showed a range of 10% point to 28% point lift in unaided awareness.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/consumers-seek-value-but-value-means-more-than-low-price/feed/ 0 The Four Questions to Answer for Success in CPG Social Marketing https://googledata.org/google-cpg/the-four-questions-to-answer-for-success-in-cpg-social-marketing/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/the-four-questions-to-answer-for-success-in-cpg-social-marketing/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:11:00 +0000 By Guest Blogger: David Berkowitz
Director of Emerging Media & Client Strategy
Digital communications agency 360i

Do you need a Facebook strategy? Should your brand be on Twitter? When CPG marketers are assessing various social marketing opportunities, answering four questions can help determine whether or not the opportunity makes sense for the brand:

1) Does the opportunity meet your brand’s objectives?

2) Does the opportunity leverage your brand’s existing arsenal of assets?

3) Does the opportunity abide by the social media rules of the road?

4) Does it provide significant value exchange?

These questions, as well as other tips and best practices, are detailed in 360i’s recently-released Social Marketing Playbook, a freely available 56-page guide on how to develop, execute and measure a successful social marketing strategy.Here, we’ll take a look at a number of CPG campaigns and ongoing social programs to see how these marketers applied the four questions when devising their strategies:

1) Does the opportunity meet your brand’s objectives?
This the hardest to answer for another marketer in hindsight, but sometimes the objectives are clear. Consider how Tyson Foods uses its Twitter account. Its profile description says, “This account currently focuses on hunger relief efforts: yours, ours, theirs.” That implies that the account’s mission is to raise awareness of hunger issues and showcase Tyson’s role in helping the cause. Tyson’s posts on Twitter show its laser focus. It links to news stories on hunger, shares videos relating to the issue, and retweets others’ relevant posts. With about 4,000 followers, Tyson is meeting its objectives tweet by tweet.

2) Does the opportunity leverage your brand’s existing arsenal of assets?

A brand’s arsenal can include online content, brand partnerships, messaging, promotions and even its brand advocates. Red Bull uses a number of its assets well on its Facebook Page, which has about 1.1 million fans. Red Bull posts updates for fans at least weekly, including video clips and information on events it sponsors. The brand has posted 15 photo albums, and fans have contributed an additional 2,500 photos. They have also developed customized pages for more specialized communities, such as Red Bull Air Race and Red Bull Racing. Lastly, Red Bull has developed more applications and customized content than just about any brand on Facebook, including a tab on its page showcasing Twitter updates from its sponsored athletes. Red Bull gives its arsenal wings on Facebook, so it’s hardly surprising that it’s one of the most ‘fanned’ products or brands on the site.

3) Does the opportunity abide by the social media rules of the road?

The Social Marketing Playbook outlines a number of social media rules, including the importance of transparency and of listening before leaping in. Oscar Mayer’s partnership with House Party in June is an example of a social marketing effort that clearly followed the rules.

Oscar Mayer sponsored events on June 20, where House Party members signed up to invite friends to gatherings at their homes featuring Oscar Mayer products. Oscar Mayer sent hosts party packs that included coupons, plates, aprons and other goodies. The day of the events, over 17,000 partygoers attended, and hosts uploaded 3,300 photos and shared 2,600 blog posts. The program made it easy for participants to share content in ways that suited them. They became brand advocates without compromising their own identities and personalities.

4) Does it provide significant value exchange?

Ultimately, any social marketing program needs to clearly provide value for consumers. This value can take the form of utility, information, entertainment, self-expression, socialization or tangible goods. Vitamin Water launched a program on MySpace to offer free MP3 downloads from Amazon, with redemption codes under bottle caps.
Here, the value’s straightforward, but it doesn’t always have to be so cut and dry. Tyson Foods offered information through Twitter and Oscar Mayer offered tangible goods to kick off the party but included self-expression and socialization as key elements. Vitamin Water also provides other forms of value through MySpace, such as information about new artists and forums where its nearly 8,200 fans can interact.

As useful as these four questions may be for assessing past or current social marketing efforts, they’re most valuable when planning ahead, so consider anything you’re currently working on and make sure you address these questions accordingly. If all four questions can’t be answered, or you’re not thrilled with your answers, there may be an opportunity to improve the program before it launches.

For more insights into social marketing strategies for brands, follow @360i on Twitter.

]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/the-four-questions-to-answer-for-success-in-cpg-social-marketing/feed/ 0 Announcing Upcoming Search Webinar! https://googledata.org/google-cpg/announcing-upcoming-search-webinar/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/announcing-upcoming-search-webinar/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:54:00 +0000
Join us on Wednesday, July 15th at 10am PST / 1pm EST as we share findings from new research on the evolution of consumer search behavior and discuss key strategies marketers can take to adapt to these changes. During this webinar we will discuss:

- How economic uncertainty is changing the way consumers search online
- What changing consumer activity means for search and your online marketing strategies
- 3 tactical areas for marketers to focus on during the rest of 2009

To register for State of Search 2009, please click here.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/announcing-upcoming-search-webinar/feed/ 0 Parents Seek Healthy Ways to Send the Kids Back to School https://googledata.org/google-cpg/parents-seek-healthy-ways-to-send-the-kids-back-to-school/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/parents-seek-healthy-ways-to-send-the-kids-back-to-school/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:58:00 +0000 posted by Guest Blogger: Heather Dougherty, Research Director at Hitwise

School doors have barely shut for the summer, yet the Back to School season is almost upon us once again. One of the big challenges facing parents is making sure that kids are eating healthy lunches and snacks – especially for the picky kids that frown upon fruits and vegetables. Resolutions for the New Year always drive a spike in search activity in January, but we also see an uptick in searches for ‘healthy snacks’ during the Back to School season as can be seen here from Google Trends.


Digging deep into search behavior:

How can we be confident that parents are indeed searching for healthy snacks for their kids and not for themselves? Upon looking at the top 10 search terms containing the words 'healthy snacks', half of them include the term 'kid; or 'school', a strong indicator that parents look to the web for help in figuring out what to feed their children.


Hitwise investigates deeper into the search terms containing 'healthy snacks for kids':


In addition to snack & lunch ideas, search queries highlight that parents are also seeking help for events like birthday parties, football games and other group activities. Today most parents are faced with tighter shopping budgets along with the challenges of providing a healthy diet. At Hitwise, we have observed that visits to websites offering coupons increased 39% for the week ending June 20, 2009 as compared to the previous year. Together these trends showcase that marketers should be providing offerings that combine healthy eating with cost-savings with group activities.

Where are the clicks going to?

When seeking help in planning healthy snacks, during the last Back to School season, 38% of searchers turned to websites in the Health & Medical category in Sept 2008, particularly 'Information and Wellbeing'.


A closer look at the Industries that received traffic from the search term ‘healthy snacks’ reveals that 'Blogs and Personal Websites' experienced the most significant growth, up 11% from Sept 2007. This indicates how consumers are now looking beyond just health websites but to other consumers like themselves for advice around healthy snacking. We think an opportunity then exists for brands to get their messages about a new healthy product in front of consumers in a blog environment. We even see that Brands & Manufacturers also experienced an increase of +0.66% from the same time frame one year ago.

We speculate that there will be an increase in clicks to brand websites this coming school season since many brands now incorporate both the Health aspect of a product as well as the viral element of blogging or voicing opinions on their sites - the best of both worlds.

If consumers display willingness to visit the websites of Brands and Manufacturers during the quest for food solutions, are there opportunities through paid search to attract these parents? Among those searches for ‘healthy snacks’, the share of paid traffic generated by all variations of 'healthy snacks' was 12% for the 12 weeks ending September 28, 2008, indicating plenty of room for healthy competition for this keyword amongst marketers during the Back to School season.

For additional search driven insights from Hitwise, please visit ilovedata.com.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/parents-seek-healthy-ways-to-send-the-kids-back-to-school/feed/ 0 The Role of Search in Integrated Marketing https://googledata.org/google-cpg/the-role-of-search-in-integrated-marketing/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/the-role-of-search-in-integrated-marketing/#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:38:00 +0000

It is self-evident that we are living in a time of extraordinary economic upheaval. To succeed in this uncertain environment – and be in position for success when the world economy stabilizes – marketers must embrace the concept of smart, measurable, integrated marketing.
So how should a marketer take advantage of online to encourage and measure a promotional (or any) campaign’s success? Following a few basic rules is a great way to start. Part one of this two-part series will cover the basics, while part two will take a deeper dive into each section.

Rule #1: Fish Where the Fish Are

Traditional marketing relied on a wide net approach. Media like television were (and are) great at reaching many people, but even when you narrow the focus by targeting to certain demographics, advertising messages would reach a great many people with no interest in the product. (This sort of waste is what John Wannamaker meant when he said that he knew half of his advertising budget was wasted, but he didn’t know which half.)
The advent of online media, though, allowed companies to be where their customers are and to take advantage of their interests at relevant points of engagement. A key component of reaching these already interested customers is search advertising. For instance, this year, for the first time ever, more people searched for “coupons” than for “Britney”!

Rule #2: Be a Savvy Search Marketer

The role of search in direct response is obvious; you want to be there to scoop up demand when it’s expressed. However, what’s usually underestimated is the effect search advertising can have on brand building. As companies work harder and harder to communicate the value of their brand to target audiences (and as consumers choose how they spend each dollar more carefully than ever) it is paramount that marketers ensure their brands are present when a consumer is searching – whether searching for the brand itself or searching related terms. For instance, if you’re selling baseball bats, you not only want to be sure to appear when consumers search for your brand name, but also when they search for “baseball,” “baseball bat” and maybe even “sports. While closing the sale is critically important, that moment will never come if you don’t build the brand first…and search can help build that desire.

Rule #3: Beware the HiPPO

Most marketing decisions are made based on the HiPPO: (the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) . Better, though, is decision making based on data. This is another area where online media shines. It is no longer necessary to make decisions guided by the boss’ “gut.” Instead, marketers can make well-informed decisions and act on them in real time.

Rule #4: Measure, Measure, Measure

No other medium has ever offered such immediate and deep data on the effectiveness of advertising spend. Using (often free) tools, advertisers today can test copy, offers and geography. They can know the sources of their traffic and how they are performing relative to each other. They can know which of their website pages are most effective and “sticky.”
These very high-level concepts can guide marketers toward strategies that offer unprecedented certainty.

Posted by Tim Reis, head of Google's East Coast CPG Practice.
Tim is also a co-chair of PMA’s Digital Center of Excellence and is an incoming PMA Board Member.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/the-role-of-search-in-integrated-marketing/feed/ 0 Fire Up Your Brand This Memorial Day Weekend https://googledata.org/google-cpg/fire-up-your-brand-this-memorial-day-weekend/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/fire-up-your-brand-this-memorial-day-weekend/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:45:00 +0000
Memorial Day marks the start of the summer season, which means picnics and cookouts galore.

Around this time, there is also a surge in grilling, picnic, and cookout related searches, which continues through the summer months as can be seen from Google Insights for Search:



Did You Know?
The largest volume of grilling, cookout, and picnic related searches occur Wednesday-Sunday.
Marketers promoting their brand through Search Campaigns can use the Google Ad Scheduler to heavy up their campaigns during these key search dates.

According to the Adwords Keyword Tool, the Top Search Terms relevant to this holiday are:
"recipes for grilling, grilling chicken, grill recipes, grilling recipes chicken, grilling steak, picnic food, pork recipes, steak recipes, picnic food recipes" and search volume for these keywords last month topped 1 million.

The above insights can help marketers of products such as spices, dressings, condiments and even paper cups and plates manage their campaigns during this peak season.

We leave you with a recipe for my favorite Red Potato Bliss Salad with Dill that is sure to be a crowd pleaser at any BBQ:

- 1lb small red potatoes, boiled until tender and drained.
- 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and then chopped
- 3/4 cup of low fat mayo
- 2 stalks finely chopped celery
- 3 bunches of finely chopped green onion
- 2 tbsp chopped dill pickle
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh dillweed
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp of the dill pickle liquid
- Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Cool potatoes then chop into coarse chunks, leaving most of skin intact. Combine potatoes with remaining ingredients in a large bowl and gently toss with spoon to mix flavors. Chill 4-6 hours and serve and enjoy!

Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager, CPG
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/fire-up-your-brand-this-memorial-day-weekend/feed/ 0 Analytics Webinar with Avinash Kaushik https://googledata.org/google-cpg/analytics-webinar-with-avinash-kaushik/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/analytics-webinar-with-avinash-kaushik/#comments Thu, 21 May 2009 15:15:00 +0000
Little Changes, Large Results: 5 Things Marketers Can Do Now

In today's tough economic climate, it's increasing important for marketers to utilize resources effectively - in particular, media dollars - in order to maximize ROI.  But often times, marketers overlook what's immediately achievable.

A few weeks ago, Google Analytics Evangelist, Avinash Kaushik, led a discussion on the 'Top 5 Things Marketers Can Do Now" in order to maximize ROI. We realize some of you may have missed the opportunity to hear Avinash speak, but may still be interested in the tips he was able to provide.  As such, we've posted a recording of his talk onto the Google Brand Channel on YouTube, which you can access here.

After viewing this recording, you'll learn how to immediately implement Avinash's tips for using data-driven insights to guide your marketing message and media strategies.  You'll walk away knowing how to improve marketing efficiency, drive insights into consumer behavior, and generate greater returns on your marketing investments.

]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/analytics-webinar-with-avinash-kaushik/feed/ 0 4 Best Practices for Consumer Packaged Good Marketers Targeting U.S. Hispanics Online https://googledata.org/google-cpg/4-best-practices-for-consumer-packaged-good-marketers-targeting-u-s-hispanics-online/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/4-best-practices-for-consumer-packaged-good-marketers-targeting-u-s-hispanics-online/#comments Wed, 20 May 2009 14:42:00 +0000


Trend data from one of Google's Internal tools shows how search impressions on Hispanic consumer packaged good related keywords have been on the rise. 

US Hispanics Search 
Impressions




The above trend lines are a reflection of the consumer search behavior behind US Hispanics, a demographic that is highly attractive to many advertisers due to their expected growth and predicted purchasing power. 

Often, marketers find it challenging to develop media campaigns because they are unsure as to whether or not their targets are bi-lingual or Spanish speaking, and whether they search in English, Spanish or both.  We have seen multiple research studies that suggest different preferences, and we think that factors such as the consumer's age, gender, and acculturation play int the  overall preference.  As such, our first best practice for marketers who are trying to target US Hispanics is:

1.  Create search campaigns that include keywords buys and ad copy in both English and
 Spanish - After an initial test period, optimize and see which words and ads are working best.  It is much easier to start broadly and then prune away what doesn't work, and it is far too risky to leave out an entire audience.

Recently, Scarborough Research's "The Power of the Hispanic Consumer Online " report identified 13 local markets with an above-average concentration of Hispanic adults and examined their internet patterns. They noted that in Phoenix, AZ, Hispanic internet access has grown 43% since 2004, the highest of any Hispanic market.  On the flip-side, Hispanic Internet access grew only 4% in San Francisco.  CPG marketers looking to make a large impact with product launches in specific markets should implement best practice number two: 

2.  Geo-Target your search campaigns - heavy up in the strategic DMAs to help drive traffic into stores that matter.

Scarborough's Research has also found that Hispanics are more likely than other cellular users to utilize many cellular features, including internet access and email.  Hispanics are highly dependent on their cell phones to stay closely connected with family, friends and the latest trends.  Quite easily, CPG marketers can ensure their ads reach Hispanics when they are on the move with best practice three:

3.  Extend your search campaigns to Mobile Search

Finally, if a consumer is already searching in Spanish and is compelled to click on a Spanish search ad, chances are that the consumer has an expectation to land on a Spanish section of a brand's website.  Whenever possible, CPG marketers should remember:

4.  Ensure click through to an appropriate landing page - start and end a transaction in the same language to maintain a positive experience for the user.

We hope the best practices
presented above can help jump start your U.S. Hispanic campaigns.  Keep in mind that the interactive marketplace for this audience is still nascent.  Brands that are first-movers within this space could lay the groundwork for creating greater opportunities for lifetime brand loyalty.

Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager, CPG
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/4-best-practices-for-consumer-packaged-good-marketers-targeting-u-s-hispanics-online/feed/ 0 The Search for Beauty Buyers https://googledata.org/google-cpg/the-search-for-beauty-buyers/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/the-search-for-beauty-buyers/#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:24:00 +0000
Google partnered with Compete in Q3 2008 to better understand beauty searching, researching and purchasing behavior. 
We sought to learn more about consumers' behaviors through an analysis of click-streams, as well as via surveys collected from panelists.


Compete will be sharing the broadview findings from this analysis.
Please join us:

Date: Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
Time: 1pm EST
Register at this link here.

Missed this webinar?  No worries.  We recorded the webinar and you can replay it here.

Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager, CPG
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/the-search-for-beauty-buyers/feed/ 0 Paid Search Builds Brands: Unilever Success Story https://googledata.org/google-cpg/paid-search-builds-brands-unilever-success-story/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/paid-search-builds-brands-unilever-success-story/#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:05:00 +0000 Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager, CPG

In 2008, Google's U.S. Consumer Packaged Goods Team released a series of Brand Value of
Search (BVOS) Studies that communicated how paid search was able to raise brand metrics such as aided awareness, purchase consideration and purchase intent for the following sub-verticals: beverage, household laundry, salty snack and cosmetics. These studies helped the industry view how search could be used effectively for more than direct response.

To give you a bit more insight on how customers have used search effectively for
reasons other than direct response, we'd like to share a new Brand Value of Search study conducted out of Google's UK office. Google, in association with Unilever, Mindshare and research partner MetrixLab, fielded a study with 5,000 mothers with children under 15, to test the efficiency and effectiveness of paid search for Unilever's Flora brand's "Cooking with Schools" campaign. Flora is one of Unilever's biggest food brands and has brand associations of cholesterol reduction, hearth health and the London Marathon. Flora was seeking to better extend this assocation with family, kids, cooking and nutrition. Not only did they want to increase traffic to their website but they also wanted to be top of mind for their target audience.

To measure this, Metrix Lab administered online surveys to the 5,000 mothers and then cut the data in ways to isolate media exposure. Respondents were asked to conduct search tasks such as "research healthy recipes" or "activities to do with your kids", and the test group would be exposed to a sponsored link promoting Flora's Cooking with Schools campaign.

This study was unique in several ways that allow us to dig more in-depth into the brand power of paid search.

First, the study took a look at the difference in brand value between consumers exposed to the sponsored link but did not click through to Flora's website, and those did click through. The results showed a 19% lift in brand metrics in those who were exposed to a sponsored link (paid search ad) and clicked through.

As ClickZ notes in a recent write-up, "The results in lift are significant and, because PPC search marketers pay only for the click, the lift in branding due to the sponsored link is free."

Second, it was able to show that paid search was 10x more efficient than TV at raising Top of Mind Awareness, and 4x more efficient than Radio, for this campaign.

Third, the study illustrates the synergistic value of paid search and traditional offline media.
Print plus search is 9% more efficient at impacting brand value than print alone.


As reported in an article published by Marketing Week UK, Amanda Smith, relationship marketing manager at Flora, adds, "We are now seeing the impact sponsored search can have on branding and how it can work with other media, both on and offline, to bring us the most effective campaigns."

This finding is highly valuable to every marketer who is being asked to make the most of every penny spent on their campaign, and who are being held acccountable for how efficient and effective their campaigns perform.

We have the full study available to share with you upon request. Just inquire with your Google account sales team!


]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/paid-search-builds-brands-unilever-success-story/feed/ 0 Lipton "Free Your Y" Ad Effectiveness Webinar on 4/1/109 https://googledata.org/google-cpg/lipton-free-your-y-ad-effectiveness-webinar-on-41109/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/lipton-free-your-y-ad-effectiveness-webinar-on-41109/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:24:00 +0000

In 2008, Unilever and Mindshare teamed up with Google to run a campaign for Lipton White Tea called "Free Your Y" . The campaign integrated a YouTube contest asking consumers to show off their youthful spirit on video.

The media was supported by Google search, display on Google's Content Network and YouTube.

Join us for an April 1 Webinar, to hear about the effectiveness of this campaign. The CPG Marketing and Research teams will be sharing website visitation trends, branding metrics and offline sales lift results from the campaign.

Date:  April 1, 2009
Time:  1:00 pm ET

Instructions: Must be registered at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the webinar at this link here 
Event password:  googleCPG
If you missed this webinar, you can downloaded the recording here.
Posted by Jenny Liu, Industry Marketing Manager, CPG
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/lipton-free-your-y-ad-effectiveness-webinar-on-41109/feed/ 0 And the Super Bowl Ad Blitz Winners Are… https://googledata.org/google-cpg/and-the-super-bowl-ad-blitz-winners-are/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/and-the-super-bowl-ad-blitz-winners-are/#comments Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:03:00 +0000 Posted by Vannie Shu, Account Coordinator, CPG West

The top five winners have been announced for YouTube's Ad Blitz, a contest where users vote on their favorite Super Bowl commercials.

"Free Doritos" won the top Ad Blitz prize. The Doritos spot won a Homepage Roadblock on YouTube, which receives around 25MM US impressions daily.



Coming in second was E*Trade's "Singing Baby," followed by CareerBuilder.com, Pepsi Max's "I'm Good", and Doritos' "Power of the Crunch."

Many brands relied on Google Search and YouTube's Sponsored Videos to drive traffic and votes to their Super Bowl ads. Sponsored Videos is a great way for video content owners to surface their videos against search terms on YouTube. With over 20,000 search results for "super bowl commercials,"  finding your video could be like a looking for a needle in a haystack.

Although their methodologies differed, Ad Blitz and USA Today's Ad Meter shared both Doritos' "Free Doritos" and "Power of the Crunch" in their five most liked Super Bowl ads. YouTube's Ad Blitz tracked users' "thumbs up" votes beginning immediately after the Super Bowl through Wednesday, while USA Today's Ad Meter tracked second-by-second responses by a panel of viewers during the Super Bowl.


]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/and-the-super-bowl-ad-blitz-winners-are/feed/ 0 Be the Valentine’s Day Wingman https://googledata.org/google-cpg/be-the-valentine%e2%80%99s-day-wingman/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/be-the-valentine%e2%80%99s-day-wingman/#comments Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:11:00 +0000

Posted by Ashley Hedges, Account Planner, Consumer Packaged Goods

Looking to earn some extra points among male consumers?  We might have the perfect solution for you.  Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and we’re placing our bets that the men out there are in need of a wingman that has some quick ideas to make this Valentine’s Day extra special.

According to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive, on behalf of Whole Foods, 73% of respondents said they prefer dining out at home on Valentine’s Day vs. going out to eat because it is more personal, thoughtful or caring.

As men make their way into the kitchen trying to whip up a delicious meal for their significant other they’ll be looking for all the advice they can get, so be there to help them out.  Men will be going online to get cooking tips and to track down the perfect recipe.  Be the brand that comes to the rescue by launching paid search and contextually targeted campaigns.  Feed them meal ideas and shopping lists so they can spend less time searching and more time in the kitchen.  Help men survive Valentine’s Day and they’ll be sure to thank you later.  

]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/be-the-valentine%e2%80%99s-day-wingman/feed/ 0 Food Trends to Watch for in ‘09 https://googledata.org/google-cpg/food-trends-to-watch-for-in-%e2%80%9809/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/food-trends-to-watch-for-in-%e2%80%9809/#comments Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:16:00 +0000 Posted by Anastasiya Blyukher,  Proposal Coordinator, CPG Central

According to an article from MediaPost's Karl Greenberg, Market research firm Mintel says that 54% of people who dine out regularly are cutting back on this expense because of the economy.  Though consumers are trading restaurant booths for their dining room tables, they are by no means sacrificing on quality when it comes to what they eat.    Below are several of the trends that Mintel predicts will steer consumers’ palates in ’09:

  • Comfort food – In these difficult times, consumers are seeking comfort food – food that is braised, grilled, slow baked, or poached.
  • Cocktail Revival & Innovation – According to Mintel, we'll see a comeback in classic cocktails, plus some innovation with ingredients like ginger, cucumber, and chili pepper, paired with gin, tequila, pisco, and framboise.
  • Fresh Ingredients – This year, consumers will seek more organic and locally-grown foods.
  • Mediterranean Cuisine – Food from this region is a rising trend among Americans, and consumers will satisfy these tastes with more specific - and authentic - dishes.
  • Research of food's origins and prep – In 2009, consumers will increasingly take interest in the origins, health benefits, and preparation techniques of their food.
Less time in restaurants means more time in the kitchen, which means more time spent online searching for recipes.  Increasing visibility during these searches is sure to make your brand a main ingredient in home-cooked meals – and home-mixed cocktails – all year long. 


]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/food-trends-to-watch-for-in-%e2%80%9809/feed/ 0 Feeling Nostalgic? https://googledata.org/google-cpg/feeling-nostalgic/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/feeling-nostalgic/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:21:00 +0000

Posted by Susan Minniear, Senior Account Manager, CPG West

Sometimes, upon hearing a Debbie Gibson song, I find myself transported to the eighties as a kid; fondly remembering puffy paint sweatshirts, “Family Ties” or when Bret Michaels was in a hit rock band and not on a VH1 reality show.  There’s comfort in remembering special moments, people, places or products from the past.

And of course, I’m not alone in this type of sentiment.  As it turns out, recent studies are showing that people turn to Nostalgia more often during tough economic times for comfort and memories of simpler, happier times.

A recent article in the LA Times suggests that Nostalgia “buffers people from loneliness and eases them through hard times”; “increases the perception of social support” and “gives us stability when we live in a time of constant change.”

 Considering the powerful emotion of Nostalgia will be critical for Marketers as we foray into the unknown this year.  It’s difficult to say how long this recession will last.  But in the meantime, consumers will be comforted with warm and fuzzy memories of days past.  So, it is even more important for us to consider a consumer’s emotional state when creating our messaging.  For example, perhaps it’s associating food products with special family memories, or lowering prices on products to remind consumers of what they used to pay in the ‘good old days’.

Some of the related top recommendations in an article from Harvard Business School include:

  • Research the customer. Instead of cutting the market research budget, you need to know more than ever how consumers are redefining value and responding to the recession. Price elasticity curves are changing. Consumers take more time searching for durable goods and negotiate harder at the point of sale. They are more willing to postpone purchases, trade down, or buy less.
  • Focus on family values. When economic hard times loom, we tend to retreat to our village. Look for cozy hearth-and-home family scenes in advertising to replace images of extreme sports, adventure and rugged individualism. Zany humor and appeals on the basis of fear are out.
  • Adjust pricing tactics. Customers will be shopping around for the best deals. You do not necessarily have to cut list prices but you may need to offer more temporary price promotions, reduce thresholds for quantity discounts, extend credit to long-standing customers and price smaller pack sizes more aggressively.
  • Maintain marketing spending. This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.

]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/feeling-nostalgic/feed/ 0 Diet Foods 2.0 https://googledata.org/google-cpg/diet-foods-2-0/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/diet-foods-2-0/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:44:00 +0000 Low Fat. Low in Sugar.Low Calories. These are the buzz words of yesterday for products geared toward weight management and healthier living. Today we see words like "Green-Tea Extracts", "Antioxidants", "Fiber Enriched", and "Probiotics", reflecting a significant shift towards functional foods. Ingredients found in functional foods often have promising benefits such as increased metabolism, suppressed appetite, cancer-fighting power, or aided digestion.

As MediaPost noted in a late October issue of Marketing Daily, this shift offers marketers the opportunity to grab the attention of weight conscious consumers. The opportunity is sizable, as the US continues to battle obesity. Euromonitor reports that functional Foods & Beverages saw growth of about 10% in 2007 worldwide, while non-functional F&B only grew 2-4%. Today, functional foods can be found in almost every aisle of the supermarket, including the dairy case, the bottled water shelf and even the bakery.

The level of research online behind functional foods is high. Exotic ingredients and new cutting edge formulas add new vocabulary to the every day weight management jargon, prompting consumers to search online about the meaning behind these new words.

Online, consumers can research to better understand the benefit of the functional foods and to compare reviews about whether the food or beverage will actually deliver on the added benefit, as well the trade-off on taste. Consumers want to hear it from the mouths of other consumers who, like them, have sought out the product because they believed that it would help them lose weight or become more healthy.

Safety also remains of great concern to consumers as many of these functional ingredients are quite new and are supposed to enhance or suppress certain body chemistry. The Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has some regulation in place to help alleviate some consumer concerns. Functional foods that have been been US FDA approved can be marketed as food, while those that have not been evaluated by the FDA are supposed to be marketed as a nutritional supplement.

But even with this regulation in place, you can bet that the first place a consumer turns to, should they experience an increased heart beat as a result of consuming a new functional food, is to turn to the internet to see what's normal.

It will be interesting to see, come January 2009 and post holiday over-eating, which functional foods become all the rage as millions of Americans make the new year's resolution to lose weight.

Posted by Jenny Liu, Sr. Account Planner NY

]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/diet-foods-2-0/feed/ 0 Searching for turkey & all the trimmings https://googledata.org/google-cpg/searching-for-turkey-all-the-trimmings/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/searching-for-turkey-all-the-trimmings/#comments Mon, 19 Nov 2007 21:25:00 +0000
On November 16th, Hitwise hosted a Food & Grocery Webinar in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season. The focus was on search activities around holiday dinners and party planning.

According to Hitwise, the top searches related to turkey leading up to 11/16/07 were:
1. turkey
2. deep fried turkey
3. turkey recipes
4. turkey pictures
5. map of Turkey
6. turkey crafts
7. Wild Turkey Zone
8. Thanksgiving turkey
9. how to cook a turkey
10. Thanksgiving turkey recipes

If you're a food advertiser, here are some tips for running a search campaign on holiday-related keywords:

- Include negative keywords in your campaign like "map" or "country" to avoid capturing traffic from users looking for information about the country of Turkey.
- Preliminary search patterns in 2007 show the keyword "deep fried turkey" surpassing that of "turkey", indicating the growing popularity of this (delicious!) variation.
- The seasonal trends behind the search for "green bean casserole" and related terms show that it is a popular side dish not only for Thanksgiving but also for Easter.
- Prime rib is the #1 prepared protein searched for around Christmas.
- Users are almost as likely to search for "dressing" as they are for "stuffing". Be sure to take account of these regional usage differences, and include both keywords in your campaign.

Looking back to December 2006, we see:
- Desserts had the greatest share of holiday-related search terms, so tantalize people with text ads about your best pie, bread, cookies and cake recipes!
- The #1 cookie term searched was "Christmas cookies".
- The top three edible gift terms in Q4 2006 were: 1) gift baskets 2) wine and 3) candy.

Here's to all the delicious masterpieces you'll help folks make, bake, create and give this holiday season.

Hitwise also noted another turkey day trend that's emerged over the last few holiday seasons in a recent LA Times article: after the tryptophan wears off, people are going online and planning their brick-and-mortar shopping strategies for Black Friday and the weekend. The greatest amount of online traffic (searching and visiting, though not necessarily buying) actually happens on Thanksgiving Day itself. Hitwise also found that savvy consumers and retailers have started leveraging the term "Black Friday" -- searches on "Black Friday ads" are up 91% over last year.

Update: Added new final paragraph on 11/21/07
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/searching-for-turkey-all-the-trimmings/feed/ 0 Consumer reviews influence purchase decisions https://googledata.org/google-cpg/consumer-reviews-influence-purchase-decisions/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/consumer-reviews-influence-purchase-decisions/#comments Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:27:00 +0000 Posted by Jenny Liu, Sr. Account Planner CPG New York

A recent study by Deloitte's Consumer Products group showed that 62 percent of consumers read online product reviews by other consumers. More than eight in 10 say their purchase decisions have been directly influenced by the reviews, and seven in 10 of those who read reviews share them with friends, family or colleagues, thus amplifying their impact.

A few years ago, if someone said "product review", cars and electronics would have come to mind. But today, product reviews cross all categories, including CPG. Part of that has to do with how many different product selections are on the shelf these days. Lotion can no longer just moisturize; it may prevent aging, be long lasting, environmentally sound, and aromatherapeutic. Toothpaste no longer only keeps teeth clean; it should whiten, cater to sensitive teeth, and help strengthen the enamel all at the same time. Children's snacks must be trans-fat-free, wholesome, nutritious, and support healthy eating habits. The "asks" people have for their brands are growing in number and complexity year after year.

Then, when the brands don't perform as expected, buyers may feel disappointed or betrayed. Online product review sites and blogs are among the first places they feel they can vent, or they may feel a duty to warn others. On the flip side, when a brand exceeds expectations, consumers are elated and can't wait to be the first to share a recommendation about their new finds.

This use of online space as a platform for personal opinion about products is an illustration of how consumers are becoming increasingly empowered. An opportunity exists for CPG marketers to capitalize on this new reality as a marketing vehicle, or even as a way to collect research and product performance feedback.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/consumer-reviews-influence-purchase-decisions/feed/ 0 Is Labor Day the real New Year’s Day? https://googledata.org/google-cpg/is-labor-day-the-real-new-years-day/ https://googledata.org/google-cpg/is-labor-day-the-real-new-years-day/#comments Wed, 12 Sep 2007 19:14:00 +0000 Posted By: Jenny Liu, CPG Sr. Account Planner

The San Francisco Chronicle noted on Sept. 2, "This is the Labor Day weekend, the traditional end of summer, a date as important as New Year's Eve. It's the beginning of one part of people's lives and the end of another, the end of vacation and the start of serious work.

This line of thinking may be what led "The Today Show" to raise an interesting question: Is Labor Day the real New Year's Day? We don't know about you, but our world tends to change far more on the day after Labor Day than it does on January 2.

For example, consider these post-Labor Day changes:

  • Schedules and routines: Kids are back in school; commuting times go up
  • Eating and shopping: Back to school clothes shopping, groceries for more school lunches, and soon, holiday gifts; even your local drugstore already has a full Halloween aisle
  • Time allocation: Less leisure time, more time for school and work activities
  • Media consumption: Fall TV show debuts, football season underway in earnest, web usage upTravel: Less time at summer homes and vacation spots; more time at home
  • Fitness: Exercise programs; health clubs see membership spikes
  • Home Projects: Consumers resolve to repair, remodel and redecorate
  • Weather: Summer heat and storms give way to cooler temperatures, shorter days and earlier sunsets
Labor Day is a big landmark for CPG marketers because you are most likely waiting to see how your new launches performed during Back-to-School, and anticipating Super Bowl and Holiday periods. In a few short months, you'll be in Brand Review mode, making sense of Sales per Point of Distribution and Household Penetration. And then -- with barely enough time to glean insights from 2007 learnings, you'll be developing brand plans for 2008. Traditionally, brand plans are crafted about a year in advance, and media buys are executed way ahead of time too - the process doesn't really lend any flexibility to brands or marketers, or permit last-minute changes.

What we like to point out, of course, is that whether your buys are online, in TV or audio, Google is a flexible partner. We can execute on your plans within a 48-72 hour time frame, and the messaging can be very current, reflecting precisely what's going on with consumers and the industry at the moment. To give your CPG brands a little room to breathe, we encourage all of you to consider setting aside a little Google Flex account in 2008 to accommodate any last minute brand initiatives. Contact your account manager or account executive for more details.
]]> https://googledata.org/google-cpg/is-labor-day-the-real-new-years-day/feed/ 0