Reaching consumers online before they get in line at the grocery store

The recession affects every aspect of our lives, and in response consumers are cutting back, doing away with, and trading down across the board.  Although consumers are eating at home more, CPG manufacturers can’t afford to sit idle.  Food prices are increasing at their fastest rate in 17 years, and private and store label products are tempting consumers with lower prices and flashier packaging.

New ad campaigns show that brands are doing their best to communicate their products’ value, and research group Iconoculture cites the value-cost ratio as the number one marketing message for food brands right now.  Frito Lay is adding 20 percent more product to selected bags of Cheetos, Fritos and Tostitos without increasing prices.  The New York Times points out that Oscar Meyer, Lean Cuisine, French’s, and Del Monte are all trying to persuade consumers to “stretch their food dollar,” and have even coined terms and online content (Kraft’s Chips Ahoy and Capri Sun team up to ask Why Snackrifice?).

Consumers don’t want to feel their belts tightening.  By showing consumers how to do more with the foods they eat, you’ll get across your brand’s value message without having to talk about lowering prices. 

Engender loyalty and help drive incremental sales for new products by opening a dialogue online with consumers.  Kraft Foods reached out to mom bloggers to communicate a new initiative, First Taste, a forum for consumers to receive and rate new product samples, receive coupons, share with friends, and give feedback directly to Kraft.

Leverage social media to deliver money-saving tips, time-saving recipes, and interactive tools to help consumers maximize their meal planning.  A Google search reveals discussion threads and blog posts about the return of thrift – a trend Cohn & Wolfe identified in an earlier Wolfe Tracking post as The New Frugality.  Consumers are not only stockpiling sale items and fueling an upswing in couponing, but some make saving money a competitive sport.  Mom blogs like Money Saving Mom and Deal Seeking Mom discuss how to shave dollars off your bill, and Pantry Challenge groups task readers with eating solely from their pantry for a week.  Even sophisticated foodies like eGullet and Mark Bittman are talking about getting creative with ingredients to save money.

One brand making cost-cutting a little more fun is Southeast and Mid-Atlantic grocery store chain Food Lion, as reported in Marketing Daily.  Food Lion recently launched an integrated marketing campaign reminding consumers that they do not have to hunt from store to store for great prices.  One of their "Great Price Hunters" ads features a mother and her children in the forest with nets, chasing down a wedge of cheddar cheese that is on sale.  The campaign’s website features brand-matching games consumers can play to win store coupons and get to know the money-saving brands the store offers.

Overall, PR has a unique and interesting opportunity to help brands keep the fun in food by reaching consumers online before they get in line at the grocery store.