fmcgCompanies have been able to successfully create a large number of brands over the years by making use of linear TV for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), which are consumer goods from the areas of food, beverages, hygiene articles, cosmetics and cleaning agents. In times of streaming services, however, this option is getting less effective and forces the FMCG industry to establish a direct relationship with their customers, which means their advertising must become more individual and digital.

However, due to the lack of transaction data in retail, the industry has only limited insight into what respective target groups look like and what shopping behavior they display. While companies from the verticals (automotive, finance/insurances and telcos) know their customers, only a fraction, if at all, of customers is known in the FMCG area, including their transactions in the online shop.

For this reason, consumer goods manufacturers work with market research companies, like the data service provider Acxiom, that offers new customer approaches. Famous for its people-based marketing, Acxiom opens completely new ways for consumer goods manufacturers to reach their target groups across channels and measurement of a campaign’s success.

Check out Acxiom’s tips on how to implement a targeted customer approach as it could be useful when planning your next campaign:

1. Use any transaction data available for directly addressable lookalike models

Based on transaction data generated in FMCG online shops, for instance, lookalike models can be created and translated to the entire population. These analytical models work out in a statistical way how the buyers of a certain product differ from the average. With its people-based approach, Acxiom has created a way to make these lookalike models available directly on all channels - in any scaling: for instance, interlinked advertising approaches via the channels display, social, mobile, but also via email and postal services.

2. Operationalize insights from the household panels

If no customer data is available at all, the consumer goods manufacturers know via the household panels which target groups buy their products. Acxiom receives the panel data and uses it to create the “lookalike model”. Through this deep integration of Acxiom in different household panels, these target groups can be transferred to the transaction data in high-reach target groups, similar to the Lookalike models. The desired campaign reach can be scaled flexibly. Depending on the objectives of the campaigns, loyal regular customers can be addressed in the same way as customers who have recently stopped buying a certain product.

3. Predefined Acxiom target groups

Acxiom knows the most important audiences and has mapped 35 target groups from the FMCG area, ranging from buyers of frozen products to gourmet food lovers and customers who like to buy the cheese fresh at the counter. These predefined target groups can also be used across channels and are always available ad hoc for the large demand-side platforms (DSP) for programmatic and mobile bookings in public taxonomies.

4. Measure campaign success

After the campaign, the household panel offers the opportunity to measure purchases. For example, Acxiom acts as a "trusted third party" and can compare the campaign’s exposed data since it receives both the purchases from the household panel and data from many partners and publishers. As a rule, however, this only works for mass products and high-reach target groups. The FMCG industry is subject to change due to altered (television) viewing habits and therefore needs new approaches to increase sales.

By MediaBUZZ