Tag Archives: campaign marketing

The Changing Landscape of the Foodservice Industry – Part 1

Posted on by

This is the first installment in a two-part series on major changes taking place in the US foodservice industry. In this installment we look at some of the key challenges, stemming from current industry practices, that  impede optimal performance by manufacturers, distributors and operators in the sector. The second installment will examine converging technologies that are poised to challenge the industry status quo, and present an opportunity to benefit through improved sales and marketing analytics for those who are prepared.

It's a new world for FAFH, but the industry remains stuck in unproductive practices

The foodservice industry, comprised of the food prepared away from home (FAFH) sector of the food & beverage market, accounts for about 46% of all consumer dollars spent on food and beverage products in the US. Over the past twenty years this business has changed considerably as American lifestyle habits, choices and spending propensities have evolved with regard to food and beverage consumption. Yet manufacturers, distributors and operators in the foodservice industry have in many ways been slow to adapt their sales and marketing practices to better serve the evolving preferences of the end consumer. As a result there are considerable inefficiencies up and down the value chain resulting in suboptimal performance for all parties. Trade spend management, campaign marketing and other critical activities suffer from an absence of data-driven input for decision-making, as well as the inability to effectively monitor and evaluate performance. Relations between trade partners are often characterized by mistrust and a lack of willingness to work together for win-win outcomes. Continue reading →

4-Cs Series: Complexity and Campaign Marketing (it’s harder than a Rubik’s Cube)

Posted on by

Veteran marketing managers can tell war stories of battles fought to secure marketing budgets – the pitches and cajoling to focus C-suite attention on the strategic and the tactical importance of effective marketing campaigns.  Getting something close to the budget you want may be just cause for heaving a big sigh of relief, but these days few marketing managers will be found clinking glasses of Veuve Clicquot in celebration.  Once the budget is in hand the real work begins.  The economic downturn has put constraints on the total number of dollars you have to spread among competing projects, but it has done nothing to constrain the nearly limitless ways those dollars can be allocated.   “Do more with less” is the mantra of the day.  To make those scarcer dollars go further means relying on more than traditional finger-in-the-wind gut instincts to tell you what campaigns will work and what campaigns won’t work.  Campaign marketing – the art of pulling together targeted messages for specific geographic markets, consumer segments and product types – is in need of a healthy dose of scientific rigor. Continue reading →