Inside Danone’s Shopper Marketing Breakfast Expansion
Danone North America expanded its reach earlier this year through a broad, breakfast-themed national shopper marketing program in tandem with retailer partnerships and activations. The campaign provides a valuable window for grocers looking to drive higher basket size, attract new customers and engage core breakfast buyers.
Boosting Basket Size With Targeted Shopper Marketing
The Mornings Upgraded campaign focused on driving basket size, encouraging cross-purchases between Danone brands and bringing in new households. The program ran Jan. 1 through Feb. 28.
The goal of the campaign was to drive sales for six Danone brands: Silk, International Delight, Oikos, Too Good, Stok, and Light & Fit. It highlights how retailers can drive cross-category purchases and increase basket size by promoting complementary breakfast items.
[RELATED: Convenience Key to Breakfast for Consumers]
Why It Matters to Shoppers: Breakfast remains a consistent meal occasion for shoppers who prioritize health and convenience, with 86%-plus of breakfast occasions occurring at home, Erin Anderson, senior director, omni-activation and e-commerce at White Plains, N.Y.-based Danone North America, tells the Path to Purchase Institute (P2PI).
“Our target audience for the breakfast scale event included purchasers of breakfast foods, including plant-based milk, yogurt and creamer, during their typical stock-up trips,” says Anderson. “We specifically targeted Gen Z and Millennial shoppers, who have an affinity for better-for-you products, especially as they start new habits for the new year.”
Promoting Complementary Products: The addition of yogurt and plant-based milk alternatives to the basket resulted in a 29% increase in basket size, while adding creamer led to a 42% increase. Retailers should consider creating bundle promotions or shelf setups that combine related products.
Targeting Health-Conscious Shoppers: Danone’s focus on Gen Z and Millennial shoppers, particularly those interested in better-for-you products, is an opportunity with a lot of runway. For example, these demographics prioritize health-conscious choices as part of their new year’s resolutions, and retailers can target them with tailored messaging and promotions.
Extending Opportunities: To extend the program’s reach and drive stock-up trips, Danone launched a Spend $15, Get $5 national promotion. Shoppers who submitted receipts via either a promotional web page or email received a $5 retailer gift card or a $5 virtual Visa prepaid card.
In-Store and Online Activation: A Dual Approach
The campaign was successful because it blended in-store and online activation strategies, a table-stakes tactic for today’s omni-commerce environment.
In-store: Shelf talkers positioned next to Danone creamers, and shelf labels with Mornings Upgraded messaging touted the promotion. Custom display coolers adorned with creative from the program appeared in regional grocers such as Hy-Vee and ShopRite.
Other in-store collateral supporting the program included display headers, end cap placement, instant redeemable coupons, balloons (at Albertsons Cos. banners) and neck hangers across channels.
Online: Danone worked with Instacart and various retail media networks to reach shoppers, including Walmart Connect, Kroger Precision Marketing, Target’s Roundel, Albertsons Media Collective and AD Retail Media (Ahold Delhaize).
Retail Media Networks: Partnering with retail media platforms extended promotions beyond the store and targeted shoppers online. Danone had gallery takeover ads on Walmart.com, as well as landing pages on Kroger, Target, Albertsons and Ahold Delhaize websites. On-site and off-site display ads were used throughout the campaign.
Influencer Marketing: Influencers created breakfast solutions across brands and drove awareness of the promotion on Instagram accounts (such as @iheartpublix) and TikTok, according to Anderson. The marketing team also partnered with a Danone dietitian to create custom cross-portfolio recipes for shoppers to use during their mornings.
Behind the Results
Danone’s Mornings Upgraded program required more than 10 months of advance work and planning. This lead time enabled Danone to coordinate with various stakeholders, establish retailer partnerships, produce promotional materials and set up measurement frameworks to track the campaign’s performance effectively, notes Anderson. The company also worked with such partners as Acosta, Chicory, Cooler Management, InMarket and Snipp Interactive to bring the campaign to life.
Through digital media, the program delivered more than 332 million impressions.
“Breakfast is a key meal occasion, and by inspiring shoppers to upgrade their morning and highlighting the unique benefits of our portfolio, we were able to truly own the breakfast occasion,” Anderson observes.
Shopper Marketing Takeaways
Simple, incentivized promotions can drive stock-up behavior: According to a recent consumer survey from P2PI, personalized promotions and discounts were the No. 1 factor driving interest in retailer loyalty programs.
- In-store visibility drives promotion success: 36% of shoppers say that special product signs hanging from shelves are extremely valuable, according to P2PI research.
- Retail media networks support targeted digital advertising: Retailer DSP (demand-side platform) ads, on-site display ads, search engine shopping ads, on-site search ads and social commerce ads each were part of the retail media strategy of 60% or more of brand respondents, a recent P2PI survey found.
- Segment promotions for younger, health-conscious shoppers: Retailers can benefit from influencer partnerships to create buzz regarding promotions, particularly for trending categories like plant-based or wellness-focused foods. According to 84.51°, Kroger’s retail data science, insights and media arm, 57% of shoppers would like to receive nutrition information while shopping, thereby creating opportunities for brands to engage consumers through targeted messaging and educational content.
