Aller Effect: Advertising for grocery chains creates brand effects

Through the Aller Effekt survey, a brand tracker is conducted on the largest grocery chains in Norway, in addition to measuring the campaigns these grocery chains run in our media. If we look at the results of the various measurements, we find correlations that document that digital advertising helps to create brand effects.

Roy Jespersen, senior insight advisor in the commercial department at Aller Media.

Documenting brand effects matches the ambition of establishing our own brand measurement(New Effect Project: Can digital advertising build brands?) Behind the figures we now present, we have a total of eleven measured campaigns for grocery chains. These have varied in length from two to thirteen weeks, but most last 3-4 weeks. Video formats such as pre-roll and bumpers have been included in about half of the campaigns.

Although most people have direct experience with the chains, advertising can strengthen the impression

Grocery is a unique category where direct in-store experience usually trumps advertising when consumers form their impressions. 97% of people over the age of 18 shop in grocery stores on a weekly basis, and on average we use 2.8 different grocery chains every single week. However, we see that impressions can be lifted when exposed to campaigns, and in that sense, advertising and customer experience work together to build brands.

Advertising increases knowledge

When people shop very often, and almost everywhere, it is not primarily brand awareness or knowledge to judge the chain that is the challenge for marketers. Both are very high, unlike other categories where Aller Effekt tests advertising, such as telecom or building materials. In the cases where brand knowledge is slightly lower - in the 80% range - we see increases of 5-6 percentage points among those exposed to advertising.

All campaigns lift the impression on drivers in the category

The challenges in the category are more about taking clear positions on the drivers that are relevant to customers. The competition here is fierce, and this is where communication via advertising can play an important role.

All the campaigns we have measured in Aller have increased the proportion with a positive impression of the grocery chain on one or more drivers.

All the campaigns we have measured in Aller have increased the proportion with a positive impression of the grocery chain on one or more drivers by at least 5 percentage points. Most campaigns affect 1-2 drivers, while for some we see an increase in several drivers.

The perception of having low prices is almost always positively affected by exposure to a campaign, and two-thirds of the campaigns lift this driver by at least five percentage points. This is also consistent with the fact that grocery chains often communicate price in some way.

The driver good customer benefits/bonus schemes follows closely behind, both in terms of the most and the biggest boost in exposure. As the profile map shows, it is precisely these two drivers that are the most competitive, especially among the discount chains. Drivers such as a high level of expertise and good and friendly service are rarely affected in the campaigns we have measured so far.

The overall impression of the brand can also be influenced by advertising

Influencing the overall impression of the chain through an advertising campaign is more demanding than strengthening the perception of individual drivers - naturally, some might say. Nevertheless, about half of the campaigns show a clear positive effect on the overall impression of the brand. This can be both chains that are already at a high level and chains at a lower level that raise the overall impression through a campaign.

Advertising is important in the repertoire battle

In recent years, there has been a lot of focus on the importance of increasing market penetration in order to achieve growth. For the major grocery chains, there is little to be gained through advertising alone when it comes to reaching even more customers. If we disregard those who do not have a chain nearby, the proportion who do not shop there is at least sometimes limited to one in ten.

For these chains, it will therefore be important to win the battle within a repertoire, and perhaps the most important role of advertising will be to help strengthen the desired position. Our measurements so far show that it is possible to achieve precisely this type of effect through digital advertising campaigns!

Please contact your customer contact at Aller Media or Roy Jespersen for further information.

Fact box

• Aller Effekt is a system for campaign testing with a focus on documenting brand effects and achieving learning together with advertisers and agencies.
• Currently, the categories Telecom, TV distributors, DIY stores and grocery stores are covered.
• A significant base has been built up showing trends within the categories over time.
• The basic principle of the campaign measurements is to compare the exposed group with a non-exposed group. Although these are randomly selected, it cannot be ruled out that there are other explanations for differences than exposure to advertising alone.
• We work closely with our partner, Norstat, to ensure high quality data.
• We measure brand impact on several different levels: