Shopper Insights: Campbell Soup Co.

CAROL ANGRISANI

• Helped Wal-Mart Stores build its meal solutions category by asking shoppers what factors influence their food purchases.
• Leverages syndicated services, custom research applications and other tools to execute shopper insights.
• Uses shopper insights to identify challenges that shoppers are experiencing.

As part of a major commitment to shopper insights, Campbell helped Wal-Mart Stores build its meal solutions category last year.

Making Wal-Mart the go-to destination for meal planning was a substantive challenge, given that the preparation of meals at home was in decline nationwide.

To accomplish the difficult task, Campbell launched a shopper insight study that asked respondents to identify the top factors that influenced their food purchases. Among the concerns: affordability; healthfulness; and ease and speed of preparation, respectively.

Respondents associated “ease of preparation” with having fewer than six ingredients.

The study confirmed existing research showing that by 4 p.m. every day, 73% of moms still don’t know what they will serve for dinner. Moms across the country are frustrated with the assumption that they can spend hours poring through recipe websites and cooking magazines, according to the Campbell. What they want instead are simple, cost-effective meal solutions that don’t require lots of research or creativity.

Campbell worked with Wal-Mart to create a comprehensive point-of-purchase component that would help make Wal-Mart more top-of-mind for meal solutions; generate sales lift for the individual products featured in the meal solutions campaign; and increase cross-purchase of both meal-solution products.

The campaign focused on communicating ease and versatility using one bag of Uncle Ben’s Rice accompanied by one can of Campbell’s soup to create a complete dinner. The items were cross-merchandised on an endcap display.

Campbell used Wal-Mart’s Smart Network video monitor system to play a continuous 156-second loop that explored the taste, health benefits, ease of preparation, low cost and versatility of the Uncle Ben’s/Campbell’s Soup meal solution. In addition, Campbell used 5- and 10-second messages on screens at both entrances and in the main exterior aisle of the grocery section to drive shoppers to the meal solution endcap.

Campbell said the campaign was a success, generating a 118% unit lift and 123% dollar lift of the featured products.

The Wal-Mart initiative demonstrates how shopper insights work has grown from a small area of interest into a full-fledged business practice that’s significantly shaped Campbell’s customer partnerships, new product development and go-to-market strategy.

“Shopper insights work is making meaningful contributions to the way we think, plan and operate as an organization,” Phil McGee, director of shopper insights, Campbell North America, told SN.

Early on, Campbell recognized the potential to gain and leverage an understanding of shopper behaviors and decision-making processes.

“Our willingness to make capability-building investments in this area has helped us develop a unique competency and market-tested credentials that have elevated the role of this function from ‘nice to have’ to ‘need to have,’” said McGee.

Campbell executes shopper insights with a portfolio of resources, including syndicated services and custom research applications.

“We have a reputation for being on the front end of best-practice development in both the syndication of services and customer research tools and are taking advantage of innovation in these areas,” said McGee.

Shopper Insights will continue to grow as a Campbell core competency will have increasing influence in three key areas: fueling customer partnerships; feeding the product and service innovation pipeline; and finding new ways to increase satisfaction among shoppers.

“Campbell continues to increase its investment in this area to ensure we have the resources to remain a leader in bringing shopper-based solutions to our retail partners,” said McGee.

Campbell uses shopper insights to identify challenges that shoppers are experiencing. It leverages its own research and that of its retail partners to develop solutions that satisfy shoppers’ needs and drive growth.

“Shopper insights serve to identify relevant pivotal moment opportunities, reveal the means by which these opportunities can be jointly pursued, and help translate opportunities to specific, tailored and targeted activations along the ‘path to purchase,’” said McGee.