Posts Tagged "Direct Branding"

Given how we have talked about “direct branding” as an application of mobile marketing for CPG marketers, this article on the Digital CPG Blog a couple days ago stood out.  Apparently, direct to consumer selling by non-CPG manufacturers is the fastest growing online retail category.

Titled “Mattel Goes Direct to Consumer Online,” the post describes how Mattel, the U.S.’ largest toy manufacturer, is selling its products direct to consumers via a new ecommerce web presence.  Although ½ of its revenue derives from just three large retailers, Mattel is able to do this apparently without disrupting traditional sales channel relationships.

The author posits why the CPG industry doesn’t also adopt the approach, given a similar dependency on a small universe of distribution channels.  I suggest one reason is that traditional CPG products remain the domain of the in-person shopping experience facilitated by real stores, as opposed to the web.

For that reason, direct customer relationships can be established and developed by CPG marketers today using mobile marketing techniques applied to programs such as loyalty, product trial and couponing.  Mapping your marketing strategy to the mobile channel is a good first step.

In the past I have labeled mobile marketing an enabler of “active direct response” due to the immediacy of interaction, but another new term, “Direct Branding” I think equally applies.  In this context, Direct Branding is the application of direct marketing techniques by brand marketers to reach their customers in nontraditional ways.  It was the subject of this article on ChiefMarketer.com and while not specific to mobile, Direct Branding is certainly a mobile application increasingly used by marketers.  The reasons for brand marketers to embrace direct customer marketing concepts are underscored by this quote:

“The shift from traditional advertising or marketing to direct branding will help you confidently point to measurable marketing milestones and outcomes. Whereas branding and the classic direct marketing used to be separate disciplines, the two have discovered that they need to merge. Marketing accountability becomes the norm and is absolutely necessary to compete and survive in this day.”

The article contains interesting examples by Consumer Packaged Goods makers using digital media to launch new products and capture interaction data to evaluate the effectiveness and return on their investments.   It’s a brilliant idea, but the article makes no mention of mobile as an interaction channel actually preferred by many consumers, especially in and around the point of sale.

Brand marketers would be wise to embrace Direct Branding as a strategy but should build mobile channel considerations into their plans to reach consumers on the go – especially given the generally higher response rates for mobile programs and the need to continually justify marketing investments to top executives.

“Today, branding and measurement are not mutually exclusive. Great branders understand that they need to add the measurement metric of direct marketing to their work in order to prove ROI. The C-suite expects marketing to show a positive impact to the bottom line, and those marketers that can will not only survive, but thrive.”