Top 5 Strategies for Food and Beverage Associations, Boards, and Councils

Some of the most recognizable North American advertising campaigns resulted from savvy trade associations and creative media teams collaborating to bring widespread awareness to their category. Dairy, beef, and avocados represent a few of the successful industries delivering memorable marketing campaigns over the past decades. 

With the rise of the omnichannel consumer, marketers from associations, boards, and councils (ABCs) are looking for ways to continue to capture the attention of shoppers who are not only consuming advertising messages in myriad new ways but are also not beholden to one primary method of shopping. 

Based on our experience, understanding the shifting CPG ecosystem allows the ABC marketer to evolve with the consumer landscape. AdAdapted has prided itself in assisting trade associations, boards, and councils to bring their messages directly to their target audiences as consumer preferences change. With our learnings, we’ve developed five strategies that ABCs can use to meet their unique advertising goals. Read on to learn more! 

Inspire HOH Shoppers Through Recipes

A well-known regional food board collaborated with AdAdapted on a strategic campaign aimed at inspiring shoppers and promoting the use of their tree-to-table ingredients in innovative ways. The objective was to drive traffic to their website, ultimately boosting sales and consumption by implementing AdAdapted’s patented Add-it technology.

The campaign showcased a wide range of creative uses and inspirational recipes involving the promoted product to achieve this. By encouraging shoppers to think outside the box and experiment with their ingredients in unconventional dishes, the campaign aimed to spark interest and highlight the product’s health benefits.

The campaign results were highly successful, with ads generating significantly higher than average engagement rates. This indicates that the messaging resonated with the target audience, capturing their attention and motivating them to take action. 

One key aspect of the campaign was implementing an "add-to" call to action, which prompted shoppers to add the promoted products to their shopping list and purchase at the store. Through the CTA, shoppers were encouraged to replace the generic item name with the promoted regional product type, emphasizing its quality and origin. By integrating this feature, the campaign seamlessly transitioned from inspiration to action, effectively driving conversions and increasing sales. 

Overall, the collaborative effort successfully showcased the items’ versatility, inspired shoppers, and ultimately achieved the campaign's objectives.

Conquest and Convert Shoppers of Other Categories to Yours

In recent years, milk has faced criticism and competition from alternative milk products. In response, a prominent dairy organization recognized the need to engage with consumers using add-to-list technology, aiming to secure a spot for milk on their shopping lists.

The campaign's primary objective was to capture the attention of sports drink and alternative milk consumers. By highlighting the natural body performance benefits of milk, the campaign sought to convince these consumers to consider adding dairy milk to their shopping lists and ultimately make a purchase in-store.

The dairy organization achieved its goals by effectively targeting and converting sports drink and alternative milk consumers. By encouraging them to include dairy milk on their shopping lists, the campaign successfully expanded its reach and captured the interest of a broader audience. The campaign also provided valuable insights that allowed the dairy group to measure its impact and return on investment, enabling the organization to make data-driven decisions for future campaigns.

Additionally, the campaign offered new insights into the demographics of milk consumption, specifically among the Hispanic population. This information will prove instrumental in shaping future advertising positioning to engage and resonate with this specific audience effectively.

Overall, the dairy campaign successfully used add-to-list technology to conquer and convert shoppers from other categories, such as sports drinks and alternative milk, ultimately encouraging them to consider and purchase dairy milk. In addition, by showcasing milk's natural body performance impact and gaining valuable consumer insights, the organization effectively positioned itself for continued success in a changing market.

‍Develop Member Programs with Preferred Pricing and Added Value

A prominent national food association collaborated with AdAdapted to develop member programs that offer preferred pricing and added value to enhance digital advertising strategies and drive increased sales for association-affiliated brands.

The primary objective of this partnership was to provide association members with exposure to the latest in consumer packaged goods advertising. To achieve this, AdAdapted and the association created advertising packages centered around tent-pole events, which served as focal points for promoting affiliated food brands. These programs were designed to incentivize member participation and generate greater brand visibility.

As part of the collaboration, each participating brand received dedicated account representatives and gained access to customized reporting and end-of-campaign reviews. This allowed brands to closely monitor the performance of their campaigns and make informed decisions based on the provided insights.

The program solutions offered by AdAdapted and the association had predefined parameters, ensuring consistency and effectiveness. However, advertisers controlled customization aspects such as creative content, geotargeting, and retailer focus. This flexibility allowed brands to tailor their campaigns to suit their specific goals and target audience.

Overall, the partnership between AdAdapted and the national association resulted in the development of member programs that provided preferred pricing and added value. In addition, by leveraging digital advertising strategies and focusing on association-affiliated food brands during sponsored monthly events, this collaboration aimed to drive more significant sales and exposure for participating brands while offering them the necessary tools and support to maximize the effectiveness of their campaigns.

Build National Campaigns With Retailer Specific Overlays

A national meat board launched a campaign to drive in-store and online shopper purchases using a “one to many” approach. The objective was to provide tangible evidence that the organization's investments benefited its meat producers. The campaign used add-to-list and add-to-cart ads featuring their meat products that were strategically aligned with specific retailers.

The board collaborated with various grocery stores and club warehouses to achieve their objectives, ensuring a wider reach to consumers across the United States. In addition, retailer-specific branded digital ads were employed as part of the campaign strategy. One notable win was achieving a 99% carting success rate at a nationwide retailer, indicating that the campaign effectively motivated consumers to add the board’s promoted meat products to their shopping carts.

The campaign also emphasized the importance of adding weighed items, such as ground meat, to shoppers' carts. By targeting individuals initially planning to purchase alternative meat products, the campaign aimed to encourage them to replace their choices with the board’s promoted meat products.

Analysis of the campaign's impact revealed that people continued to add the promoted meat to their shopping lists even between campaign periods. This indicated that the campaign successfully maintained a top-of-mind presence among consumers, contributing to their ongoing consideration and purchase of promoted products.

Overall, the board’s campaign effectively utilized add-to-list and add-to-cart ads to drive purchases for promoted meat products among in-store and online shoppers. By strategically partnering with retailers, emphasizing specific meat products, and consistently engaging with consumers, the campaign aimed to demonstrate the benefits of the board’s advertising investments for their affiliated producers.

Drive Regional Multi-Retailer Ecomm Sales 

Another regional meat council recognized the capabilities of AdAdapted in driving item inclusion on shopping lists and measuring the value delivered, making them an ideal partner. With a focus on promoting various cuts of meat across different retailers, the collaboration yielded excellent results.

The council's primary objective was to evolve their campaigns over time, strategically moving select cuts of meat to align with consumers' preferred shopping and cooking habits. In addition, the campaign targeted a specific geographic demographic within their region to achieve this, allowing for a more tailored approach.

One notable aspect of the campaign was capitalizing on the popular Air Frying trend. In addition, the campaign tapped into consumers' interests and preferences, showcasing easy recipes and raising awareness about the delicious options available when air frying the promoted meat product, further driving engagement and consideration.

To facilitate conversions, the implementation of the eCart Accelerator played a vital role. This technology enabled the placement of promoted meat items directly into shoppers' preferred retailer carts, bringing them closer to the point of purchase. The seamless integration of the eCart Accelerator helped streamline the shopping experience and increased the likelihood of conversion.

In an ad channel evaluation conducted by a third party on behalf of the regional council, AdAdapted emerged as the top performer in terms of conversion percentage. This further validated the effectiveness of the collaboration, highlighting the success achieved in driving consumer engagement and converting interest into purchases.

Overall, the regional meat council and AdAdapted partnership successfully prioritized consumers' retailer preferences. By targeting a specific demographic, leveraging current cooking trends, and utilizing innovative technologies, the campaign effectively showcased the appeal and versatility of different meat cuts, generating heightened consumer interest and driving conversion at the preferred retailer.

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Each of the campaigns described demonstrates the effectiveness of strategic collaborations and targeted advertising in driving consumer engagement, increasing sales, and promoting specific products or industries. Whether it's inspiring shoppers to get creative with recipes, showcasing the benefits of a product through add-to-list technology, developing member programs, driving purchases, or prioritizing consumer retailer preferences, each initiative focuses on achieving specific objectives and delivering value to their respective industries.

Are you looking for a partner who understands the nuances of working with an association, board, or council to promote their unique products? Reach out today to schedule an intro call to see what we can do to help you meet your organization’s goals this year! 

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