Targeted Advertising
Targeted advertising could be the best marketing decision an advertiser could make in the food, grocery, and cuisine sectors. Advertising in these niches can be difficult and requires a very particular strategy. Mostly, it’s necessary to launch ad campaigns where very specific consumers can find very specific products when they need them.
So how exactly does targeted advertising work? How can food companies jump on the bandwagon and pull in leads for targeted advertising?
What is Targeted Advertising?
Targeted advertising is a form of online advertising that focuses on audiences with very specific traits. These traits are based on the brand or product that is being advertised. Often, these traits are simple demographics such as race, sex, age, economics, income, etc. They can also go into more detail, such as very niche fans of a specific type of cuisine or geographical location. Targeted advertising can also be based on things like personal values, personality type, opinions, lifestyles, browser and purchase history, and other activities that are measurable.
Targeted advertising is very focused on extremely specific traits due to the concept of strong preference. Consumers with very specific needs are much more likely to engage with a product advertisement that aligns with their unique interests, needs, and preferences. Targeted advertising essentially eliminates “waste” and targeted ads will only appear to consumers who are extremely likely to purchase a product, rather than advertising on a massive general scale.
Once advertisers have an idea of who their target market is, it’s time to engage in targeted advertising. This involves finding the best possible places to put ads in order for those specific demographics to find them at exactly the right time.
For grocery and food companies, a very good place to start is recipe blogs. Targeting recipe blogs that include an ingredient that a brand is advertising via a banner ad is a great way to engage in target advertising. If a recipe blog reader is looking up recipes for apple pie, placing an advertisement for pie crust on that exact page is meeting your target demographic where they are and when they need that product.
Advertisers Need to Know Their Target Consumer
In order for target marketing to really work and pull in a decent ROI, advertisers have to know their target consumers inside and out. Before actual ad campaigns can be created, a significant amount of market research will need to be performed in order to understand who needs the product that a specific brand has created. Some methods for market research include:
- Send out email surveys and other forms of market research in exchange for something, such as a coupon code or free gift. Some incentives should be included.
- Utilize social listening to find conversations about your brand’s niche or your brand itself.
- Look into which social channels your audience tends to use, such as social networks, forums, blogs, etc.
- Look at what the competition is doing in terms of marketing.
- Make sure that a buyer persona is developed before diving into marketing research in a specific demographic niche.
- Utilize interviews, focus groups, and general customer observation.
- Look at what existing customers are saying about the brand and what their unique needs are.
Once advertisers have a decent understanding of their target audience, an ad campaign can then be built with elements that resonate with those demographics.
Food Targeting with Gourmet Ads
Gourmet Ads is proud to offer a vast range of targeting options via our ad server and primary DSP. This variety of ad sources ensures that our clients can enjoy excellent campaign performance and overall success.
Some of the food targeting options we offer include:
Our platform also heavily focuses on audience, behavioral, campaign, contextual, diet, food delivery, location, grocery delivery, and demographic targeting. Just about any food and wine advertiser out there could benefit from one or more of these targeting options.
