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Kellogg campaign pinpoints mobile as most-effective advertising channel for driving sales

In answer to the question of whether mobile advertising is effective at driving sales, Kellogg Co. gives a resounding ?Yes,? with the analysis of a recent campaign showing that mobile delivered more than three dollars in incremental sales for every dollar invested. 

An analysis of the campaign for Kellogg?s Pop-Tarts brand by Nielsen Catalina Solutions sheds light on mobile advertising?s effectiveness at driving sales for consumer packaged goods brands, with mobile determined to be the most effective channel for driving sales compared to tablets and desktop for the campaign in question. The Pop-Tarts campaign was delivered across multiple devices in conjunction with Pandora, with audio and display ads encouraging younger consumers to listen to a branded playlist. 

?Over the course of this campaign, 347,000 teens spent an average of 81 minutes per person listening to the ?Pop-Tarts Crazy Good Summer? branded station, and the results show that time spent with brands translates into meaningful engagement and lifts in offline sales,? said Heidi Browning, senior vice president of strategic solutions at Pandora. 

Summer tunes
Kellogg wanted to target teens and encourage them to consider Pop-Tarts as a breakfast option. The goal was to increase sales among loyal and lapsed buyers. 

Pandora was deemed a strong fit as this audience has an affinity for listening to music over multiple devices. 

Featuring the tagline ?Get the party started,? the campaign promoted the opportunity to hear free concerts and hot artists on the Pop-Tarts branded playlist on Pandora. 


The campaign, which ran June through August of 2014, reached more than 4 million households with 30 million impressions on tablet, mobile and desktop. 

Although mobile-only households comprised 60 percent of those exposed to the Pandora campaign, they contributed to 70 percent of the total incremental impact, validating mobile?s effectiveness.

Overall, the campaign showed a 7 percent lift in offline retail sales for Kellogg Co. 

The campaign was part of Pop-Tart?s celebration of its 50th anniversary and promotion for its third-annual Crazy Good Summer concert series

Mobile shift
While mobile advertising is growing, marketers are still not investing as much in mobile as is warranted by the significant amount of time consumers, especially younger demographics, spend with their devices. 

One reason why marketers have been shy about investing in mobile is that the medium is unique enough that they are looking for the right way to engage this audience. Pandora and other popular streaming music services are an attractive way to reach mobile users because listening to music is popular activity on mobile. Also, the experience of hearing an ad while listening to music is an experience many consumers are familiar with. 


Another reason why marketers have been reluctant to invest heavily in mobile is that measuring the impact of mobile advertising has been a challenge for marketers. 

This situation is starting to change. 

Earlier this year, the Mobile Marketing Association released the results of study of campaigns from major brands such as Coca-Cola?s Gold Peak tea, Walmart, MasterCard and AT&T that showed mobile is a strong contributor of campaign performance, driving results across the entire purchase funnel. Marketers would significantly increase their overall campaign return on investment without increasing budget by simply adjusting mobile spend upward, according to the study (see story). 

Change in behavior
By leveraging Nielsen Catalina Solutions? household data and methodology, Kellogg was able to identify actual buyers via any kind of device and determine the effect of mobile advertising on incremental sales. 

Nielsen Catalina matches data about who watches a brand?s ad with shopper household data, looking at test and control groups post-campaign to measure the change in behavior between buyers who saw an ad versus identical buyers who did not. 

?Pandora has a deep understanding of teen behavior with music and mobile ? where, when, what platforms, what artists, etc.,? Ms. Browning said. ?Because of these insights and the power of our data, we can deliver smart and relevant experiences in context.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Marketer, New York