Conagra times a second-half marketing push | WARC | The Feed
The Feed
Read daily effectiveness insights and the latest marketing news, curated by WARC’s editors.
You didn’t return any results. Please clear your filters.
Conagra times a second-half marketing push
Spending on advertising and promotion at Conagra Brands, the company that includes Birds Eye, Healthy Choice and Slim Jim, is likely to pick up as the food business looks to time increased marketing investment with the renewal of consumer confidence.
What’s happening
In an earnings call, CEO Sean Connolly reported that US consumers remain financially stretched but are “responding to high-quality, brand-building stimulus”.
“We’re driving lifts, we’re focusing our dollars on those categories where we know the consumer really wants to buy the category,” he explained. “We’re not out there spending money trying to drive lifts on Manwich or business like that.”
Why marketing timing matters
Financial expediency has driven consumers to make some short-term sacrifices but they haven’t necessarily stopped buying the category. Conagra believes that being “super-selective”, not just about which brands it backs, but when, is crucial.
Connolly stressed the need for agility in making the timing call. He’s encouraged by what the business has seen in the first half of the year and is now ready to increase spending since “we’ve got consumers that are demonstrating a real willingness to re-engage their more typical purchase behaviors with a little bit of a nudge from us”.
Takeaways
- A&P spending is projected to be 20% up in the second half of the financial year (roughly equivalent to the first half of calendar 2024).
- “Fiscal '24 is one of our biggest innovation slates yet,” Connolly said. “We are backing those launches with meaningful increases in slotting in-store and other sales support versus the prior year.”
- As well as innovation, marketing efforts are aimed at reengaging consumers with existing products.
- Conagra is also looking at the competitive set more broadly – not just other frozen vegetables in the case of Birds Eye, for example, but canned products too – “and really getting after that in a very targeted hard-hitting way with a focus on quality and superior relative value”.
Key quote
“We have a robust and multifaceted investment plan in place for the second half of the [financial] year, reflecting our confidence in consumer responsiveness to our brand building efforts” – Sean Conolly, CEO, Conagra Brands.
Sourced from Seeking Alpha
Email this content