FMCG Advertising Online Aspire Greater Results – What Can Digital Media Expect From This?

Its been quite a roller coaster ride for FMCG brands to come up with something of great value online for their brands. But there have been instances where brands have been launched online before being introduced directly to their end customers. Coca-Cola India in August 2009 launched a new integrated communication initiative – Fridge Mein Jayega, Bade Kaam Ayega – to support the launch of the 1.25 litre Fridge Pack of its soft drink brand Sprite. The digital campaign was launched in partnership with In.com, preceded by an online contest. This one one of those few instances where a cola campaign broke online without giving the electronic or print media to do so.

FMCG brands rarely deal direct with their end customers so, like other manufacturers, they don’t interact directly with them. These brands could rely on a combination of print and media ads followed by in-store promotions to create brand awareness and maintain their market share. But, nowadays many supermarkets sell their own private labels which are called ‘Home brands’ that compete with the top name brands, they are less likely to give fair advertising space in-store for these products.

When advertisers and advertising agencies are tasked with reaching mass audiences online, many undertake roadblock advertising because it’s an effective tactic for gaining user attention and engagement. One of the strategies while undertaking roadblock advertising is to develop a campaign where each ad unit works hand-in-hand to deliver a unique and powerful rich media advertising experience. As the ads are delivered concurrently, these coordinated ad placements can interact with each other in numerous ways. By creating attention catching campaigns like this, an advertising campaign would run exclusively across all the advertising units on a page reinforcing the advertising message. Smart placement of FMCG advertising online where people in the target market are most likely to see it, can have a strong influence on the brand a customer chooses when they walk into a store and are faced with the choice of a brand name or the house brand.

On the other hand, internet advertising world has turned into a multi-billion dollar per year business. With more avenues for advertisers than ever before, this trend seems to be going nowhere but up. According to the WebChutney Digital Media Outlook Report 2009, the current online spends of the FMCG category, stands at around Rs 16 crore. It is expected to increase to almost Rs 72 crore in 2009-10, a smashing 353 per cent boost. The FMCG market in India is estimated to be worth about Rs 1 lakh crore and is dominated by large players such as Unilever, P&G, ITC and Dabur. Recently, Reliance Group started selling FMCG in the open market in Mumbai. Their new company sees the FMCG sector as the next big growth area and plan to set up 2-3 subsidiaries to manage the business.

FMCG products may be part of life’s necessities but they are not necessarily the kinds of things you are drawn to finding out more about on the web. But when you find a new pack of Pringles swirling around your mail box or you find a roll of strawberry flavoured toilet paper introduced by ‘X’ company placed at every corner of a webpage, what would it result into? You notice it, right? Hence these ads can really focus in on the people most likely to buy particular products. The Bottomline : FMCG Advertising Online helps target specific audience. The reality in this age is that if a product isn’t online it almost doesn’t exist in the minds of most consumers.