Insights & Trends

Path to Purchase Part 6: Everything Leads to Search

December 6, 2019

The prior article described a very different set of rules changing the game: Category Awareness with a Point of View” or CAPOV.

Why is this a thing?

Because now, everything leads to Search.

Consumers no longer trust us, our companies or our messages. If we do a great job, we intercept their “Consumer Journey” long enough for them to become “aware” that something is going on in the category of products or services we are marketing.

But now, they take this journey into their own hands. Typing something into Google, Bing, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Lowes.com, Pinterest, #twitter, or whatever is their preferred place to search. They are going to find out more. And they are going to find out competitors. And they are going to find out what others think.

We have had some interesting discussions at Rinck. Search almost absolutely is analog as well as digital. Our Gen-Z audiences are apparently going back to the mall. Cellphone in hand, of course. Our Millennials love Wal-Mart, but don’t admit it. Shopper Marketing is an extension of search to digital and analog platforms.

These consumer prospects are going to search for real answers. In the last article, I discussed CAPOV (Category Awareness with a Point of View) and used the Bud Light Super Bowl ads as examples. But am I right? Did they drive prospects or even consumers to find out more on their own?

Google searches for Bud Light December 2018 to March 2019

1. Searches for “corn syrup in beer” rose 9,612% (impressive, but not sure how many before the ad aired. So big increase from small numbers? Likely.)

2.Searches for “Bud Light Ingredients rose 777%

3.Searches for competitor ingredients rose 18,33% for Miller Lite and 13,75% for Coors Light.

Three brands that cover a lot of the category. The number 1, 2 and 4 best-selling beers in America.

The real goal of CAPOV is to stimulate something provocative to search. The search will occur anyway, but CAPOV provides the framing for the search.

We are working with a client on a particularly thorny marketing issue. It is an action that people rarely take but might in the near future because of an upcoming event shaping a market. We already know that people don’t search for the thing we want them to do. One of our KPI will be if can drive search to our brand based on the CAPOV we are sending into the market. Will they search?

We will see. Like all advertising, it is a bet. That ROI will be higher than the wager. Bud Light has not seen a corresponding spike in sales. Yet. To make this work, they have to do much, much more. They had the theory, but weren’t ready for the execution.

That’s next.

Peter Rinck

Chief Executive Officer

Related Articles

Let’s Stop Trying to Go Viral

March 10, 2023 | Insights & Trends

Raise your hand if a client has ever asked you how to make their brand “go viral”.

READ MORE
Pink background with retro microphone and headphones. Text "Podcast Advertising: Streaming on Demand Audio"

Podcast Advertising – Streaming On Demand Audio

December 16, 2022 | Insights & Trends

Podcast advertising offers brands a dynamic opportunity to provide full funnel support for their products and services. The host helps build awareness as listeners are introduced to a new product or brand. The host’s recommendations, and built-in trust, lead many listeners to the consideration phase. Finally, many podcasts utilize promotional codes and offers which can be tracked to easily measure the return on your investment.

READ MORE
A board full of yellow sticky notes with text overlay "5 Tips from an Agency Project Manager"

5 Tips from an Agency Project Manager

November 3, 2022 | Insights & Trends

How do you keep yourself organized in such a fast-paced work environment? Here are a few tips that I have found help organize the chaos, so I feel a sense of accomplishment each day.

READ MORE

Interpreting Google’s Global Market Insights

August 24, 2022 | Insights & Trends

The Google Global Market Insights team just released the latest consumer behavior insights after analyzing billions of recent search queries. These insights are intended to help us act in an environment of economic uncertainty – for Rinck, our clients, and their consumers.

READ MORE