Brand Managers--Tailor your Content or Lose Market Share

Brand Managers of packaged goods companies, I'm sure you've noticed the declining percent of household spending on consumer packaged goods over the last few years and this isn't something predicted to stop. As a graduate student in Medill School of Journalism’s Integrated Marketing Communications program, I’ve become aware of this problem as well and have found a few articles for you to read to help you stand out and convince your consumers to spend.

In the article “Why Acquisitions Make Sense In Consumer and Retail,” author Ryan Caldbeck discusses how brand equity can be built through mergers and acquisitions in the CPG and retail industries. While tech companies tend to depend on IPOs to grow, the CPG and retail industries do not depend on the same stimuli to grow their brands. What I find most interesting in this article is not only the comparison of the consumer/retail and tech industries but also the fact that the returns on acquisition in the consumer/retail space yields higher returns that those from tech deals. 

The article “Latinos are the Comeback Kids for Breakfast Cereal Market," based on Packaged Facts reports, discusses how Hispanic households are more likely to spend money on breakfast products and are expected to play a key role in the turnaround of the declining breakfast cereal market. What I think is an interesting finding in this article is that Hispanic households without children are almost twice as likely as non-Hispanics without children to consumer cold cereal. For a brand manager of packaged goods companies, this finding could mean the difference between selling half or double of a certain product.

After reviewing these two great articles, I have developed three action items for you to consider in developing your future marketing efforts.  They are:

• Consider targeted acquisition--Improvement of a packaged goods brand can be effective through targeted acquisitions.

• Hispanic markets matter now more than ever--If you don’t target the Hispanic market already and you’re in the breakfast cereal business, it’s time to start.

• Advertise to Hispanic households with children--If you have been targeting the Hispanic market already, increasing advertising in that area, especially toward Hispanic households with children.

To help your brand grow and stay above the competition, these three key steps are necessary for your company. As marketers within such a key industry, it is in your hands to better target the key individuals and companies to help your brand be successful. Acquiring the best customers and other companies are just the beginning steps but taking these steps can help ensure your success moving forward.

Angela Lee is a M.S. candidate in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Her passion for marketing lies in utilizing data analytics to redefine brand strategies to connect with target consumers.