It's not exactly
chocolate and peanut butter. Shopper marketing is usually as low-tech as can be, dominated by endcaps and shelf signs. But last month, Wal-Mart spent $300 million to buy social media firm Kosmix; this
week. Dunnhumby -- owned by Wal-Mart rival Tesco -- snapped up Bzzagent, a Boston-based social marketing firm. Dave Balter, CEO and founder of Boston-based Bzzagent, tells Marketing Daily
what's driving the trend.
Q: First Kosmix, now you. What's in for retailers?
A: We see social media and social marketing continuing to grow dramatically. Every marketer in the
world wants to get involved. Yet the metrics aren't there. We're still in the world of "likes" and clicks, but substantial budgets just don't come from that. Shopper marketing, on the other hand, is
the ultimate measurement vehicle. It's a thousand percent about ROI. The gold for everybody is going to be taking the power of social and tying it into what is going on in the store.
Q: Will
it work? Some studies have suggested otherwise.
A: Yes. Historically, we've measured all our campaigns with third-party metrics, and use regression analysis to analyze the ROI, and our
clients are some of the top marketers in the world -- Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Starbucks, for example. So our programs are shopper tested. Now we'll be able to tie that in to what is
happening in the store. What's clear is that social media drives sales in stores in a way that will make marketers start to spend significantly more in their social media programs.
Q: Why
acquire agencies?
A: Right now, there just isn't a way to connect shopper marketing and social marketing very effectively. That's where our value comes in -- I think these acquisitions
are going to change the landscape, and that you'll see more in the coming year. Take Walmart and Kosmix. Walmart is a big brand and understands that it is the consumer driving purchase decisions --
and now they have this amazing unit to begin to add tools. I think retailers are saying, 'Social can't be overlooked. Let's not dabble in this, let's own it." We've got 800,000 BzzAgents.
Dunnhumby has access to over 200 million shoppers worldwide. That's quite a scale.