• by Ken Beaulieu , Op-Ed Contributor, July 7, 2015

Offering shoppers a path-to-purchase experience with less friction is paramount to accelerating online sales, says Cindy Chen, global head of ecommerce at Mondelez International. “The simpler it is for consumers to buy a product online,” she points out, “the more likely they are to purchase it.”

To that end, Mondelez, in partnership with ChannelSight, is adding “Buy Now” buttons to all owned, earned, and paid media platforms across 25 markets. The buttons link to more than 130 retailer websites, making it easy for consumers to both find and buy Mondelez products online. “This means we are enabling every piece of our media to turn into a potential sale,” Chen says.

Chen, who will speak the ANA Digital & Social Media Conference, July 15 - 17, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., shares more insight on the evolution of digital media and ecommerce at Mondelez.

Q.The responsibilities for ecommerce and media now rest with your group. In what ways will this transform the marketing organization and the future of digital?

A. Ecommerce and media are intrinsically connected, as every interaction with a brand has the potential to turn into a purchase. Across the industry, there is pressure to use data and insights to ensure that we are spending our media dollars where it matters most. By combining both functions under one P&L, we are able to more effectively manage this intersection and maximize synergies by gaining access to significant amounts of trackable data and insights. Another piece of this is being able to tap into the symbiotic relationships between media channels, making media buying just as creative as the creative itself.

Q.A majority of digital media consumption now takes place in mobile apps. How is Mondelez innovatively responding to this trend? Please provide an example.

A. Mobile is a huge business priority. It’s the most effective channel for us to connect, engage, and do business with our customers. We are doing a lot in this area and will do more, particularly when it comes to mobile commerce. But one recent example is our partnership with Facebook, which allows us to create tailored content for video that is optimized for mobile.

Q. Measuring digital ad effectiveness continues to be a challenge for many companies. How are you evaluating the delivery and performance of your campaigns?

A. Measuring the effectiveness of digital ads is not a ratings game. It is all about engagement. Successful ads can generate millions of searches, online views, and hundreds of thousands social actions, depending on the creative execution and the media plan. The best way to evaluate the effectiveness is to measure what viewers do, not what they say — i.e., social activity. For instance, when we ran Oreo Daily Twist in 2012, what I focused agencies’ energy on was not merely typical media impressions, but far more importantly, on social attention and reaction. I was extremely pleased with the results: within the 100 days we ran the campaign, we grew Facebook fans by 1.1 million, increased Facebook shares by 280%, and increased retweets by 515%.

Q. You have been lauded as the pioneer of real-time marketing and a brand innovator, thanks in part to the Oreo Super Bowl “blackout” tweet. What valuable lessons did you learn then that continue to guide you today? 

A. First, innovation always starts with solving a business challenge. I was not doing real-time marketing for the sake of being sexy. Oreo’s challenge was that as we became an extraordinary old brand (100 years old), we were losing relevance with younger consumers. Our ambition was, and still is, transforming Oreo from the world’s favorite cookie to a social icon. Having fun with real-time events through Oreo’s eyes just made sense to achieve that ambition. Second, be fearless. If no one has done it before, you might be quite lonely and, along the way, there might be good, bad, and ugly comments. I told myself that I do not mind being fired for great ideas. And third, learn, lift, and apply quickly. The Oreo Super Bowl blackout tweet was built on what we learned from Oreo Daily Twist. We had a control center consisting of brand, agencies, corporate affairs, and legal folks, and we developed trust over time. That allowed us to move from creating concepts to finally pushing the ads out within eight to 10 hours, for 100 consecutive days. Then, we were able to do the famous blackout tweet within 10 minutes.