• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, August 9, 2016

The Association of National Advertisers and GfK have some new research out showing just how important mobile has become to shopper marketing campaigns.

Specifically, shopper marketing has progressed from only driving short-term sales to motivating shopper behavior more broadly, the ANA and GfK find.

As a discipline, shopper marketing is subject to many misconceptions, says ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice.

“There is little consistency in how it is defined and what the best practices should be,” Liodice notes in the new report. “We conducted research to help bring clarity to the current state of the category and make predictions about where it’s headed."

The discipline began to change dramatically as shopper marketers became more strategic and began leveraging shopper insights. When shopper marketing began reporting directly to marketing rather than to sales or other departments, it created greater opportunities for integration.

While the primary role of shopper marketing has always been to convert shoppers, it now has to deliver a combination of short- and long-term benefits, including driving conversion among shoppers, motivating shopper behavior through levers beyond price, and executing solutions to shopper challenges and purchase barriers.

Among respondents in organizations with dedicated shopper marketing teams, 51% indicated that it was a competitive advantage, while 55% said it reflected the convergence of brands, shoppers, and retailers.

That said, while shopper insights can drive program development, only 40% of respondents believed their organizations were adequately investing in shopper insights. 

Earlier this year, the ANA and GfK surveyed roughly 185 marketers for their findings. Within that group, 55% primarily work in B-to-C companies, 25% primarily work in B-to-B companies, and 20% work in companies that are both B-to-B and B-to-C.

Also of note, the participants had an average of 12 years working in marketing and advertising, while about 40% were directors or in even more senior positions.

This column was previously published in Moblog on July 26, 2016.