Food brands could make an impact with their advertising during COVID-19 by tapping into a sense of nostalgia and a desire for togetherness among consumers, analysis by Ipsos has revealed.
Megan Tiedt, a vp in the client organization at Ipsos, and who leads a team focused on creative excellence and brand tracking, discussed this topic at the research firm’s virtual 2020 Food Industry Summit.
Ipsos, she reported, had conducted meta-analysis of over 2,000 ads, including 500 from the food and beverage sectors, as well as brand-tracking data and in-depth analytics.
And she suggested that ads tapping into certain emotions can make an impact as they will connect with consumers in a way that matches current shopper perspectives.
“Ads that feature togetherness or trigger some sort of nostalgic memories tend to be 2.5 times more motivating than those that do not,” Tiedt said. (For more, read WARC’s in-depth report: How to make effective food advertising in the COVID-19 era: insights from Ipsos.)
“We see that there's a very clear connection between the themes of togetherness, nostalgia, and then bringing out enjoyment, and a sense of normalcy, comfort and security - all things that consumers want to feel right now.”
As consumers spend more time at home, she noted, they are forming “new rituals” as they cook, sit around the dinner table, and experience similar modes of togetherness.
Each of these trends can be used by brands “to inspire consumers to use their product,” Tiedt told the virtual Food Summit assembly..
But even as brands connect their messages back to a happier past, an emphasis on togetherness can be deployed when launching goods in the present.
“These communications can also be a great way to introduce new innovation and food inspiration with cooking, with food, with eating at home, really making sure that the product is the center of that focus,” Tiedt said.
“For example, it is a way to highlight restaurant-style at-home meal kits, or easy, to-go packaged meal inspirations.”
Sourced from WARC
