Filippo Berio Oiled Its Brand With ‘Shopping List Moments’

Olive oil giant Filippo Berio, which began pressing olives in 1867 and is the top five brands in the U.S., doesn’t need many pointers when it comes to selling its olive oil. Its importer alone posted sales of $22 million in 2019, and Filippo Berio is a household name for many home cooks. But when the brand determined that it could do better with its target demographic (high-income women aged 25-44 living in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast), it tapped the resources of marketing technology firm Aki Technologies and data-analytics agency Media Horizons. The objective was not just about the content of the marketing messages, but the moments they were served to prospective consumers—ones that Media Horizons’ data had already identified as good prospects based on existing purchase data. “We wanted to target regions where we had low ACV [all community volume] but high CDI [category development index],” said U.S. marketing manager Meghan Boyd. Translating the marketing parlance, Boyd explained that Filippo Berio was essentially looking for areas “where there was olive oil volume, but less awareness for the brand.” The right oil for the right moment Next, the timing of messaging was critical element to the campaign. Aki’s technology purports to point out the occasions during the day when consumers are most amenable to marketing messages that will influence them. For example, Filippo Berio deployed its messages (video ads and regular banner ads among them) at what it called “Get-on-the-List Moments,” when the targeted consumer was at home and potentially planning a meal or making a shopping list. Some ads fell in “On-the-Go Moments,” when the women were already out and about, and more likely to visit a store. “We really wanted to reach out to them and say, ‘Here we are. Here’s where you are in your purchase journey. We’re here as you … hit these moments …'” Boyd said. A faster shop Deciding on the best occasions to target shoppers, Filippo Berio then varied the type of marketing they received. A consumer planning a meal at home would, the reasoning went, have more time to watch a video ad, so that’s what they got. In contrast, the time-pressed shopper already on the go would receive only a banner ad. Risa Crandall, svp CPG strategy and sales at Aki Technologies, pointed out that pandemic exigencies have created “a faster shop,” making it essential that consumers receive longer messages only when they have time to consume them. “When someone’s moving quickly, we want to give them a quick reminder message and have it be a quick format, we’re not going to ask them to watch a video,” Crandall said. “When someone is showing in our feedback that they have the time, that they’re watching other videos, we’ll show them a video.” Shopping list updates Finally, the brand targeted its content to suit these occasions. A consumer at home making a shopping list, for instance, might receive a message like “don’t forget our essential oil.” A consumer in her “On-the-Go Moment” would get a finder for the nearest store that carries Filippo Berio’s oils, or an enticement message such as “Fill tonight’s dinner with delicious possibilities.” The strategic layering of these targeting tactics yielded encouraging and measurable results, including an increase in visits to Filippo Berio’s website. Ads scored a 90% view-through rate (meaning, audiences watched the whole thing), and the click-through rate of 0.8% was a significant bump from the benchmark of 0.4%. Overall, Berio enjoyed a brand lift—improved perception—of 33.9%. Perhaps best of all, with the targeted markets, Berio measured a 6% sales lift. Boyd would not rule out Filippo Berio continuing to use this strategy again in the future. Though the company prides itself on following founder Filippo Berio’s pledge “his signature, our promise,” an updated slogan might well read: “His signature, our promise, plus some good data.”

Branding

Filippo Berio Lifted Awareness By Targeting ‘Shopping List Moments’

The company honed in on areas where it saw high olive oil sales volume, but low brand recognition

Paige Anderson

David Kaplan

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Paige Anderson

David Kaplan