Unilever teams with VideoJug for Grotbuster campaign

Oli Felstead - 18/09/2008

This trial of video advertising demonstrates a willingness amongst online consumers to interact with brands in a more sophisticated way. However, with the majority of grocery shoppers still preferring to shop in-store as opposed to online, it is important that FMCG marketing managers consider how they can harness video-based advertising in order to drive in-store sales. The ‘video coupon’, where consumers watch a 10-20 second video before printing a ‘print at home’ coupon, is an innovative promotional marketing solution which is fully trackable - from the point a consumer watches the video all the way through to them printing the coupon and then redeeming the coupon in-store - thereby bringing an altogether higher level of accountability to video-based advertising. Furthermore, the video coupon satisfies an FMCG marketer’s desire to use video in order to convey branded messages and communicate product attributes that sometimes cannot be explained in static ads. Interestingly, early trials of video coupons (Aero Bubbles) have demonstrated that, on average, consumers watch video more than just once before securely printing their coupon or voucher. This would not be the case if consumers believed that viewing the video was simply a necessary evil in order to save money. Using video coupon technology, FMCG marketers now have an excellent opportunity to conduct traditional brand advertising online, whilst at the time still giving the consumer an incentive to make a product purchase in store. Oliver Felstead, European General Manager, www.couponstar.com