News Corp Australia yesterday held its inaugural FMCG Forum bringing together senior marketers and agency directors to explore some of the current and future challenges facing the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category.
Supported by the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) the event was designed to discuss consumer trends, product innovation and explore how FMCG companies can improve marketing effectiveness.
Speakers included the principal of Housten Consulting and former PwC media specialist Megan Brownlow; author and trend forecaster Bernard Salt; and award-winning marketer and industry professor, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, Professor Bruce McColl.
Prof Bruce McColl, Megan Brownlow, Bernard Salt
The audience also heard from two influential marketing commentators Peter Field and Les Binet.
News Corp Australia’s chief operating officer, publishing Damian Eales opened the forum with an outline of the FMCG industry.
“No other Australian media company has invested in FMCG and food clients as much as we have. By taking a customer first approach we’ve created specialist industry solutions that are delivering growth for our clients.
“Thought leadership is a big part of our investment and that is the purpose of this forum. Our focus today provides fresh perspectives and encourages different thinking to help our customers better meet the expectations of today’s consumers and find new ways to connect with these customers to grow their brands and businesses.”
Every month, almost 15 million Australian grocery buyers turn to News Corp Australia for inspiration and advice. The company’s ecosystem creates efficiency across channels to influence consumers as they move through their grocery planning and buying journeys.
Every day, the company’s food media generates 80 million behavioural data points.
News Corp Australia has launched new advertising products that help partners find new ways to connect with consumers, including:
• News Co.Create, a new collaborative approach to FMCG product development and marketing
• Food Corp’s Digital Kitchen expansion, intercepting grocery-planning decisions at scale
News Corp Australia’s managing director, national sales Lou Barrett said: “We are really proud today to present some of the smartest thinking about marketing trends, what is happening in the FMCG world, and how News Corp Australia is here to help our customers achieve real growth for their business.
“Through our industry specialisation, working with us to deliver marketing outcomes for clients has never been more seamless, whether that’s reaching and influencing audiences or developing and marketing new products.”
News Corp Australia’s director of Food Corp Fiona Nilsson said: “We set out to put this forum on to provide value to the industry. We collaborated with CMOs and multiple high level FMCG marketers, conducting a deep dive into the challenges they are facing. Today we are coming back with a content series with some of the biggest thinkers in the industry, some marketers themselves, to help address some of those challenges and move forward.
“We’re also announcing a series of advertising products that we’ve created in conjunction with these same FMCG marketers to help them deliver through the funnel and get really effective outcomes.”
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Top Photo: News Corp’s Damian Eales, Fiona Nilsson and Lou Barrett at the FMCG Forum