Having produced tomato-based products since 1888, Hunt's is a venerable American brand. Today Hunt's is part of a vast corporation, ConAgra Foods, which is one of the most well-known consumer brands in packaged foods, from breakfast sausage to popcorn. Hunt's products include canned tomatoes, pasta and tomato sauces and tomato paste for use in the home, in restaurants and food service outlets, as well schools, stadiums, and theme parks nationwide.
Approach
Since Hunt's products are packaged foods,
the company's online presence is designed to reinforce branding and
create a positive customer experience. To mark National Tomato Month
(which takes place each October), Hunt's relaunched its website in September
2003. In addition to an overall site redesign, the new pages featured
an "instant win" promotion, access to ConAgra Foods' recipe database,
meal planning tools, and Hunt's Club membership program registration.
Hunt's online marketing team wanted to create excitement about the relaunch
through online media to drive traffic and awareness. The campaign's
goals were to increase registration in Hunt's Club as well as participation
in the promotional game. Of course, Hunt's brand managers knew from
experience that more visitors came to the product and recipe pages,
the more number would intend to purchase. One study reported 52 percent
of consumers who searched online for recipes have tried new food products
because of those searches.
To achieve their objectives, the Hunt's team undertook such tactics
as newsletter sponsorships, banner ad placements, and keyword advertising,
including Google AdWords™. With the help of the Google account team,
Hunt's created a targeted list of some 60 keywords ranging from "barbeque
sauce" to "vegetarian recipes."
Results
During the three-month campaign, the combined
online marketing efforts yielded a 400 percent increase in site traffic.
Fully half of all site visitors viewed Hunt's recipe and production
information, and there was a 41 percent increase in Hunt's Club membership.
The conversion rate is a critical measure of most online campaigns,
and this was true for Hunt's. The average conversion rate for this campaign,
measured as registration, was 41 percent. The rate for Google users
was close to double that number: 77 percent.
Another metric that Hunt's tracks is cost per click. While the average
online advertising partner Hunt's used for this campaign delivered a
cost per action (CPA) of 78˘, Google delivered a CPA of just 49˘, or
37 percent less. Because of results like these, Hunt's has built Google
AdWords into the mix so that all its online consumer campaigns can be
as successful.
About Google Advertising
Google AdWords is currently used by thousands of businesses
worldwide to gain new customers in a cost-effective way. AdWords uses
keywords to precisely target ad delivery to web users seeking information
about a particular product or service. The program is based on cost-per-click
(CPC) pricing, so advertisers only pay when an ad is clicked on. Advertisers
can take advantage of an extremely broad distribution network, and choose
the level of support and spending appropriate for their business. For
more information, go to www.google.com/ads.