Chapter P3, Problem 2QCT

Scooping Up Consumer Insight

“Food is such a huge topic in people’s lives,” comments Susie Fogelson, senior vice president, marketing, creative services, and public relations for Food Network and the Cooking Channel. “Social media gives us an opportunity to be relevant in people’s lives almost every minute of every day, as long as we can make the content valuable, compelling, unique, and authentic.” That’s a large order to fill, but marketers for Scripps Networks Interactive and its branded networks, including Food Network, recognize that social media is not only a way to reach consumers but also for consumers to reach them.

The social media conversation begins naturally and becomes marketing research as marketers tease out data that help them identify consumer trends, preferences, lifestyle choices and habits, and the like. “We’re always looking for better ways to get more interesting information,” says Gabe Gordon, vice president of research for the food category at Scripps. While the networks themselves may look specifically for food trends, Gordon’s team researches a broader scope—what he calls “emotional” trends. If the defined problem is loss of market share for a certain type of cooking show, then researchers will attempt to find out why. If Scripps wants to develop a new show to compete head-on with a show from a rival network such as Bravo or TLC, researchers may initiate a social media conversation to learn what viewers especially like about the other network’s show. Once they gather enough information on viewers’ preferences, they can do targeted messaging that encourages viewers to visit Food Network to watch shows, such as “Food Network Star” or “Chopped.”

Social media allows marketers to collect a lot of primary data through conversations directly with consumers. “We want our social media conversations to be as non-invasive as possible,” says Gordon. Computer technology allows these exchanges to take place as naturally as possible—Scripps might give participants a smartphone or tablet to carry, so they can chat or comment at any given moment during the day. Scripps still conducts traditional surveys (usually online) and focus groups, because they do contain value. “But there are always drawbacks to any sort of research process,” acknowledges Gordon. “One of the biggest is having people in an artificial environment.”

Social media gives marketers a peek into nearly every aspect of consumers’ lives that they’re willing to share, including the most mundane details. “Consumers are out there in the social spaces telling us what they’re eating for breakfast, what they’re doing over the weekend,” says Jonah Spegman, director of digital media and database marketing for Scripps. “They’re leaving all sorts of data elements out there for us on the marketing side.” But just knowing that one consumer ate cereal for breakfast while another went running instead isn’t enough. Marketers must be able to identify groups of people and interpret the gathered data so it becomes valuable information. “We pick up on those data elements and start building out segments about people who are interested and have certain passions around what our brands can offer,” explains Spegman. For example, after airing the Food Network documentary “Hunger Hits Home,” marketers used targeted Facebook ads to pinpoint people who were interested in charity work. “Social media allowed us to use mechanisms to identify who those people are and then reach out to them with a message that spoke to what the documentary had to offer,” recalls Spegman.

Food Network marketers already know that the overwhelming majority of their audience is women; but more and more men are tuning in, says Kate Gold, director of social media. In social media interactions, she notes a similar trend—but younger consumers tend to communicate via Twitter while Facebook is more across the board in terms of age groups. Food Network targets female viewers with decision-making and buying power—preferably with the ability and desire to spend money on restaurants, fine food and beverages, and higher-end cooking supplies. Although Engel’s law states that the greater a person’s household income is, the lower the percentage spent on food items will be, in this case, food expenditures blend with luxury and entertainment.

Social media reaches directly to Food Network’s segmented audience—consumers who care about food, cooking, and dining. Fogelson thinks about the ways that Food Network can interact with consumers long after they’ve turned off the TV. Shoppers could access Food Network from their smartphones while in the grocery store and learn which ingredients to buy for a quick dinner. While standing at the fish or produce counter, they could find out which fish or vegetables are in season. “The possibilities are infinite if we can talk to consumers all day, what we can do for them,” says Fogelson. “Consumer insights are the most important thing when you think about how to program social media.”

This kind of activity underscores the idea of conversation—building relationships with viewers and consumers in general. For example, Food Network celebrity chefs such as Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis tweet and answer questions from consumers on Facebook several times a day. “It’s a great opportunity for the network to cultivate those relationships,” remarks Gold. “It’s broken down that barrier—seeing someone on TV and then being able to interact with them in social media. These are real people, and viewers get real insights into the talents’ everyday life.”

Using social media, what steps might Food Network take to expand its viewership to include more teens? What about viewers from different ethnic groups?