The Impact Of Targeting On The Future Of New Acquisitions, by Pepsico’s Schatzi Gheita

By: Schatzi Gheita, Senior Marketing Manager – Quaker MENA, Iraq BU Snacks at Pepsico

This is going to come as an absolute shock coming from an absolute targeting enthusiast and performance marketing proponent.

Did we ever stop and think how decades from today, targeting and performance marketing will impact organic acquisition and consumer recruitment into new categories and brands?

A decade+ ago, as a then pregnant new mom going through the baby products isle in the supermarket for the first time ever – filled with the emotion to get the best for my new baby – I found myself gravitating towards buying my first Pampers pack. Although before that day I had never bought a pack of diapers or understood the functional differences between them all, I instinctively chose Pampers! 

Why did I gravitate towards Pampers? Why did I organically step into the category and chose the brand without hesitation?

I believe it is the natural outcome of years of negative spillover. In fact decades before I stood at that baby products supermarket aisle, Pampers had acquired me. I had built a subconscious brand loyalty with the brand since I was old enough to understand and comprehend Pampers TV commercials at the age of 6. We marketers understand that concept, we comprehend brand loyalty as a product of negative spillover.

Fast forward to 2021 where we pride ourselves in designing custom affinity targets, where demo targeting is not enough.

Is it more impactful and ROI-driven to custom target today? Absolutely yes.

Is it more intuitive in the digital environment to custom target? Undeniably yes.

Fast forward to 2051, where 10-year-olds of today were never targeted by Pampers, are they likely to pick up their Pampers pack as naturally and intuitively as I did 12 years ago? I am not so sure.

We cannot go back to the 1990 TV negative spillover where we had a captive audience watching 2-3 channels. We also don’t want that kind of media ROI forfeiture with mass targeting (to most brands). It is impossible and also unintuitive to the digital environment. BUT, as we go ahead rejoicing in the unparalleled efficiency of custom targeting and its short term results, let’s imagine how we will in 5+ years recruit new loyalists into our categories and brands when they’ve practically never been exposed to us prior to becoming our target group.