Papa Johns is employing a new advertising strategy that leverages consumer purchasing data to target individuals when they are predicted to be running low on groceries. The pizza chain has partnered with NBCUniversal and the media agency Carat, which is owned by dentsu, to implement this initiative. The core idea is to identify consumers who are likely to need food and present them with advertisements at opportune moments.
This approach involves creating a custom audience of shoppers who frequently purchase essential grocery items through Instacart, such as milk, eggs, meat, and produce. By analyzing this data, Papa Johns aims to predict specific days of the week when these consumers might be running out of food. Subsequently, advertisements are served to these individuals while they are consuming NBCUniversal streaming content.
The campaign also utilizes personalized ad creatives tailored to consumers' food preferences, such as whether they regularly buy meat. These ads may feature QR codes and calls to action designed to resonate with a perceived lack of groceries, using phrases like "Light on groceries?" or "Empty fridge?".
According to Carrie Drinkwater, chief investment officer at Carat, the objective is to reach consumers when they are in need of food by understanding their refrigerator contents without appearing overly intrusive. The strategy relies on inferring a consumer's grocery status from their purchasing habits on platforms like Instacart.
This method of predictive advertising, which infers personal circumstances from purchasing behavior, has been observed in previous marketing efforts. The aim is to anticipate consumer needs and deliver relevant marketing messages at the most impactful times.
