3 Takeways on the State of Data-Driven CPG Marketing

By NCS Marketing

Advertisers have a lot to juggle—emerging tech, a fragmented media landscape, shifting consumer habits, the power of social media and influencers, the rise of retail media, and more. With everything evolving so fast, keeping a pulse on ad spending trends isn’t just helpful—it’s essential for staying ahead.

That’s why we teamed up with Digiday to survey 90 brand and agency professionals working across retail, beauty, food, grocery, and healthcare. We wanted to understand their perspectives on the marketplace—what’s working, what’s changing, and where they’re investing. The result? A new report designed to help advertisers and those in service to them cut through the noise and navigate today’s complex landscape with confidence.

What did we learn? Although CPG marketers are faced with many challenges, almost always with obstacles, there are opportunities. We discovered there’s a wave of optimism, particularly around certain data types and channels. How are advertisers translating this feeling into action? 

Our report on the state of the industry is available now (you should download it today!), here are three highlights from our journey into the thinking of today’s CPG marketers:

#1 WITH LIMITED RESOURCES, EFFICIENCY RULES

Although some CPG marketers are increasing investments, others are facing tighter budgets. No one has room for waste when activating campaigns. 

Fewer resources means advertisers have to focus on efficiency. One way to ensure they’re reaching the right audiences with the right messages is to lean on the data insights, strategies, and channels that work.

Measuring campaign performance allows marketers to assess the effectiveness of their campaign strategies. NCS clients know this from looking at their Sales Effect studies. Some approaches drive higher incremental sales than others, and different audiences and strategies affect outcomes in different ways. 

That’s why nearly three-quarters of digital marketers see improved testing, learning and iteration and advanced analytics, attribution and measurement models as key opportunities in 2025.

#2 PURCHASE INSIGHTS TAKE THE DRIVER’S SEAT

To rev the sales engine, marketers base their marketing decisions on reliable signals. For the CPG industry, those are purchase insights. Purchase behavior insights are fast and accurate - the high-performance sports car of the CPG ecosystem. This data delivers the kind of actionable intelligence that fuels incremental sales. More than three out of four CPG marketers see purchase-based targeting as an effective advertising tactic that helps them reach desired buyers with relevant messaging.

“Given our consumer obsession, we’re always evaluating insights around who our current and growth consumers are and understanding the accuracy and value of different data sources to target them,” Amanda Zaky, associate media director at Mars Wrigley told us. “Understanding performance of those data sources, audience signals and audiences overall at a faster pace remains a growth area for the industry, especially when that pace isn’t always in line with consumer behavior.”

#3 RETAIL MEDIA: REST OF MARKET MEASUREMENT IS AN OPPORTUNITY

Sixty-four percent of marketers are increasing their retail media investments, while more than half (53%) say their goal is to increase sales across all stores when activating with a retail media network. 

This makes a strong case for measuring the sales activity in the rest-of-market. CPG brands that leverage purchase insights for holistic measurement will be well-positioned to succeed in the coming year, says one ad tech leader. 

Gio Gardelli, vice president, DSP data products at Yahoo, explains why: “Purchase data helps brands get as close to the point of purchase or decision-making as possible.”

TURN CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES

It’s clear from our findings that CPG marketers have lots of options in front of them. CPG marketers are continuing to find innovative ways to make meaningful connections with consumers – transforming challenges into opportunities.

Want to understand which road to follow in 2025? Our State of the Industry report on CPG data-driven marketing includes many more insights. Download it today.