RaceTrac Data Driven Details Drove Success

Time and time again Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® team of Grocerant experts expound on the value of consumer focused data over legacy sales data to drive top line growth and bottom line profits.  Here is one example of success.  Leveraging a combination of rich media and location targeting last holiday season RaceTrac generate a 47 percent lift in traffic at the chain’s 450 outlets across the southern U. S.

Credit Jamie Rodgers, RaceTrac brand director who stated that “By using NinthDecimal’s physical-world data, we were able to successfully reach not only our loyal guests, but also our competitors’ audiences, and drive these individuals into our locations in a measurable way”

It has been widely reported that the December 2016 campaign was run by full-service digital agency Vert, along with design firm R/GA, and geo-data ad and attribution platform NinthDecimal.

A 47% lift is outstanding according to our own Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson so how did they do that? The three companies collaborated on developing “a dynamic, engaging ‘drive-to-store’ mobile ad unit that was both eye-catching and easily trackable. The rich media ad was designed to guide mobile users to the nearest RaceTrac convenience store using their current location.

NinthDecimal then built an audience segment comprised of consumers who were most likely to respond to the ad based on previous visits to RaceTrac and its competitors’ locations. Using NinthDecimal’s Location Graph data set of mobile audiences’ devices, it served the ad to those “qualified users” when they were within 10 miles of a RaceTrac convenience store.

Note: the 47 percent lift includes both existing and new customers, RaceTrac and NinthDecimal execs said.

Rodgers  continued “By using NinthDecimal’s physical-world data, we were able to successfully reach not only our loyal guests, but also our competitors’ audiences, and drive these individuals into our locations in a measurable way,”

The campaign’s results come as marketers have widely embraced the use of location data as more than just a way to send an ad to the “right person at the right place in real-time.” The frequent goal for location data these days is two-fold: understand and predict patterns of consumer behavior based on where they go, then use unique device data — anonymized, of course, most platforms are quick to note — and then, determine if such targeted ads were able to drive that consumer into a store to complete a purchase as a result.

David Staas, president of NinthDecimal  stated “In the era of data-driven marketing, it’s incredibly valuable for brands to understand the effectiveness of their ad spend down to the last cent,” … “The RaceTrac marketing campaign shows how brands can leverage mobile location data to reach new and existing customers as well as deliver real world business results through digital advertising.”

So what is Rich Media?  For one thing, rich media, tends to include moving graphics and sound, can also be “dynamic” — that is, they can be seen to resonate (or fail to) with consumers in real-time, allowing marketers and their agencies and platform partners to update the messaging and delivery on the fly.

When asked how much of a factor the tools associated rich media were in generating the 47 percent lift in traffic at RaceTrac, a NinthDecimal representative said “rich media offers dynamic messaging that corresponds to several live variables during the flight of an ad, changing (in real time) creative to reflect those conditions.

“In this instance, identifying the nearest RaceTrac location for users based on their current location creates a unique experience,” the NinthDecimal rep added. “Removing the hurdle and extra step of having a user search for a location by inserting a real-time map in the unit itself, certainly provides high level of value that a standard banner may not have the ability to offer.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success.