Summary

A co-op supported marketing campaign can have a powerful impact on local sales. When done right, it provides smaller retailers with the resources to localize product messaging, engagement, and delivery for brands, enabling them to compete effectively with larger chains.


How does this happen? By applying a full-funnel marketing approach, retailers can access a diverse set of proven omnichannel marketing tactics and brand-compliant standards.

The Best Tactics to Reach the Right Consumer

Valassis’ Awareness-to-Activation research found that when consumers see ads both offline and online, their awareness substantially increases. About 45% of consumers surveyed agreed that when they saw an ad in print and online, the communication got their attention; 34% said it made them more likely to purchase.

Communicating with your audience through a wide range of tactics can make a big difference. In short, your postcard mailings, coupon books, and inserts would get a boost by adding email and digital display or mobile ads. Combining offline and online efforts like these brings your marketing full circle and increases awareness for everyone involved.

That sort of comprehensive, full-funnel marketing approach can strengthen all of your dealer’s engagement techniques, whether it’s social media, mobile ads, video ads, deals and promotions, email, display ads, or even lower-funnel tactics such as add-to-cart ads.

However, the last thing you want is to have your dealers spend budget on a channel or message that gets minimal traction in the name of adding more channels to the mix. The effectiveness of your tactics is more important than the quantity — a good co-op marketing partnership should have a framework for testing, monitoring, and adjusting based on the results from those channels.

Validating every tactic you want your dealers to put into the mix requires that you invest in the templates, tools, and testing apparatuses to quantify these touchpoints and set up standards for each. This allows you to vet the effectiveness at each point of the funnel and put results into perspective to ensure every campaign moves forward with purpose and efficacy.

The Time for an End-to-End Co-Op Partnership Is Now

 A co-op marketing program benefits brands and retailers, attracts consumers, and provides a leg up on competitors.

But with so many touchpoints available to engage consumers, a brand can’t afford to take any platform or tool for granted. A full-funnel approach is necessary, but it can be a lot to tackle on your own. An experienced partner like Valassis can offer a turnkey approach to co-op collaboration that ensures your campaign speaks to and serves who you want, when you want, and how you want.

Click here to learn more about what we provide and how you can incorporate it into your campaigns.

Need to improve the ROI of your co-op marketing program? This series provides a step-by-step guide to help you actualize your co-op marketing objectives. Click through for more details on taking a hyperlocal approach to co-op, how performance can help the partnership grow, when to provide advice to a retail partner, and how to uncover insights for campaign success.

Jill Addy Wright is the director of sales for the Channel Co-op Solutions team at Valassis. In her role, she utilizes her 20+ years of experience in the unique niche of co-op advertising to work with a wide array of brands, retailers, and local dealer channels to reach and engage their target market.