Though gatherings will be smaller this year, one quarter of U.S. consumers plan to spend the same or more this Thanksgiving compared to last year, and many Americans across the nation will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the first time ever. 

Given the nation’s newfound obsession with cooking (grocery spend was up 27% in October year-over-year), as well as a greater number of Thanksgiving tables to outfit, we thought it was only appropriate to gather a cornucopia of favorite recipes from our team—to help out those first-time Thanksgiving chefs. We’ve also included a recipe for effective advertising–so you can drive sales this holiday season and beyond.

Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy Thanksgiving,

The NCS Team

Continue reading “Have a Tasty Thanksgiving From the NCS Team” →

By NCS Marketing

Obviously, the way people gather and eat across the melting pot of America is very different. Each region has its delicacies and foods that it’s known for. (Crab cakes, anyone?) This is dictated by tradition, weather, ethnic makeup and many other factors. Thanksgiving is no exception. Continue reading “The State of Thanksgiving 2020: Regional Differences” →

By NCS Marketing

This fall and winter holiday season, shopping is going to look different. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a widespread impact on what shopping looks like (across all categories) and retailers are expecting that to continue into the holiday shopping season. Big-box retailers like Target and Walmart are eschewing a typical Black Friday push in favor of longer sales available across channels, and expecting an increase in items that fit the current lifestyle (exercise equipment and apparel, for example). Continue reading “Holiday…It Would Be So Nice” →

By Peter Topol, VP, Advanced TV Partnerships, NCSolutions

For many CPG brands, growth strategies are aligned with increasing category share, which means winning over a narrow audience that belongs to the competition. To do this, thoughts immediately turn to digital: the most popular platform for getting a personalized message in front of a specific audience.  Continue reading “How a Soft Drink Brand Influenced a Hard-to-Reach Audience With Addressable TV” →

By Stu Girgins, VP, Client Consulting, NCSolutions

I had the opportunity to moderate a fireside chat at Brand Innovator’s Marketing Leadership virtual summit with Mark Wakefield, Ferrero’s SVP of Marketing for Nutella and Chocolate Snacks, along with his long-time creative partner, Tim Piper, Co-Founder of creative agency and production company, Piro.  Continue reading “How Brands Can Use Their Voice During Time of Uncertainty” →

By NCS Marketing

Months into the pandemic Americans are still spending more time at home, consuming both more groceries and more media. Meanwhile, lower advertiser demand across industries like automotive, entertainment, and travel have caused ad inventory prices to drop. 

This confluence of factors present an enormous opportunity for consumer packaged goods brands to increase loyalty among existing customers, make in-roads with new ones and make the most of their ad dollars.  Continue reading “Advertising in a Pandemic Economy” →

By Peter Topol, VP, Advanced TV Partnerships, NCSolutions

“The year of addressable TV” is perhaps the most overused news headline of the last five years. (Admittedly, we’ve even used it ourselves.) Although the market has grown steadily, many hurdles — lack of inventory, lack of standardized measurement, technological complexity —  have deterred advertisers from adopting this platform into their media strategy at the expected pace. But could this year actually be the one? All of the collaboration that’s consistently making the news, plus the perfect storm of changes to the TV industry caused by COVID-19, point to “yes.” Continue reading “Peanut Butter and Addressable TV: A Winning Combination For New Buyers” →

By Patrick Roman Gut, Vice President, Head of Advertiser / Agency Sales, NCSolutions

I had the chance to sit down (virtually) with OREO’s head of brand strategy, Justin Parnell, at Brand Innovators’ E-Commerce, CPG & Retail Live Summit. The Oreo team has been up to some pretty impressive activation these past few months, and there are lessons for everyone in the way they’ve quickly pivoted to connect with consumers during an uncertain time. Check out the recording below to catch our full discussion.

Don’t have time to watch the video? Below are three things that struck me from our discussion. Continue reading “What I Learned from OREO’s Brand Senior Director” →

By Lisa Kerins, VP, Publisher Sales and Business Development, NCSolutions

What’s the most effective way to drive success for your platform’s advertisers? On the surface, the answer seems straightforward: Provide sound advice and best practices backed by solid insights to improve the advertiser’s ability to drive sales and achieve their goals. 

After thousands of campaigns, publishers have insider information about what strategies and tactics are most likely to improve the effectiveness of advertising on their platforms. The challenge is that every advertiser’s situation is unique, and generic blanket recommendations won’t suffice. Brand A, for example, might have a goal to increase sales lift among New Buyers. Brand B might be focused on improving return on advertising spend (ROAS). Product, category, creative and target audience are only a few of the variables. Strategies and tactics have to be customized to each situation for campaigns to deliver the right results. Continue reading “The Incredible Sales Lift Power of a Custom Meta-Study” →

By NCS Marketing

Sports are coming back to TV. It’s an election year. Many brands that went dark in March are returning to the air. It’s shaping up to be a competitive couple of quarters for TV advertisers. What’s a brand to do, with sales goals to meet in a short period of time?

For advice on this topic, we sat down with Tom Eaton, our SVP of TV and Programmatic Solutions. Other than growing a quarantine beard, building a garden bed and cooking for his family (you might think he was a Millennial), Tom has spent a lot of time talking with the big players in TV and streaming to discern what opportunities are available for CPG brands in the second half of the year.  Continue reading “At Home With Tom: Making the Best of Your TV Budget for the Rest of the Year” →