Mondelez inks Facebook deal to create tailored videos and drive impulse sales online
Mondelez International has renewed its global Facebook deal that will see it create purpose-built videos for the social network and experiment with ways to stimulate impulse sales from its mobile media.
Mondelez International has renewed its global Facebook deal that will see it create purpose-built videos for the social network and experiment with ways to stimulate impulse sales from its mobile media.

The company said the decision to continue working closely with Facebook stemmed from the need to exploit the fastest growing consumer behaviours on social media platforms: video consumption and mobile commerce.

It forms a core part of the company’s efforts to address the fact that shoppers are increasingly unlikely to make impulse buys using today’s shopping methods such as click and collect and home delivery, which consequently means less people are in front of its effective in-store displays.

For video, Mondelez marketers and agencies will work with a dedicated Facebook strategist to build content at scale for the social network that will prioritise social engagement. These learnings will help inform a unified approach to producing Mondelez content on Facebook that the latter will nurture through playbooks, webinars and e-learning modules it will create.

Gerry D’Angelo, media director for Europe at Mondelez, said recent campaigns for brands such as Philadelphia had demonstrated “that we can deliver engaging, tailor-made video on Facebook and seamlessly convert that content into purchases”. He told The Drum last month that the business wants its media to do more than just work the margins as it looks to make smarter spending choices rather than cuts - the key outcome from recently installed cost-control measures for its marketers.”

“Partnering with Facebook allows us to leverage their video platform, which is currently the fastest-growing. Combined with their unparalleled reach and social sharing capabilities, we have the opportunity to make Facebook our single largest-selling channel,” said D’Angelo.

But the developments around impulse sales need to be sustainable and so Mondelez will work Facebook to test ecommerce strategies for its power brands in its key markets such as the UK, the US and the Gulf States.

Such is the importance of ecommerce to its future growth, Mondelez chose its media chief Bonin Bough to lead its efforts in the hope that he and his team would uncover alternative models. To that end, the business is already introducing ‘buy it now’ buttons to its online media and has also launched a startup scheme to source innovations in retail technology such as mobile payments.

Social media is seen as a way to make Mondelez’s ecommerce spend go further given how hesitant rival FMCG companies have been to move into the space beyond standard retail partnerships.

Cindy Chen, global head of ecommerce at Mondelēz, said: “Used by consumers and distributors alike, Facebook is the ideal channel for cracking the code on how to ‘sell a cookie online,’ creating a true social digital commerce model with the potential to become our largest digital storefront.”

As with the previous Facebook deal, Mondelez will gain priority access to beta-testing to programs on both the social network an Instagram. Dentsu Aegis Media brokered the renewal, which spans 52 countries, including Brazil, France, India, Indonesia, the UK, the US and the Gulf States.

The Facebook deal dovetails with Mondelez’s decision to strike a video-only deal with Google last October.

The changes are indicative of the growing pressure on Mondelez’s media arm to bolster its marketing as the company continues to address weaker volumes and an extended dip in its North American market.

To help it improve its profit margin and free its budget, the company has been reducing complexity around its media buying. This saw it launch a global media review last month that will cover media planning and buying for its five regions as well its Gum and Candy, Biscuit and Chocolate categories.

Once concluded, Mondelez will only have two core agencies as of 1 Janaury 2016 who will manage the majority of its media investment. This is because the company wants to continue working with other partners like Facebook and Google in order to secure the optimum mix for its media.