With the Pandemic Dramatically Altering Shopping Patterns, Catalina's Nerds Are Back for Second Round of Ads

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Aug. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in tremendous sales growth for grocery retailers and CPG brands due to millions of people stocking their pantries while sheltering in place, shopper intelligence leader Catalina is launching a new pool of Business-to-Business online videos encouraging current and potential customers to "Get the Nerd On Your Side" via Seattle-based ad agency DNA.

Per Catalina Chief Marketing Officer Marta Cyhan, shopper behavior has undergone massive shifts since COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic on March 11. Having used its Buyer Intelligence Database to closely track buying patterns during the pandemic across the USA, Catalina's COVID-19 Interactive Map continues to show that people are generally making fewer trips to fewer stores but buying more. Even previously light shoppers have dramatically altered their in-store behavior.

"Considering the complex and ever-growing mountain of buyer intelligence and sales data that has feverishly compounded throughout the pandemic, we're proud to have a squad of data and advanced analytics nerds at Catalina who can help our customers -- retailers, CPG brands and agencies -- make sense of it all," said Cyhan. "Our playful new spots simply and directly highlight how having a nerd on your side to turn shopper intelligence insights into action can fuel personalized marketing programs that measurably drive sales, particularly during this challenging time."

The creative work includes digital display, video, social components and business publication partnerships, all tailored to decision-makers across CPG, agencies and retailers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the five new video spots were shot under strict COVID-19 guidelines in Nashville, TN. Similar to 2019, two actual Catalina Nerds were featured in the videos. In "Optimize on Overdrive," Catalina VP, Advanced Analytics and Data Science Ron Menich uses his black-belt karate skills to encourage viewers to "Kick your (media) optimization into overdrive." In "Keep It Real Time," Catalina Regional Director, Digital Sales Jenn Glennon highlights the importance of measuring media performance in real time, particularly with Catalina tracking two billion UPC-level transactions each day.

In "Always Be Optimizing," a weight-pumping nerd touts the importance of optimizing media measurement across multiple channels: digital, broadcast and in-store. "Clean Up on Every Aisle" features three socially distanced, dancing nerds celebrating the fact that Catalina delivers insights that help lift in-store transactions by an average of 16.8 percent. The fifth spot, "Custom Segments," features a nerd talking about demographics being outdated while Catalina audiences are "tailor-made."

"We fully expect this new pool will build on the success of our initial campaign launched in August 2019, which garnered 2.6 million video impressions with more than 75 percent of viewers watching all of the ads," said Cyhan.

"We are thrilled to continue to work on the latest 'Nerd On Your Side' campaign with Catalina. This year's work takes the story further, bringing more Catalina Nerds to life and demonstrating the powerful data they have at their fingertips. At a time when people and brands are struggling during the pandemic, it's wonderful to have something so compelling and positive to offer marketers to help them be successful," said Noel Nickol, DNA Creative Director.

About Catalina

Catalina is the market leader in shopper intelligence and highly targeted in-store and digital media that personalizes the shopper journey. Powered by the world's richest real-time shopper database, Catalina helps CPG brands, retailers and agencies optimize every stage of media planning, execution and measurement to deliver $6.1 billion in consumer value annually. Based in St. Petersburg, FL, Catalina has operations in the United States, Europe and Japan. To learn more, please visit www.catalina.com or follow us on Twitter @Catalina.

SOURCE Catalina