Critics of retail media have said that the channel reaches customers who would have bought from the advertiser anyway. But at ADWEEK’s Commerceweek, Hellmann’s shared how it has been able to use the channel to expand the funnel.

The mayonnaise brand was looking to achieve two objectives. The first was partnering with retailer Kroger to raise awareness around its initiative to end food waste and stop hunger. Second, one-quarter of Hellmann’s online sales are around eight holidays, such as the Super Bowl and Memorial Day, and the brand wanted to encourage customers to buy Hellmann’s year-round.

“A ton of our volume is done during that time. We need to find a way to win outside of those key holidays,” said Leah Wise, senior shopper marketing manager at Hellmann’s parent Unilever, on stage at ADWEEK’s Commerceweek event in New York. “How do we extend our presence from just those holidays to the days after? So that was the challenge.”

Hellmann’s ran a campaign focused on reusing leftover buffalo wings around the Super Bowl, providing customers with recipes. The campaign led to increased sales, turnover and market share in the weeks following the holiday, Wise said.

“Think about who aren’t you talking to. What might they need to hear?” Wise said. “I think retail media is most powerful when consumers are at the center, and we consider every path that they might be following.”

How Hellman’s found more mayo fans

Hellmann’s incorporated the messaging of retail partner Kroger’s “Zero Hunger, Zero Waste” initiative in its campaign, but it wanted to make sure that this message extended beyond a core sustainability audience.

To help, Hellmann’s tapped Arc Worldwide, a commerce-focused division of Publicis Groupe. The agency looked through the data of who was already buying Hellmann’s on Kroger to find other likely audiences to reach with the campaign, like foodie-oriented parents who don’t have a chance to go out as much and are looking for innovative recipes, or budget-conscious families not necessarily interested in sustainability, said Nneka Ude, vice president and strategy director at Arc.

“We have identified multiple audiences … for different lifestyles … to be able to adapt or to be able to speak to those audiences,” Ude said on stage at Commerceweek.