Driving Trial, Simplified With Contextual Commerce
By Katherine Meyer, Product Marketing Manager at Chicory
Marketing teams are under more pressure than ever, juggling tighter budgets, higher expectations, and a fragmented media landscape. AI is reshaping workflows, consumer behavior is shifting, and brand managers are being asked to prove impact without added resources.
Amid all this, one challenge remains as critical as ever: driving product trial. But getting consumers to discover and actually try something new has never been harder.
Contextual commerce media shines in this aspect by reaching consumers when they’re actively planning meals and open to discovering new products. By showing up in the right context, when consumers are already thinking about what to eat and what to buy, brands can drive meaningful engagement and inspire trial. Let’s break down how.
Driving Impact Is Tougher Amid Consumer Distraction
Driving new trial is critical to brand growth and success, but it often requires a heavy lift and a ton of experimentation. CTV ads can result in wasted impressions, and influencer campaigns often are tougher to measure impact and attribution. And let’s be honest, who has the time for all of that?
In a crowded market of options, driving trial in CPG and grocery is critical to brand growth. It is the gateway to repeat purchases and overall brand loyalty.
Consumers are open to trying new CPG products, but they need the right nudge. Habits are often hard to change, unless you can capture the consumer in the right mindset.
What if there were an easier way to reach real shoppers who are ready to try something new? We know you don’t need another self-serve tool that requires you to analyze dashboards all day and night. You need a managed service partner with strategies, results, and optimizations baked in.
Inspired Mindsets Encourage Trial
Contextual commerce media is a consistent and reliable solution that sets the brand up perfectly to reach consumers in an inspired mindset, ready to try something new.
Chicory aligns your brand with contextually relevant recipe and meal planning content, leading to more meaningful engagement and consideration. It is not a moment of passive browsing, but instead one with a naturally curious and high-intent mindset where consumers are planning their meals and building their shopping lists.
In fact, 80% of consumers have purchased a new product or ingredient based on an online recipe they viewed. And 69% go so far as to try a new or different brand.
By reaching shoppers in this inspired mindset, you unlock a motivated audience that’s primed to move from awareness to action. This is a critical advantage as economic uncertainty continues to shape how U.S. consumers manage their grocery budgets.
Trial-Driving Strategies That Work
Usage occasions can be difficult to convey without the right visual context, but that’s where Chicory excels.
By placing your brand directly within recipe and meal-planning content, Chicory helps you appear when and where consumers are most open to inspiration. By showcasing relevant usage occasions in the moment of planning, Chicory turns passive impressions into active consideration and conversion by making products feel instantly useful and relevant.
Brands can go a step further with strategies like conquesting, where we recommend the product as an alternative to traditional ingredients.
This “swap & educate” approach not only introduces new usage occasions but also drives trial by reaching high-intent shoppers as they plan what to cook and buy.
The result: placements that are timely, helpful, and effective in moving consumers from awareness to action.
Bottom Line: Contextual Commerce Media Works
Chicory delivers a seamless experience with measurable results. We’re built for busy teams who need to hit growth goals without burning out in an everchanging environment.
With our white-glove, full-service team, you know that we will handle the heavy campaign lifting, from creative to optimization. Be as much or as little involved as you prefer, but know that no matter what we will perform against your desired business outcomes, including driving new trial.
Ready to Drive Trial Without Adding to Your Workload?
Let’s make it easy. Reach out to see how Chicory can help your brand get in front of consumers who are ready to try something new.