KIND Trades-Up with Impulse

KIND used impulse for sponsored product ads to acquire repeat customers and drive sales of larger pack sizes

The launch of impulse for sponsored product ads, a new solution for our brand partners and advertisers to boost sales of single-unit UPCs priced under $7, has enabled brands to tap into impulse moments that occur during the consumer buying journey. Much like the checkout aisle in brick and mortar stores, impulse placements can be a perfect time and place to introduce single-unit UPCs. 

For KIND, committed to making wholesome and delicious snacks, this meant a chance to advertise products like their bars, breakfast bars, and minis, to consumers more open to an impulse buy. They felt their bars, which feature nutrient-dense foods like nuts, whole grains, or fruit as the first and predominant ingredient, were well placed to drive trial among consumers impulse-buying snacks and then convert them to repeat customers with the purported balance of health and taste of their bars.

“We create convenient snacks that are also made with a nutritionally dense first ingredient,” said Jonathan Rhyan. “Generating trial is key to delivering brand quality and difference that ultimately inspires consumers to trade up to multipacks and larger units.” 

In order to be eligible to win impulse placements through sponsored product ads, products must be single-unit and priced under $7. Which means lower price point products, like KIND Bars, can win placements outside of the highly competitive auctions for general sponsored product placements. 

“Our main objective was to extend our brand reach to consumers not actively searching for KIND by meeting them authentically at a different part of their shopping journey, where impulse was an organic place to incent trial,” said Rhyan “once we were in a consumer’s basket we were confident they’d be back for more.”

This stance is largely consistent with our own internal data; during a successful pilot project where KIND experimented with running campaigns using impulse for sponsored product ads, KIND attracted many new customers of which over one-third became repeat customers. 

That half of the impulse placement buyers of KIND products were new to the Bars category suggests they were capturing customers who were not actively looking for their products as they do not normally buy from the category. And with 70+% of the impulse placement buyers being new to KIND, the data suggests these placements were successful in generating trial, an important objective for the brand. 

By attracting new to brand customers with impulse for sponsored product ads, KIND was able to create the conditions necessary to generate repeat purchases. And of the impulse placement buyers, 35+% made repeat purchases and 15+% traded up from a single unit purchase to a multi-pack repeat purchase.  

That KIND was able to generate repeat purchases from the group who purchased products from impulse placements suggests some of the new to brand customers were becoming repeat customers— a very positive sign for the brand, especially when many were trading up from single unit purchases to then buying multi-pack units. 

Since 2004, KIND has been on a mission to create a kinder and healthier world – one snack and one act at a time. Its iconic KIND® bars – made with real, recognizable ingredients – sparked the growth of an entirely new healthy snacking category. 

Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Period studied was Q4 2022

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