Proving AI’s Value to the Future of Grocery

6 placements in influential trades, some for the first time

Added new, prominent Fortune 500 companies into Rubikloud’s nurture stream

4 interviews discussing AI’s role in the future of grocery

Accelerating Demand of an Unproven Solution

The grocery business is tough. Tight margins and disruptive competitors mean that grocers are continuously fighting for consumer loyalty and business profitability. Advanced technology built on Artificial intelligence (AI) has significant promise to help grocers overcome such challenges, but these solutions are new and not yet widely adopted. So how do you prove the promise of AI to grocers without the customer use cases to validate the concept?

Rubikloud, a leader in AI software for retailers and grocers, found itself in this predicament and partnered with ARPR to help drive business opportunities resulting from earned media and other PR and marketing initiatives. ARPR’s objective was to creatively secure top tier media coverage without third-party customer validation; using competitive positioning statements, data points and powerful key messages to engage target personas and transform readers into top-of-funnel prospects.

Data Speaks Louder than Words

Without customer validation to help make news, ARPR recommended that Rubikloud commission a report on grocers’ biggest challenges: standing out amidst competitors and improving customer loyalty. To execute, ARPR partnered with The Harris Polls to carry out a consumer-based survey. In addition, ARPR ran a separate survey via targeted social media ads with grocery and retail merchandisers to better understand the challenges that industry stakeholders face.

Once responses were secured, ARPR analyzed the information and wrote Rubikloud’s first data report, an 8-page content piece entitled The 2019 Grocery Insights Data Report. Subsequently, ARPR constructed a detailed distribution strategy leveraging both traditional PR and digital marketing tactics. The campaign was timed to align with Groceryshop, one of the industry’s most prominent tradeshows, to maximize right-fit eyeballs and to align with media, prospects and industry leaders in attendance.

Quality Results that Meet Key Objectives

While ARPR did not have ownership over executing the entire plan set forth, the results from our collaboration with Rubikloud met the primary objective of securing top tier media coverage without third-party customer validation. In total, the data report campaign helped Rubikloud penetrate six influential grocery and technology publications, the majority of which for the first time. ARPR also secured four in-person interviews with Rubikloud’s CEO at Groceryshop, allowing reporters to hear a different perspective on AI’s role in the future of grocery. From a demand generation perspective, the data report drove 38 qualified downloads in FY’19 Q4 alone, which included a number of prominent Fortune 500 companies that were not previously in Rubikloud’s nurture stream. A corresponding email marketing campaign to companies deemed as hot prospects exceeded the team’s email open rate goal by 22.56% and its click rate goal by 47.32%.