Fast-moving consumer Goods (FMCG) are one of the most thriving, competitive, and largest business sectors globally. They are essential items or products that are usually cheap, sold quickly, and in high demand, such as food and beverages, personal care products, and plastic goods.
Over the years, traditional marketing, which uses offline media to reach its audience, has dominated FMCG marketing. From California Milk Processor Board’s Got Milk? and Budweiser’s Whassup to Peak’s Peak of the Park TV commercials, this industry has created a lot of visibility for itself through legacy media, including newspapers, magazines, billboards, and handouts.
However, we are now in the digital age, where consumers’ behaviours have changed due to the advancement of technology and the use of the internet. Many consumers spend most of their time on online content. Statistics show that over 60% of the population globally uses social media, with younger demographics tending to consume more digital content than older generations.
Studies from AMIC say that “We’re past the mobile-tipping point. Only in Japan do consumers spend longer on traditional rather than digital forms of media. Age is the main factor: markets where digital media account for the lowest shares of time spent are mature markets with high internet penetration and older online populations.”
Data from Backlinko shows that Social network platforms’ total user base in the last decade grew from 970 million in 2010 to 5.24 billion users in January 2025.
With these changes, businesses of all types have long moved online to meet consumers where they are. This article will discuss how Fmcg businesses can adapt to a digital-first landscape.
Understanding the Digital Shift in FMCG Marketing
The rise of the digital landscape means more businesses are opting for digital means to enhance their online presence. FMCG is transitioning from traditional marketing to digital mediums such as e-commerce, social media, and digital ads to connect with customers.
A survey revealed that digital transformation is a high priority for 75% of FMCG companies. Since consumers now conduct research and purchase products online while comparing different businesses before buying, e-commerce dominance, content marketing, influencer marketing, and a mobile-first approach have increased.
While traditional marketing is still relevant, adopting an omnichannel approach combines online and offline marketing, which gives FMCG tremendous boosts.
Difference Between Traditional and Digital FMCG Marketing
Traditional FMCG marketing uses conventional channels like television, print ads, and billboards to reach consumers. In contrast, digital FMCG marketing leverages online platforms like social media, websites, and email to engage with customers. It offers greater targeting capabilities and real-time data analysis for more personalised marketing strategies.
Here are five key differences between digital and traditional marketing:
Channels:
Traditional FMCG marketing uses conventional media like newspapers, magazines, and television, whereas digital FMCG marketing uses online channels like social media, search engines, and email.
Audience Reach:
Traditional marketing reaches a broader audience. This is a good way to publicise your goods to a mass audience. However, in marketing, what counts is the quality of your audience (those who are willing and ready to purchase your goods) and not necessarily the quantity. Digital marketing, on the other hand, allows for more precise targeting based on demographics and interests. This makes it possible to tailor your messaging to meet the specific needs of those likely to purchase your products.
Measurability:
Digital marketing provides detailed data on campaign performance through metrics such as clicks, impressions, and conversions, allowing for real-time adjustments, whereas traditional marketing offers limited measurable data. One can only depend on the increases or decreases during the marketing period without genuine, measurable certainty regarding the sources of conversions. What if a sudden surge in sales was merely spurred by trends or seasons rather than the television commercials you executed? Conversely, what if that surge was indeed driven by the commercial, yet the business questions this reality because it occurred during a holiday season? Measurable data on digital platforms easily address these challenges.
Interaction Level: Digital marketing promotes more direct engagement with consumers through comments, likes, and shares on social media, fostering two-way communication. In contrast, feedback from traditional advertising often relies on recollection, which cannot be quantified. For instance, I still remember an advert tagline from my teenage years by Dettol, which states: “If I don’t take care of you, who will?” However, it is impossible to ascertain how many teenagers like me at that time retained it in their memory and how many of those recollections translated into sales.
Cost-effectiveness:
Digital marketing is often more cost-effective than traditional methods, especially targeting specific demographics. Take Google Pay Per click ads, for example; the marketer only pays when someone clicks on the ad, unlike TV or newspaper commercials where the business pays for the ads, usually upfront, whether the ads reach the target audience.
Strategies to transition from traditional to digital marketing
Select the right social media for brand awareness and engagement
In FMCG marketing, the most effective social media platforms are Facebook (for broad reach and community engagement), Instagram (for visual storytelling), TikTok and Snapchat (for younger audiences and potential virality), Pinterest (for aspirational content), and YouTube (for video marketing). Each platform provides unique strengths for reaching various consumer segments and effectively engaging them with your brand narrative and product visuals.
Leverage social media to increase visibility.
After selecting the most suitable platform(s) for your business, you must build relationships and engage with your audience by creating personalised and valuable content. FMCGs can create personalised and valuable social media content by leveraging audience data to tailor content to specific demographics, interests, and lifestyle needs. For instance, the Nigerian FMCG brand Chi Limited (now owned by Coca-Cola), has milk products that address the needs of different audience segments, such as lactose-intolerant consumers. Such consumer segments can be targeted with helpful content that addresses digestive issues like bloating, gas, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and nausea. This can include incorporating interactive elements like polls, quizzes, and challenges, focusing on relevant and timely topics. They can utilise user-generated content and partner with influencers who resonate with their target audience to deliver authentic and engaging experiences on social media platforms.
Go e-commerce and optimise hard.
Let your storefront be online, too, where people can easily order their goods and have them delivered. This will help attract more customers and improve user experience, which will, in turn, convert to sales. To help optimise the online store, you can create a personalised and direct-to-consumer website, partner with online retailers like Amazon, and use AI and data analytics to track users’ behaviour.
Customer-centric approach
Always prioritise customer needs and put them first. How? Use personalised content to improve customer experience and offer loyalty programs. While many marketers and business owners are carried away with AI for content creation, they adopt AI chatbots to improve customer service.
Adopt content marketing and SEO
The essence of content marketing lies in delivering value to both existing and potential customers while establishing your reputation as an authority in your industry. Strategic content marketing, however, helps address your customers’ needs at various stages of their journeys. Consequently, it is invaluable for nurturing strong relationships with your target customers, mainly through educational content. On the other hand, SEO aids in achieving high rankings on search engine results pages and attracting the right traffic to your business. Although SEO has consistently proven effective over the years, recent technological advancements, such as chatbot search platforms and AI insights, coupled with enhanced social media marketing capabilities, have made it essential to adopt a search-everywhere optimisation strategy, necessitating that businesses optimise their presence across all platforms.
Data-driven digital marketing
Businesses in the FMCG industry can use data-driven marketing insights to make strategic decisions based on data analysis. This approach can enhance ROI, deepen customer insights, and boost sales. Data-driven platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and others can also target and retarget customers online, facilitating greater conversions.
FMCG Businesses That Went Digital and Are Successful
Nestle
Nestle focused on three key areas in its digital transformation that are critical to its success: privacy-preserving fundamentals, valuable consumer connections, and ongoing experimentation. It also has 10 important marketing strategies that have helped the brand cater to its consumers’ needs. As a result, Nestle is the world’s 22nd-most valuable company by market cap.
Unilever
Unilever is one of the biggest companies in the world. Its focus is on having stock available to despatch immediately, and an agile supply chain is key to its competitiveness across different business models. By the end of 2024, it trained 23,000 employees in AI usage and introduced an industry-first integrated operations programme. This programme aims to enhance its end-to-end customer value chain by leveraging advanced analytics, technology, and data-driven decision-making.
P&G
They invested in three key areas to continue driving business growth through this consumer-centric approach to digital transformation: upskilling their workforce, harnessing the power of AI for enhanced efficiency and creativity, and building a future-ready supply chain.
Coca-cola
Coca-Cola is still the most consumed soda worldwide, with a staggering 1.9 billion servings daily in more than 200 countries. The company’s digital marketing strategy mainly focuses on SEO, email, and content marketing. It uses digital marketing, especially on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat. With its customer-centred digital marketing techniques, Coca-Cola has adapted to the digital age.
Conclusion
The rise of the digital landscape has resulted in businesses adopting digital platforms to enhance their online presence. FMCGs are not left out. In fact, digital transformation is a high priority for the majority of FMCG companies. Since consumers now conduct research and purchase products online while comparing different businesses before buying, it has become pertinent to adopt a digital-first landscape strategically using social media, e-commerce, customer-centric approach, content marketing, and overall data-driven digital marketing.
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