Expansion Advertising

Instead of using advertising to generate preference or choice, many versatile, high-share, low-growth brands are now using advertising to suggest new ways to use the brand or new situations in which it can be consumed. For mature brands, such as Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, A-1 Steak Sauce, or Campbell’s Soup, such advertising may be a more cost-effective way in which to build sales than wrestling market share points away from competitors. For such brands, encouraging current users to eat one more can of soup each month or to use steak sauce twice as often may do much more for their sales than trying to convince nonusers to switch from other brands. There is a point where further penetration of a market becomes increasingly difficult. This is particularly true if a large percentage of the targeted consumers seeing a particular ad are already loyal to that brand