Unlock the Secret to a Successful Marketing Campaign with Foodpanda

Struggle and progress have always come hand-in-hand. Though a rare and extreme event, the Covid-19 pandemic does not deviate from the nature of evolution -forcing the world to adjust to a "new normal" way of living and forever changing more than a few business ecosystems. Reminiscent of natural selection, some businesses struggle through the resulting socio-economic upheaval, while others flourish. In Thailand, one such industry that has risen to the top during this period of change is that of food delivery services, and at the forefront of this fast-growing and highly competitive market is foodpanda.

 

Operating in over 400 cities spanning 11 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, foodpanda is among the world’s largest food delivery platforms, with a vast network of restaurant partners and its very own grocery cloud store, Pandamart, offering users on-demand access to millions of grocery items at their fingertips.

 

The multinational company of today has retained the same ethos of its humbler beginning as a startup company, with its aspiration to address customer needs and pain points through innovation, adaptability, and openness towards change and new ideas. Integral to the platform's long-term success and sustainability, foodpanda's marketing strategy perfectly portrays the platform's work culture.

 

 

Mr. Alexander Felde, foodpanda’s Co-founder & Managing Director, shared with Tellscore the marketing strategies used in 2012 to propel a small startup of the past to the giant of today.

 

The company's innovative approach to marketing started with the utilization of performance marketing channels, namely Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). At the time, the trackable ROI (return on investment) and market evaluation of the strategy was the perfect match for the data-driven startup company.

 

As foodpanda continues to grow, so have its marketing strategies. When performance marketing alone was no longer the most viable nor the most sustainable option for the fast-growing food delivery platform, the startup company branched out and explored new marketing strategies that would better support the growth of the company and address its primary objective of creating "brand love" and "top-of-mind awareness (TOMA),” which can ultimately reduce the overall cost of marketing investment.

 

In the end, foodpanda found the ideal answer to these long-term goals in influencer marketing.

 

Mr. Alexander elaborated that, similar to performance marketing in the past, influencer marketing today satisfies the company's long-term business plan with its demonstrated ability to create and sustain brand love and deliver measurable results. Influencer marketing effectively accomplishes both these objectives through KPIs, namely conversion, and creating awareness through brand-influencer collaborations designed to connect foodpanda and the influencers’ followers.

 

The adoption of influencer marketing as part of a marketing strategy lived up to foodpanda's expectations. Data collected from the food delivery platform showed a marked increase in brand awareness and high target-reach accuracy. Influencer marketing is especially effective when combined with attractive deals and promotions, as made apparent by the marked increase in the platform's traffic and conversion rate from such campaigns.

 

The co-founder of foodpanda further added that influencer marketing has helped the platform reach and connect with new target groups through "share of voice," which has an added benefit of increasing earned media and strengthening brand loyalty.

 

The food and grocery delivery platform believes that the world of influencer marketing is at its early stages, with yet more opportunities and potential for development to explore. However, the successful implementation of an influencer marketing strategy requires more than hiring influencers to post photos of culinary dishes with captions offering discounts on their social media accounts. Three key factors can make or break an influencer campaign.

 

• The right influencers, at the right time.
  foodpanda places great importance on selecting influencers with personalities and characteristics that align with its brand identity and personality. As influencers operate as media that connect brands and customers through their authentic experience with brands' products or services, these individuals play a crucial role in the success of any marketing campaign.

 

• Use media boost to spread brand awareness.
  Social media advertising is a game of algorithms not unlike mathematical applications such as calculations, data collection, statistical analysis, and data evaluation to optimize the content distribution process for maximum brand awareness.

 

• Effective promotional rollouts can increase influencer performance.
  It is undeniable that attractive deals and promotions remain one of the key deciding factors in any marketing campaign in the Southeast Asian region. Promotions such as discounts and loyalty programs have the benefit of making customers feel special, while influencers bring to the table their follower bases and unique, engaging content that allows brand awareness to grow almost organically.

 

foodpanda’s experience with Tellscore

 

Tellscore’s exhibited expertise in influencer marketing during its collaboration campaign with foodpanda has left an impression. The food and grocery delivery platform highlighted the three most noticeable advantages of collaborating with the influencer marketing platform.

 

• Insightfulness
  As the leading expert in influencer marketing in the Southeast Asian region, where trends shift daily and competition is higher than ever, Tellscore exhibits an in-depth understanding of foodpanda’s drive and motivation for strategic adaptability and business agility.

 

• Measurability
  Tellscore is a data-driven automation platform with a built-in data collection and evaluation system that provide users with transparent and measurable performance reports.

 

• Expertise and professionalism
  Tellscore's expertise in influencer marketing strategies and professionalism delivered impressive campaign results.

 

For these reasons, foodpanda has come to consider Tellscore its long-term “partner” for future influencer marketing campaigns and collaborations.

 

 

The evolution of foodpanda’s branding strategy

 

Not only has foodpanda’s work culture been showcased in its evolution from performance marketing to influencer marketing, but the platform’s devotion to adaptability has manifested itself throughout the years in its branding strategy. Essential to consumers' perception and impression of foodpanda as a brand, Mr. Alexander talked about the evolution of foodpanda's branding strategy since its inception ten years ago –especially from the original red-and-orange to the lovable "pink panda" logo we come to know today.

 

According to the co-founder of the food delivery platform, pink was selected as the logo color to represent the company's daring, fun-loving, and “can-do” personality.

 

Another unique addition to foodpanda’s branding strategy is the unveiling of its brand ambassador, the lively and oh-so-adorable “Pao-pao”. The new digital character’s fun, vibrant, and friendly personality adds life to foodpanda and helps the brand connect with its customers.

 

The changes and developments undertaken to build a small startup company into a giant one-stop food and grocery delivery platform are highlighted by the decade-long evolutionary journey of the company's marketing strategies that allow foodpanda to thrive among Gen Y and Gen Z consumers.

 

From foodpanda’s ambition to be the number one food delivery platform in the hearts of the younger generations rises the concept of a "super app".  Unlike many other brands, however, Mr. Alexander's vision for foodpanda as a super app does not involve the creation of an entire ecosystem full of infinite numbers of products and services. Instead, the platform has chosen to invest its resources in perfecting what it does best – perfecting its food delivery application. With the vision of growing and moving towards the future alongside its customers, foodpanda’s mission is to consistently and constantly develop and improve its existing products and services through vertical innovation.

 

“Back when we first started our food delivery platform, simply having a few well-known restaurants available and ensuring that every order is delivered within an hour was enough to satisfy our customers. That is no longer the case.  Now, our customers’ needs and expectations have changed. They no longer want to order from only big restaurants but prefer more varieties and options, such as street food. They also expect a faster delivery time, which is now approximately 30 minutes," commented Mr. Alexander.

 

foodpanda’s culture of embracing change and its readiness to adapt has played a big role in the platform's global success. Its strategic evolution from performance marketing to influencer marketing as consumer behavior and trends shift ensured the brand remains top of mind of its customers throughout the years while reaping the benefits of long-term increases in brand awareness and brand love.

 

The success of Asia's largest delivery platform is one among many inspiring stories that showcased the power of influencer marketing. For brands and marketers looking to utilize influencer marketing strategies to increase brand awareness, share of voice, and drive sales with measurable results, visit https://th.tellscore.com/en or call 02 160 5020 for more information or professional consultation from Tellscore’s team of experts.  

 

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