Momvertising Opps: Hillshire Farm returns to pre-pandemic spending levels

Tyson Foods subsidiary Hillshire Farm decreased spend significantly in 2020, which I assume was related to Covid-19. However it has started ramping spend back up so far this year. I see no signs indicating it will slow down anytime soon, so sellers should reach out to see if you can provide ad space. 

Per iSpot, Hillshire spent around $4.9m on national TV ads YTD during programming such as "Two and a Half Men," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Days of our Lives," "The King of Queens" and "The Golden Girls." It spent $8.5m in this channel during 2020, all in H1, a 22% decrease from $10.9m spent in 2019. 

According to Pathmatics, Hillshire earned 430.1m impressions YTD through desktop video ads (48%), Instagram ads (28%), Facebook ads (17%) and desktop display ads (6%). It placed the majority (96%) of these ads site direct onto sites such as youtube.com, instagram.com, facebook.com, amazon.com and quizlet.com. It placed the remainder (4%) through a variety of indirect channels onto sites such as ebay.com, fandom.com, yahoo.com, realtor.com and espn.com. It spent around $4.4m on digital display ads YTD, a huge jump from $830.1k spent in this channel during the same time period of 2020. Full-year spend equaled $944.8k in 2020, just 27% of the $3.5m spent in 2019. 

Sellers-- It seems Hillshire mainly targets Gen-X and millennial women (moms), which makes sense considering mothers are commonly the families primary shopper. It has already spend more on digital display ads so far this year than it did in all of 2019. Furthermore, it is on track to match 2019 national TV spend. It also invests in print ads, per Kantar. Sellers this looks like an excellent opportunity for you. Contact Hillshire if you think you can provide relevant ad space. 

Agency & martech readers-- To the best of my knowledge, Hillshire only works with media buying/planning AOR Mindshare. Considering this brand has been increasing spend recently, there is a chance it could use some more help. I advise readers to offer creative or digital assistance for the best chance of picking up some of Hillshire's business.