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The Path to Purchase Institute’s 2024 P2PI Live & Expo, held from November 12-14 in Schaumburg, IL, brought together industry leaders to discuss the evolving landscape of consumer behavior and the tools driving change in the retail and CPG industries. Packed with insightful panels, workshops, and networking opportunities, this year’s event explored themes that are reshaping how brands approach the Path to Purchase. Here are five key takeaways:
Harnessing the Power of AI: Collaboration is Key
Artificial Intelligence (AI) remains a cornerstone of innovation, especially within the CPG and BevAlc industries. At P2PI Live, speakers emphasized the necessity of partnerships between brands and vendors to effectively leverage AI. While its potential to revolutionize decision-making is clear, the conversation also highlighted the importance of guardrails.
AI thrives when brands and partners share mutual stakes in its deployment and success. By collaborating on its use, both parties can align their goals and ensure transparency in outcomes. Guardrails are crucial to mitigate risks, ensuring data privacy, ethical use, and avoiding misuse that could harm consumer trust. These measures, coupled with a spirit of shared learning, create a robust foundation for utilizing AI to drive growth and improve shopper experiences in a dynamic retail environment.
Shortening the Buying Cycle: Meeting Consumers Where They Are
One of the most pressing challenges for BevAlc companies is the need to shorten the Path to Purchase. With consumer attention spans shrinking and competition increasing, brands must reach both new and existing audiences with precision and agility.
To accelerate the buying process, companies must employ multiple touchpoints, using a mix of digital, social, and in-store channels to engage shoppers at every step of their journey. By leveraging data-driven insights, brands can identify key decision moments that have the most influence on conversion rates. Additionally, the ability to deliver agile and targeted messaging ensures that both discovery brands and established players resonate with audiences in ways that prompt faster purchases.
Bridging the Gap Between Brand and Demand
An emerging trend is the growing collaboration between sales and marketing teams (brand and demand). The integration of brand-building efforts with demand-generation strategies has become a crucial factor in driving growth.
Strong collaboration between sales and marketing teams ensures that campaigns address holistic business objectives. Engaging stakeholders from both functions during planning phases helps unify goals and create campaigns that drive immediate revenue while reinforcing long-term brand value. This alignment, supported by real-time data, empowers teams to continually validate strategies and refine messaging to ensure cohesive execution that resonates with target consumers and achieves measurable success.
Balancing Brand Presence with ROI
A strong brand presence is crucial for long-term success, but short-term pressures often challenge this balance. Discussions centered on maintaining equilibrium between driving immediate sales and building sustainable growth.
Every campaign, ad, or display must be grounded in clear goals to justify its investment. Determining the "why" behind each initiative not only clarifies its purpose but also makes it easier to assess its impact. ROI measurement should reflect a blend of short-term metrics, such as sales lift, and long-term indicators, like brand loyalty and awareness growth. Regular evaluation of these metrics ensures campaigns are on track and contributing to both immediate objectives and sustainable brand equity.
Partnering for Success: Efficiency in a Resource-Constrained World
As companies face increasing pressure to do more with less, choosing the right partners has become more critical than ever. P2PI Live highlighted the importance of expertise, personalization, and efficiency in vendor relationships.
The right partnerships are built on expertise and proven results. Vendors that demonstrate their ability to deliver ROI with case studies and industry experience are invaluable. Equally important is the capacity to add incremental value to current projects, filling gaps and addressing challenges with innovative solutions. Aligning on key aspects like messaging, timing, and audience targeting helps maximize the effectiveness of these partnerships, ensuring that companies spend their limited resources in ways that deliver the greatest impact.
Conclusion
This year’s P2PI Live & Expo served as a powerful reminder of the dynamic nature of shopper marketing. From embracing AI to navigating the delicate balance between short-term gains and long-term goals, the insights shared in Schaumburg underscored the importance of collaboration, adaptability, and purposeful action.
As brands and vendors continue to navigate these challenges, the future of the Path to Purchase will depend on the industry’s ability to learn together, innovate boldly, and remain laser-focused on the shopper journey.
Contact us today to learn more about how our tech-enabled product stack and human expertise can help you own the most valuable moment in marketing: the purchase transaction.
THE AUTHOR
Corey Zinser is a Director of Business Development at Behaviorally. With a background in marketing and sales, he has a true passion for partnering with CPG, health and wellness, and beverage companies guiding them through their upcoming initiatives, projects, or challenges. Outside of the office, Corey enjoys time spent with his wife and two children, whether it's exploring nature through hiking and biking or embarking on exciting travel adventures.
