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July 15, 2005
The Whole Foods marketing philosophy
Last year, Whole Foods spent $17.4 milllion on advertising. Advertising and marketing expenses were less than 0.5 percent of $3.9 billion in total revenue.
While competitors spend 10 times more in advertising (Safeway will spend $100 million on a year-long advertising campaign, including television product placements), Whole Foods dedicates its marketing dollars toward customer evangelism by trying to create word-of-mouth experiences. No TV stealth-marketing here, thank you.
Whole Foods isn't for everyone, especially budget-concious shoppers, but the company's strategy continually produces double-digit sales growth.
If we were to simply compare the two supermarket giants:
* Safeway: Spend money on ads telling customers we're great
* Whole Foods: Spend money on being great
[Tip of the hat to Brand Autopsy on the Whole Food story (free registration required).]
Other blogs that reference The Whole Foods marketing philosophy:
» Are you telling or being? from terry storch >>>>>
I just read a great post on Church of the Customer about Whole Foods. This sums it up: If we were to simply compare the two supermarket giants: * Safeway: Spend money on ads telling customers we're great * Whole [Read More]
» Being Great, Rather Than Saying You're Great from hyku | blog - Josh Hallett
Church of the Customer blogs about the Whole Foods marketing philosophy. In the post Jackie Huba discusses some marketing budget numbers and compares Whole Foods to Safeway. It's the last comment that really tells the story though: If we were... [Read More]
» Marketing and local stores from Redmountain
It doesn't take a business genius to know that Whole Foods' rapid expansion -- doubling the number of their stores over the past two years -- is probably the real reason behind their increased sales. [Read More]
Thanks for the link love Jackie.
Point of clarification … Whole Foods spends much less than $17.4 million on ‘advertising’ per year. Much less. The bulk of the $17.4 million is spent on marketing programs and not advertising campaigns. In-store signage, in-store promotions, in-store merchandising, team member (employee) education, customer education, and participation in local events are all examples of marketing programs Whole Foods spends money on. {This coming from a former Whole Foods marketing dude.}
Thanks for the clarification, John : )
