From Flat Files to Stories: How Bedrock Helps CPGs Turn Their Raw Data Into Effective Selling Narratives

At Bedrock, we believe that numbers are stories waiting to be told.

Back in 2009, Dr. Hal R. Varian, Google’s Chief Economist, said, “The ability to take data—to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it—that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades.”

Usually leveraged for brand marketing, data-backed storytelling affords CPG manufacturers the “opportunities to tell stories as part of direct and indirect brand marketing initiatives.” The stories they can create from their data insights can bring value to their business. The advantages of data-backed storytelling can be summed up in these four benefits highlighted by Forbes’ Steve Olenski: (1) conveying your personality; (2) bringing your brand in front as the lead; (3) hitting the emotional quotient; and (4) keeping consumers coming back for more.

But weaving data into compelling stories is sometimes easier said than done. Have you ever wondered why—despite the large number of useful market data—95 percent of CPG brands still fail? CPG manufacturers have tons of data to interpret and thousands of stories to tell. But having a huge amount of data can make it more difficult for CPG manufacturers to find, polish, and articulate their insights.

We designed Bedrock Analytics to cut through the complexity of working with CPG manufacturers’ retail data. Our platform delivers the power of sophisticated data analytics cost-effectively and seamlessly. We leverage straight paths to insights, storylines, and visualizations to communicate what matters.

Straight paths to insights. Bedrock’s sophisticated data analytics is packed with features and functions designed for the specific, day-to-day needs of CPG teams. We provide smart, intuitive access to your data in a way that fits your daily workflow. Bedrock’s software gets smarter over time as it finds patterns in your data and begins to make more insightful recommendations.

Storylines. Storylines group related and relevant Visualizations together into a guided “data story.” Each Storyline walks you through a sequence of data events leading to a final, focused insight. Storylines for pricing and market comparisons, for example, end with specific insights into your pricing strategy or market reach.

Visualization Library. Our visualization library allows you to tell your data-driven stories easily and quickly with minimal configuration. Our Visualization Library includes industry-specific analyses of everything from opportunity gaps to pricing trends to distribution voids. Each visualization is configurable and can be set to display any market, product, fact or period instantly. Visualizations are also the primary building blocks for Bedrock Storylines.

Bedrock is all about data, visuals, and narratives. Data with visuals bring to light hidden patterns and outliers in the data. Data-driven narratives explain what’s happening in the data. Together, visuals and narratives drive consumer engagement. And that’s how Bedrock can help CPG manufacturers drive change and innovation to stay ahead of the competition. Contact us to learn more.