Frozen food brand Stouffer?s is providing meal-time recommendations in several areas of the Food on the Table mobile application to promote its products to users.

The goal of the four-week promotion, which runs throughout May, is to provide shoppers with quick meal options and easy alternatives to the full recipes found on the app using Stouffer?s frozen entrees and side dishes. The Food on the Table app is used by 2 million families for meal planning and grocery shopping.

?The goal is sending consumers the right messaging at the right time,? said Sarah Bovagnet, public relations and marketing assistant at Food on the Table, Austin, TX.

?Brands like Stouffer's want to be a part of the consumer's natural planning process, rather than being out of context like a banner ad,? she said. ?Providing product information and incentive while a consumer is planning meals and shopping accomplishes this.?

Dinner made easy
Throughout May, users of the Food on the Table mobile app will see meal time recommendations and other information in several areas of the app.

A special meal category features meal ideas that include original Food on the Table recipes paired with Stouffer?s side dishes to help cut down total dinner preparation time.

Stouffer?s prepared meals are also promoted alongside original Food on the Table recipe posts.

Recipe alternatives include the option to ?Buy it Premade? over the original Food on the Table recipe as a way to help users save time at the grocery store and time spent cooking.

Users will also find reasons to buy Stouffer?s products next to any related item on their grocery list. By tapping on any of these Stouffer?s suggestions in the app, users can add the Stouffer?s dish to their meal plan and grocery list.

The Food on the Table app combines over 1 million recipes and sale items at nearly 20,000 of the largest grocery stores in the United States. It also features a store-aware grocery list to streamline the meal planning and shopping process for busy families.

Reaching a targeted audience
With users displaying a big appetite for mobile apps, marketers have taken notice and are increasingly looking for ways to reach these audiences. However, in-app advertising presents some challenges, including delivering ads on small smartphone screens without negatively impacting the user experience.

Which is why c onsumer packaged goods companies and other marketers are gravitating toward sponsorships and promotions that integrate them into an app in a more organic way.

For example, Coors Light is sponsoring the new NASCAR Mobile 2013 applications to reach racing fans with in-app ads and special content (see story).

Last year, KitchenAid sponsored a Food and Wine festival mobile app to lets users learn more about its products (see story).

?While Stouffer's is not offering any discounts, we're confident it will still outperform the FSI redemption rate,? Ms. Bovagnet said.

?We've worked with several brands in the past, and we have some upcoming promotions teed up with ConAgra Foods,? she said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York