Food companies have been offering recipes as a form of Marketing as Service for years. Consumers appreciate these recipes knowing full well that they will include ingredients from that particular company. Even occasional cooks like me find themselves wanting to whip up savory dishes like the green bean casserole offered in print ads by Campbell’s Soup! So it comes as no surprise that this recipe for success has been update via the iPhone.
As reported by AdAge, Kraft’s iFood Assistant for iPhones has become a sizzling star:
Kraft Food devotees are actually paying to be marketed to on their beloved iPhones that the company’s iFood Assistant is now one of the device’s 100 most popular paid apps, and No. 2 in the lifestyle category. With its endeavor, Kraft is pulling off a rare trick: getting consumers to pay a one-time 99-cent fee for the app and also sit through ads on it. And in the process, it’s collecting useful data for targeting them more closely.
The lesson: When a marketer creates something that’s actually useful, consumers don’t really see it as straight marketing, or they’re at least willing to accept advertising as the payoff.
Thanks AdAge. I couldn’t have said it better myself.