Tag: Kraft

Embracing Social

Posted on by Drew Neisser

tiffany kraftOn June 16th, 2006, I was on a panel at Kraft Foods with Max Kaleoff and David Berkowitz to discuss word-of-mouth marketing and the rise of social networks.  Honestly, it was one of the tougher panels I’d ever been on as the then head of marketing concluded that “this stuff” just wasn’t scalable and could end up being a time suck for employees which is why they weren’t allowed to access Facebook at work.

Needless to say, times have changed and Kraft subsequently embraced social in a big way.  This became particularly evident to me at the recent Pivot conference where I met Tiffany Tamplin, Sr. Director of Refreshment Beverages.  As it turns out, Tiffany had been in the audience back in ‘96, has become a bit of a social evangelist herself and was at Pivot to share a mini-case history of Kool-Aid’s social activity.

Of course, I was all ears especially when she talked about the role LoudDoor (a sophisticated market research and audience targeting platform I’ve discussed before) had played in Kool-Aids efforts.  Through the LoudDoor research, Kool-Aid determined that its Facebook fan base was heavily skewed toward teens and not comprised of the moms who actually buy the product.  Recalibrating its Facebook ad buy, Kool-Aid was able to fix this and subsequently grow its fan base to a scale (>3 million) perhaps unimaginable back in 2006.

In the interview below, Tiffany sheds light on the role social plays for Kool-Aid, why the Kool-Aid man is now CGI, how they grew their Facebook footprint efficiently and increased engagement via a fun photobombing iPhone App. Its all good stuff if you ask me.

Drew:  You mentioned at Pivot that Kool-Aid had a new ad campaign & tagline.  Tell me about the new campaign/tagline, why it was needed and about the shift to the CGI Kool-Aid Man.
Kool-Aid is a brand that brings smiles to everyone because it is undeniably fun. Our new tagline embodies that.  The Kool-Aid Man has been around since the 1950’s and we felt he needed a face-lift for the new millennium.  CGI gave us the opportunity to truly bring the pitcher to life and our campaign is about getting to know the “man” behind the jug.

Drew:  What role did you think social media could play in the overall marketing mix of Kool-Aid?  After all, you already have near universal awareness.
Social as a marketing mix tool plays a key role in creating a personal, meaningful and memorable experience with our brand. It allows us to create a 1:1 experience that is of real substance; an experience you want to share with others. Television, Print and OLA helps us get the word out, but social is where the natural expression and passion of our brand advocates can be harnessed.

The outcome ranged from finding and growing our core consumer base on Facebook to launching our mobile app where the new Kool-Aid Man could be experienced through what we like to call ‘Random Acts of Fun.’

Drew: A lot of brands don’t take the time to research the social behavior of their fans.  Can you talk about why you felt the need to do the research you did with Loud Door and the role it played it refining your social target definition?
Analyzing our Facebook fan base conversation, our agency VSA Partners, could see that we were pulling in a lot of Male teenagers who probably appreciate the brand’s appearance on Family Guy but are not the people who are going out and buying our product. However, we knew our core consumer was online so we worked with LoudDoor to identify her and better understand her so we could start a social dialogue she would respond to.  The net result was significant fan growth this year, exceeding the 3million fan mark.  Today Kool-Aid ranks within the top 10% of branded site.

kool-aid-photo-bombDrew: So now you have a bunch of insights about your target one of which lead you to creating the Kool-Aid photo bomber app.  Talk to me about the app, the role it plays and how it has performed for the brand.
The Kool-Aid Photobomb app was designed to take advantage of the native social sharing that’s embedded in millions of Android and iOS devices.  Sharing and in particular photo sharing is an inherent characteristic of our core consumer and we wanted to facilitate an easy, fun way for her to do so with Kool-Aid.

Drew:  How else did the LoudDoor research help you?  
We leveraged the LoudDoor insights to target directly to the audience who would be most likely to download the app, purchase Kool-Aid and engage and advocate for the brand in social media.

The result? The app also ranked #24 in the App Store Entertainment category surpassing Hulu, Netflix and ABC in its first week. Mobile Ads supporting the app had 300% above the benchmark norm for awareness and 200% above benchmark for purchase intent.

We are [also] able to leverage the insights to provide more precise targeting to our media agency.

Drew: You also mentioned that your Facebook ad spend become 2x to 4x more effective than past efforts thanks to the insights from the LoudDoor research. Can you talk about why you think the ads were so much more efficient?
We saw 2x to 3x efficiency through LoudDoor targeting executed by Starcom, this was in contrast to using Facebook’s standard interest-based targeting.

Drew: Based on the increased responsiveness of your Facebook advertising, does this impact how much you would spend on FB in the future and or/ the role FB advertising plays in the overall marketing mix?  
Yes, we leverage the learnings to deepen our partnership with Facebook and optimize spending. We are working directly with them as part of their “Facebook Garage” program.

Drew: How would you like to see your social program evolve in the next 12-24 months?
Our plan is to grow and expand upon the fantastic momentum we started this past year.

Carte Noire’s Seductive Coffee Break

Posted on by Drew Neisser

An online friend and I use ”friend” loosely since I have no idea who she really is other than a helpful sharer, sent me this link.  She knows that I am always on the hunt for interesting examples of Marketing as Service and true to form, this one qualified.  Carte Noire, a brand of coffee sold in the UK by Kraft, has assembled a hunky cadre of actors who read delicious bits of novels on camera under the promise “For a more seductive coffee break.”

The readings are quite well done and they leave you thirsty for more.  I’ve now watched actor Joseph Fiennes read a few pages from Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, and Greg Wise liven up Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray.   Other readers include Dominic West and Dan Stevens. All told, there are 37 of these luscious treats waiting for you on the website.  Clearly Kraft has gone to a lot of trouble to make this online effort pleasing, offering free samples of their coffee and a sweepstakes for the “spa” inclined.  And partner Penguin Books is just a link away, ready to sell you the complete novels sampled on the site.

As an example of Marketing as Service, this one is reasonably fresh.  The sales pitch is gentle, as long as it doesn’t bother you that the reader is holding a cup of coffee much of the time or is sitting so close to a mug that he risks scalding himself on the steam.  In truth, the product information is so scant, that about all I could learn about Carte Noire is that it’s made from a “100% Arabica bean blend.”  And don’t ask me what “Arabica” is because I’m too busy watching my next chapter.

After a bit of sleuthing, I did find at two offline extensions of this idea.  At some point last year, Carte Noire hosted a major sampling event at which fresh coffee was served, stories were read, and everyone left with a bookmark that had a sample of the freeze-dried product attached.  It looked like a rich experience from the video, but I can’t tell if this was a “one-off” or an ongoing program.  There was also a blog post about  some Carte Noire sponsored readings at The Cheltenham Literature Festival.

What I didn’t find was much in the way of social media or grass roots activities. Perhaps they are going on in England as I write, but I couldn’t find a word about them online.  So let me take a coffee break of my own and imagine how they could brew up a truly special 360° campaign at just about any budget level.  Hopefully, if I’ve got the wrong flavor here, the kind folks at Kraft UK will set me straight.

Again in full ignorance I ask, why isn’t Carte Noire sponsoring “seductive book clubs” all over England?  Take a look at what e.l.f. did with their “make-up parties” and you’ll see an easy formula for grass roots efforts that could certainly connect the brand with their target.  Provide a pot full of product, gift certificates from Penguin and reader notes prepared by a worthy scholar and you’ve got the recipe for trial-generating, loyalty-building revelry. Then imagine if Joseph Fiennes showed up unannounced at one of these parties to read for a bit.  Surely that would be a piping hot story for the local press.

Carte Noire also seems to be going light on the social media front.  Sure they have links to FB, Twitter, digg and delicious at the bottom of each page but why not share more of this beautifully produced readings on YouTube and Facebook?  Your fans are far more likely to spend time with you on social media that on your website.  I did find that some of the actors are sharing their Carte Noire readings via podcasts, which is a nice touch, but again, I really had to dig to find these.  How about becoming a major advocate of “seductive book clubs” on Twitter, following your target and sharing your unique POV on having a “seductive coffee break?”

Of course, I may be all wet here.  Carte Noire is marketed across the pond and for all I know, this campaign is more than a coffee break, and instead is a full course meal of integrated marketing applying the latest techniques in guerrilla and social media.   If so, roast away Kraft UK.  I promise not to be bitter.

Warming up to Marketing as Service

Posted on by Drew Neisser

When advertising no longer talks at you but actually does something for you, then it becomes a service. Samsung places charging stations in airports and road warriors get the fuel they need to carry on the battle. The longer the program runs, the longer everybody wins. Samsung gets meaningful exposure, airports get happier travelers and consumers come to recognize Samsung as a helpful & reliable “mobile” resource. The exchange of value is crystal clear.

That’s why I’m only lukewarm about a new program from Kraft as reported by MediaPost:

In the Windy City this month, frozen commuters and holiday shoppers will be treated to heated bus shelters and samples of Stove Top’s new Quick Cups instant stuffing, courtesy of Kraft Foods.

 

“Stove Top Stuffing is all about warming up families with hot, delicious meals when the temperatures drop,” said brand manager Ellen Thompson in a release, “and we wanted a stand-out way to demonstrate this to consumers this holiday season.”

This is a thin a commitment to Marketing as Service as you will find. Only 10 bus shelters are being heated and only in Chicago. 49 other markets will just see bus shelter ads. So really, this is a insincere stunt that Kraft hopes will inspire lots of PR. And perhaps it will (which may be enough for them.)

Imagine for a moment Kraft committed to bus shelters in cold cities the way Samsung has to airport terminals. Commuters would be thanking Kraft by the bus load and telling all their friends how the kind folks from Glenview warmed them up on a frigid morning. Cities would be competing to get the Kraft bus shelter program as a way of encouraging and rewarding the use of public transportation.

Okay, maybe I’m dreaming but I’d bet on this approach versus 49 markets worth of bus shelter posters that get the cold shoulder treatment from ad-weary consumers. Marketing as Service has the potential to transform the way consumers interact with and perceive your brand. And to quote one genius at self-promotion, “that’s hot.”