Launch PR

Joan Schneider Featured on MSNBC this Sunday!

Don't miss Schneider Associates president and creative director Joan Schneider who will be on MSNBC's "Your Business," hosted by JJ Rambert this Sunday morning, November 2nd.

"Your Business" focuses on the world of America's small business entrepreneurs, featuring profiles, news, advice and tips for some of the busiest people in the worldsmall business owners.

Joan will join guests Susan Wilson Solovic, CEO of SBTV.com and author of The Girls' Guide to Building a Million Dollar Business, and Benjamin Nemo, founder of Scorpio Ventures, on a panel discussion via remote from Boston to discuss "Launching New Products."

Once again, the show will air on Sunday morning, November 2nd. Please check your local listings for times. For those who sleep late on Sunday, send us an E-mail to launch@schneiderpr.com and we'll send you a link on Monday.

Calories count— even for dogs

According to a 2006 study, 30 percent of American adults are overweight. And so are most of their dogs. Statistics from a recent veterinary report show that man’s best friend is also tipping the scales a little too far, with 25 percent of all American dogs classified as overweight.

Since Americans and their pets are both battling weight problems, it’s not surprising the diet markets for these two groups are similar. To capture this market of consumers with overindulging dogs, Del Monte Pet Products introduced Pup-Peroni 50 Calorie Packs, the first portion controlled snacks for canines.

Calorie conscious snackers have turned 100 calorie packs into a $200 million annual goldmine. According to a February USA Today article, 82 single serving products touting 100 or fewer calories were released in 2007. In 2004, there were only seven. This trend is snowballing among health conscious Americans, and Del Monte is pioneering the movement in the pet food market.

“They're a guilt-free snack,” says Matthew Park, Del Monte's marketing vice president. “Just as 100-calorie packs help people 50-calorie packs help dogs cut calories and live healthier.”

Does this trend have the legs to create a whole new market for calorie conscious dog owners? Are the Pup-Peroni 50 Calorie Snack Pouches memorable enough to become the first ever pet food to crack the top 10 Most Memorable New Product Launch List? Will they soon have Weight Watchers for dogs?

KFC: A New Flavor to Savor

It's been over 65 years since Colonel Harland Sanders introduced his Original Recipe®  in 1940. This year, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) added Smokey Chipotle Crispy Fried Chicken to its menu.  The new flavor, containing a secret blend of 11 herbs and spices, is the second new recipe to debut on KFC's menu since the Colonel's original creation.

KFC has gone above and beyond to publicize their latest "secret" recipe. According to the Associated Press, the recipe is so top secret that only two company executives have access to it at any time. For added security, the secret recipe was moved to a new location. The ingredients were placed in a lock box and handcuffed to a security guard who rode in an armored car with a police escort.

"We've worked tirelessly to develop this new flavor," said KFC'€™s chief marketing officer, James O'Reilly.  €œ"We don'€™t take fried chicken flavor introductions lightly at KFC, and we took our time to painstakingly perfect this new recipe."€

KFC launched a TV advertising campaign featuring 15 and 30 second spots that introduce the new Smokey Chipotle Fried Chicken.  The commercials'€™ voiceover describes the new recipe as "€œflavor with a kick," and it ends with the slogan, "Life tastes better with KFC."

KFC has no plans to include an Internet ad campaign, but that's not to say that they are ignoring the online medium.  On their Web site, KFC created a game, "Quest for the Golden Chipotle," which was created to educate consumers about the origin of the chipotle pepper while still being fun and interactive.

Will the addition of a rare new menu flavor be enough to catapult KFC into the top 10 Most Memorable New Products list?