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What’s next for food marketers? More Migration Marketing.

What’s next for food marketers? More Migration Marketing.

Foodpreneur Dom Celentano interviews product launch expert Julie Hall about a continuing trend of migration marketing, where food brands and manufacturers create products for new consumer audiences and retail channels. Recent examples highlighted include QSR chains like IHOP and Olive Garden creating supermarket grocery products. The article discusses how for food marketers, brand and product positioning is essential.

Read more about the Migration Marketing trend.

Launch Expert Julie Hall Adds 5th “P” – Participation – to the Classic 4 P’s of Marketing

The Holmes Report featured an op-ed by Schneider Associates’ EVP and Launch Expert Julie Hall about how social media is changing the way we launch new products. 

Hall and Schneider Associates introduced the Most Memorable New Product Launch (MMNPL) Survey in 2002, and since then, the poll has surveyed thousands of consumers about the most memorable product launches each year, analyzed media consumption and purchasing habits, and predicted trends based on the results. 

Hall highlighted one significant change in this year’s MMNPL findings: “Facebook was nowhere near the top 10 sources of information about new products – and in the span of one year, it became the third most used source of information on new product launches, jumping from 17% to 40%. And this is just Facebook.”

Based on this and other findings, Hall coined the fifth P in the product marketer’s arsenal – Participation (the original four: product, price, promotion and place). Hall insists that consumers can be engaged by “Relationship Marketing,” which allows them to interact more closely with brands and products they love. Going forward, campaigns must consist of a blend of participatory marketing through various sources of old and new, traditional and social media marketing techniques in order to succeed.

Read the full article here.

If you would like help planning your next launch, contact us at launch@schneiderpr.com or on Twitter @SchneiderPR.

Pre-Launching Products with Consumer Integration - Why Putting Your Customer Front and Center is a 2012 Imperative

By Julie Hall and Joan Schneider

Launching a new product or service in the age of social media isn’t easy. 

As product launch specialists, we know that now it’s harder than ever to get your customer’s attention, and their dollars.  Bust as more people embrace social media, brands have an opportunity to deepen customer relationships, drive loyalty and increase purchases.  Extending relationships with and among customers is the new norm.  It’s time to explore collaborative marketing and messaging with customers-and brands working together to find the right words and action to motivate customers to try and buy new products.

Consumer integration in action

Several brands are using customer integration in developing new services and products.  New Balance customers helped design their Minimus running shoe line.  Baskin-Robbins crowdsourced the creation of a new ice cream flavor.  Mountain Dew’s Dewmocracy campaign called on customers to advocate and gather votes for their favorite discontinued flavors.

Getting engaged

By involving customers before making product development and management decisions, brands can acquire new customers and get existing customers excited before product even hits the shelf, leading to robust initial sales.  What’s better than that?

The State-Gate Solution

Brand managers can profit from adapting Dr. Robert Cooper’s State-Gate approach to developing new products and initiatives by incorporating customer input:

In the Preliminary Investigation phase, consider and identify what your customers really need.  Why do they choose your products and brand over others?  What would they change?

For the Detailed Investigation phase, consider starting a beta program to test your product or services with a few core customers, secure feedback and use their input to refine your product.

The Development phase provides the opportunity to craft your message with input from customers.  What are they saying about your brand, product or service?  What do they want to hear?

In the Testing and Validation phase, introduce the redesigned product to the customers who provided feedback.

During the Manufacturing Production phase, provide your employees with the training and tools they need to become ambassadors for the launch.

In the Market Launch phase, involve the customers with whom you initially recruited to create the launch marketing strategy.

 

To learn more about cutting edge public relations tactics and trends from our PR agency partners around the world, download our free eBook from WorldCom Public Relations Group.

If you would like help planning your next launch, contact us at launch@schneiderpr.com or on Twitter @SchneiderPR.

 

SXSW is a Hotbed of Digital Innovation & Food Product Flavor Experiences

  

At this year’s SXSW 2012 event, brand names vied for exposure in a space teeming with messages and activity, with everything of course being shared in existing and new social media platforms. For more about what’s hot in the digital world and being launched and experienced by the 20,000 visitors to SXSW, be sure to watch the following videos with Launch Expert Julie Hall of Schneider Associates and our on-site correspondent, Lynne Viera, president and CEO of Rival Marketing.

 

No SXSW conference is without free food and sampling, and this year was no different. Some of the brands displaying innovation and creativity include Chevrolet, Nikon, Miller Lite, Monster Energy, and Doritos. Doritos JACKED, the newest tortilla chips from Doritos, were being sampled at a Doritos sponsored concert that also featured a chance to win special prizes. Doritos also displayed a nearly six-story tall pop-up vending machine with giant oversized quarters, to help promote the new extra large chips flavored as Smoky Chipotle BBQ or Enchilada Supreme. Doritos also recently launched a Doritos branded taco shell which is being served at Taco Bell. For additional commentary on food brand promotions at SXSW, check out the post from Dom Celentano, The Foodpreneur, on About.com.

 

SXSW also launched its first Tex-Mex Taco Table that featured participating restaurants Taco Deli, Habanero Mexican Café, and Matt's Famous El Rancho. What better place than Austin, Texas to promote foods and restaurants with Hispanic flavor profiles and influences?  This year, FedEx delivered food and free coffee from their food truck, along with providing a power up from their human chargers (see photo). Even world champion eater Kobayashi showed up to scarf what we think was a record number of grilled cheese sandwiches. The Today Show also had a food truck, as many brands find it is easier to get the attention of attendees outside the convention by offering free food or other services.

 

(Fedex Human Chargers)

(Today Show food truck)

Beer company Miller Lite gave its consumers a chance to enter the “SXSW 2012 Instant Win Game” for a $200 gift card or more.  Attendees can also "Tweet a Beer" to someone, buying a Miller via PayPal which is redeemable at some bars. They also sponsored giveaways and downloads on Pandora, Spotify, and other music apps.   Another beverage brand, Monster Energy, offered free breakfast and morning beverages during its events.

On the non-food front, Chevrolet developed an innovative promotion by providing taxi cab rides to Austin, Texas venues. Dubbed “Catch a Chevy,” the shuttle service showed off a full line of cars including Cruze sedans, Volts, Camaros, Corvettes and Mailbu Ecos featuring their updated OnStar service.  People test drove the vehicles from the convention center or hailed a car to take them to their next destination. 

Nikon put its new Nikon D4 and D-800 HD SLR cameras in the hands of fans.  SXSW attendees sampled the devices by snapping pictures of featured musicians.

The annual SXSW event began in 1987 in Austin, Texas, at the Austin Convention Center, and has become one of the best chances brands have to get in front of a core audience of influencers and trendsetters.

 

If you would like help planning your next launch, contact us at launch@schneiderpr.com or on Twitter @SchneiderPR.

 

10 Consumer Behavior Trends from the Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey

Check out our video highlighting 10 Consumer Behavior Trends from the Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey.

Spotify Aims to be Music to the Ears of U.S. Users

 
The music industry has changed dramatically over the past decade, and it’s about to undergo another cosmic shift with the arrival of Spotify in the U.S. Originally based in Europe, Spotify launched earlier this month and already boasts more than 1.5 million subscribers.

Spotify is a music streaming service that allows users to access a seemingly endless music library and play songs on their computers, phones or home audio systems. Currently, Spotify offers three tiers of service: a free, limited monthly streaming membership (by invitation only), and two pay plans that offer an ad-free listening experience and offline usability.  

To build an American market Spotify partnered with Klout, the online reputation service, to offer influential social media users a chance to try Spotify for free. Demand for invitations was so strong that the Klout website briefly crashed, an indication that there is a strong interest in this music streaming service. 

  Spotify also partnered with major brands such as Coca-Cola, Chevrolet and Motorola. Coca-Cola distributed invites to the service through Coca-Cola’s Facebook and Twitter pages. In return, Coca-Cola is allowed to use Spotify as an advertising platform to target users based on their profiles or interests. Motorola announced that it was the exclusive mobile device and tablet launch partner for Spotify, will offer customers “coveted early access” to the service through its marketing campaigns.

Even the record companies are behind Spotify. Universal Music Group (UMG), a major national record label, announced the release of a playlist service called Digster that is completely integrated with the Spotify platform. Other record companies are expected to follow suit, preferring to monetize consumer music consumption that previously may have been diverted to pirated material.  

There are several other music streaming services available in the U.S., like Pandora and Grooveshark. But what sets Spotify apart is a user base in the millions, a track record of success in Europe, and a business model that should continue to generate profit.

Spotify promises to finally break any tension still separating music lovers and record companies by integrating its service across the three major, modern platforms: online, mobile, and social media.

A Healthy Shade of Green: The Avocado Trend

Where health-conscious eaters used to steer away from this fruit (yes – avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable), it seems that Americans now can’t get enough of them.  In the past year, domestic avocado sales skyrocketed to 1.3 billion pounds - a 16% increase, according to the Hass Avocado Board. This is partially due to the more than 75 new products made with avocado have been introduced over the past five years. Grocery store products, restaurant menus and chain markets have all jumped on the trend. Whether it’s a side of guacamole, a topping on your sandwich, or the center of a vegetarian entrée – avocados are now a low cost, healthy and tasty indulgence. 

With 85% of its calories coming from fat, it’s no wonder the avocado was nicknamed the “butter-fruit.” In recent years, researchers have put the high-fat myth to rest, uncovering an important difference between the fat content of avocados (monounsaturated fats), and the fat content of, say, a bag of potato chips. Avocados boost your metabolism, offer more than 20 different nutrients, help fight cancer and osteoporosis, and improve heart health, memory, weight-loss and anti-aging.

Using this new evidence, The California Avocado Commission (CAC) organized a marketing campaign that included a combination of radio spots, outdoor and online banner ads, trade commissions, print ads, point-of-sale support and coupon programs, resulting in 33 million consumer impressions.

A follow-up survey revealed that the primary motivation to purchase avocados came as a result of its versatility as an ingredient and use in conjunction with other foods. From here, CAC modified their campaign to include promotions that focused on educating the consumer on how to use and prepare avocados at home. 
Avocado products were co-promoted with related ingredients like chips, lime and salads – for example, CAC teamed up with ReadyPac Salad to co-promote avocados and fresh cut salads, via radio spots and coupons. Adhering to the consumer trend of authenticity, they also began to coordinate promotions with domestic avocado growers around peak harvest periods.  

These awareness campaigns successfully established public interest in avocados and its newly discovered health advantages. Results demonstrated a significant increase in consumers’ understanding of the health benefits of eating avocados.

Subway’s Avocado Sandwich

Earlier this year, Subway jumped on the avocado band wagon, nudging other fast food chains to follow suit and include the vitamin- and mineral-packed fruit on their menus. To promote the launch of its avocado spread, Subway created an ad campaign featuring Olympic athletes Michael Phelps and Apolo Ohno, juggling avocados. Subway also launched a “Grab the Green” campaign, promoting avocados alongside the summer flick, The Green Lantern. 

Their social media campaign included a Subway Avocado and Green Lantern promotion party, hosted on Twitter. For one hour, The Clever Girls Collective discussed the health benefits of avocados, as well as the Green Lantern movie, and Twitter followers’ superpower wish lists.

The avocado option was initially a limited-time offer, but after seeing all-time sales records during its first week, franchises may decide to keep avocados as a permanent topping. 

Around the same time that Subway released its avocado spread, Frito-Lay launched three different flavors of dip seasonings, including “Freshly Made Guacamole,” a seasoning mix added to fresh avocados, catered to those who need a quick and easy recipe to wow their guests. 

It’s rare that a fruit or vegetable ingredient takes the food industry by storm, but the amazing avocado has done just that, supported by a strong awareness campaign and a healthy eating trend.

Mountain Dew’s “Back by Popular Dewmand” Resurrects 3 Favorite Dew Flavors

Mountain Dew has earned a reputation for interacting with consumers to create new products. As one of the brands that is at the forefront of a new trend that Schneider Associates is calling Customer Calibration,™ Mountain Dew has actively involved consumers in all stages of new product development and marketing. First launched in late 2007, the DEWmocracy campaign allowed consumers to help create new Mountain Dew flavors, which resulted in the production of Voltage® in 2008 and the newest craze, White Out®, in 2010.

In 2011, Mountain Dew took a new route in DEWmocracy and developed another way to incorporate consumers into their production decisions – “Back by Popular Dewmand.” In an interview with Ad Age, Zach Harris, the senior marketing manager of Mountain Dew, explained, “In 2011, we consistently heard from our consumers, ‘But what about our favorite flavors that are no longer in the market?’ Instead of creating more new products from scratch, like we’ve done with Dewmocracy 1 and 2, we decided to celebrate our fans and portfolio by bringing back their favorite flavors.” The flavors were chosen by fans for fans and are back on the market as limited edition products during the summer of 2011.

“Back by Popular Dewmand” was designed to let fans reach out to other fans. Mountain Dew used Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and partnered with other media outlets like Adult Swim, College Humor, and Gizmodo to advertise the campaign. Mountain Dew also asked their passionate advocates, or “Dew All-Stars,” to lobby for their individual favorites. Some fans created their own Facebook pages to rally friends and acquaintances to support specific flavors, while others produced viral videos to inform the World Wide Web. In the campaign’s press release, Brett O’Brien, senior director of marketing at Mountain Dew, discussed the company’s intention of encouraging participation from the masses. “Back by Popular Dewmand was created to celebrate our incredible fans by rewarding them with the return of some of their favorite Dew flavors,” said O’Brien. “There is no fan like a Mountain Dew fan – Dew fans are always engaged.” 

On May 16, 2011, Mountain Dew re-launched the three top-voted favorite drinks: Mountain Dew Pitch Black®, Mountain Dew Supernova® and Mountain Dew Typhoon®. Mountain Dew revealed that the diet version of Mountain Dew Supernova® will remain as a permanent addition in their lineup of diet drinks, so Dew lovers won’t lose the strawberry-flavored soda again. Mountain Dew is also featuring the “Dew All-Stars” in their print and web campaigns featuring fans and the resurrected flavors. It remains to be seen whether Mountain Dew’s fan engagement in flavor creation and marketing will result in strong sales, but it’s certainly an excellent case study in Customer Calibration™ where consumers help design both the product and marketing experience.

Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Cereal Launch Targets Males, Uses QR Codes to Spur Engagement

After years of success in the UK, Kellogg’s rolled out their Crunchy Nut Cereal in the U.S. in late January. Kellogg’s is targeting a young male adult audience by sending the message that cereal isn’t just for breakfast. The campaign slogan, “It’s morning somewhere,” a play off it’s 5:00 somewhere, is an unusual approach for a product category traditionally aimed at either kids or health-conscious adults. 

The official launch was hosted at a 24-hour event, centered on a six-story tall cuckoo clock, which aimed to make the Guinness Book of World Records. Every hour of the day-long launch, the gigantic clock would chime, and actor Brad Norman would emerge, offering comedic performances dressed as a character from a location where it was currently morning. Celebrity entertainer Nick Cannon kicked off the event at Hollywood and Highlander Center in Los Angeles, energizing the crowd with a countdown to the first chime.

                         

 Live video streams of the performances were available on the Crunchy Nut Facebook page, keeping fans in the loop. Additionally, there were opportunities to sample the cereal and interact with Brad Norman.
 
Keeping in mind the rising trend of brand engagement via mobile, Kellogg’s partnered with Augme Technologies, one of the leading services in the interactive media market. Augme launched a program that offered QR codes and SMS keywords printed on the backs of the cereal boxes.  The codes recognize the user’s location and local time, and use this information to direct them to a mobile page offering one of 13 different videos of morning in a foreign location. By scanning at different times of the day, consumers experience different videos, all reinforcing the message, “It’s morning somewhere.”

The QR campaign was targeted specifically to single males between the ages of 18 and 35, who were mostly college students. The goal was to use the QR code to intrigue this market, who are computer literate and enjoy electronic games.

The mobile campaign drove more than 40,000 QR scans and 60,000 texts during its promotional period, resulting in 38,000 videos played and 50,000 page views. It seems surprising that QR scans would outnumber keyword texts, but the effectiveness of QR scans makes sense in realm of cereal promotions – where consumers used to spend time reading the backs of cereal boxes, now they can now use a simple barcode as they leisurely eat their breakfast.

If you would like help planning your next launch, contact us at launch@schneiderpr.com or on Twitter @SchneiderPR.

AXE Uses Social Media to Build Buzz

With Summer upon us, it’s time for men to chop those shaggy locks for a short-cropped style that will keep them cool, like a military crew-cut, which has been making a pop culture comeback. The problem with a short buzz cut, as identified by Axe, is it exposes the scalp to the sun’s powerful UV rays. Earlier this month, Axe offered a solution for this summertime hair woe with the launch of its new Buzzed-Look Cream with SPF +15. The product is effective for crew cut styles - protecting the scalp from the sun, while keeping hair soft and touchable.

Axe targeted their product launch to those who best represent the classic military-style cut, by partnering with Wounded Warriors – a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded soldiers. Axe donated $50,000 to the organization in conjunction with the launch.   
 
 "Over 44,000 of our nation's armed forces have been physically wounded during the current military conflicts and hundreds of thousands more are estimated to be recovering from the invisible wounds of war," said Adam Silva, chief development officer of Wounded Warrior Project. "Axe Hair's contribution will fund programs that nurture the mind, body and spirit and help returning warriors take on their next challenges here at home."

The Launch event, hosted on June 11^th at the Axe Lounge in Southampton, New York, was attended by Reality TV star Lo Bosworth, who helped shave the heads of bushy-haired guys.
 
One of those guys was NFL quarterback Sam Bradford, 2008 Heisman Trophy winner and number one draft pick of the 2011 season. As a spokesperson for Axe hair products, particularly the Buzzed Look Cream, Bradford had his trademark long, curly hair shaved off by an Axe stylist.

“I’m always changing up my style – my ritual is to grow my hair and to cut it off at the end of each season. This time I’m doing it the right way by working with Axe Hair who’s giving me a new buzz look,” he said.

Axe used Facebook as the central platform for their social media push. A landing page is dedicated to the product, presenting the slogan “Protected scalp for you, feels good for her.” The page includes a video of an Axe street team promoting the product in New York City, offering free buzz cuts and product samples. A Q&A forum features celebrity hairstylist Amy Komorowski answering questions about buzzed hairstyles.

The Buzzed Look Cream is Axe’s first and only product with SPF, but without any print or television ad support to date, it will be interesting to see how well the product fares in the competitive market of summer hair product introductions.