As an associate brand manager at ConAgra foods in late 1998, I remember pondering how digital media would eventually impact our overall consumer marketing mix. With that thought, I did a quick landscape analysis taking note of media opportunities (Yahoo! and Excite at the time), plus the proliferation of direct-to-consumer grocers, including NetGrocer and Webvan.
While the needed scale was probably a few years out from that point (my boss at the time felt that our consumer wasn’t online and might never be online), the market has clearly evolved. What a telling sign to see ConAgra Foods make a fairly significant investment in digital media with Yahoo! as outlined in today’s press release.
From a CPG manufacturer perspective, Wegman’s has consistently held an open and progressive approach to working with the vendor community. Specifically in the area of pricing and promotion strategy, the upstate New York retailer has been a leader in adopting new approaches that eventually extend out to the mainstream retailers.
In 2007 Wegman’s shifted from a Hi/Lo (higher base price with frequent promoted price points) pricing model to EDLP (everyday low price) program throughout the store. Danny Wegman, CEO of the independent grocery chain, did a little preemptive damage control and had this video posted to YouTube outlining the strategy shift rationale.
His audience is clearly the consumer base and the script is somewhat forced, but I thought Mr. Wegman did a decent job of explaining why the shift is ultimately good for consumers. As added entertainment, pay attention to the Ross Perot-like charts that Wegman creates to drive his points home.
Kraft has stepped up and launched what appears to be the CPG industry’s first consumer iPhone application called iFood Assistant. This nifty little app provides iPhone users with a way to engage with Kraft and its portfolio of brands in a new and exciting way. Through the iFood Assistant, consumers can search and retrieve recipe ideas, build a shopping list and even view instructional videos right from their iPhone. Of course, all product shopping lists draw from the Kraft portfolio of brands and exclude competitors.
Hats off to Kraft for taking a stand and making this investment of time and energy. According to recent research from NPD, the iPhone now ranks #2 in unit sales for smart phone devices (simply amazing after just 18 months since launch), so this investment makes sense. At first pass, I see three ways that Kraft could leverage the iFood Assistant app to deliver an even richer consumer experience:
1. Contests and games- Expose all Kraft-branded interactive promotions, contests and games through the iFood Assistant application. Promotions don’t need to be tied to those using the application, but this could present a great awareness channel for Kraft to reach digitally-inclined consumers.
2. Digital coupons- This has a logical fit and could be one of the killer-apps for the iFood Assistant. Since consumers are already accessing recipes and tips through the application, offering brand-specific digital/printable coupons could be a great tie-in for the next shopping trip. Extending this idea even further, Kraft could allow consumers to electronically deposit coupon value onto their Kroger-banner loyalty card accounts.
3. Trade promotions- Kraft is already directing iFood Assistant users to local grocers to fulfill their recipe shopping needs. Taking this one step further, the local grocery store search results could also display retailers that are featuring Kraft brands, or offering a price promotion such as a buy-one/get-one or even a temporary price reduction.
I’ve become a big iPhone fan, and am happy to see Kraft take this pioneering step to better serve consumers. I look forward to seeing how this application evolves over time.
I’ve become a fan of David Armano, author of the Logic + Emotion blog and VP, Creative / Design Evangelist at Critical Mass. He has an uncanny ability to distill complex thoughts into really simple, informative visuals.
David recently posted a presentation (embedded above) on the social movement of personal brand builders who can influence large spheres of followers. Think Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin as two prime examples. This introduces some real opportunities in the CPG marketing community, as outspoken individuals who have achieved “micro-celebrity” status online have the power to quickly and efficiently influence a defined market.
Perhaps the strategy for CPG folks is to cultivate relationships with the right micro-celebrities to help proliferate market test opportunities and evangelize new item intros to their vast networks. I’m thinking Phil Lempert can play that role quite well.
A very interesting topic delivered through an easy-to-digest presentation.
I’m really digging this interactive contest that the Nature Valley team at General Mills recently wrapped up titled “Where’s Yours?”. Consumers were asked to record a video about their favorite outdoor destination and then post to YouTube to receive votes. There were some pretty elaborate and entertaining entries from a passionate group of Nature Valley consumers. The brief video overview pasted above does a nice job of laying out the contest rules and dream vacation prizes.
Two things really impressed me with the design and execution of this activity:
2. The large scale of online media used to support the contest. According to BrandWeek, Mills invested nearly $3MM in display ads to support the campaign and related sweesptakes. The results were equally as impressive, with 1000% increases in search queries and website visits.
We’ve entered an era where big brands are engaging consumers in more meaningful ways and are supporting these activities with pretty sizable digital media investments. It’ll be fun to see how the Nature Valley team follows up on this successful campaign.
As an associate brand manager at ConAgra foods in late 1998, I remember pondering how digital media would eventually impact our overall consumer marketing mix. With that thought, I did a quick landscape analysis taking note of media opportunities (Yahoo! and Excite at the time), plus the proliferation of direct-to-consumer grocers, including NetGrocer and Webvan.
Kraft has stepped up and launched what appears to be the CPG industry’s first consumer iPhone application called 
