Quaker Oats Jumps on Health and Wellness Bandwagon

March 9, 2009
-By Elaine Wong

PepsiCo's Quaker Oats today fueled New Yorkers' morning commute as part of a breakfast giveaway, which is tied to a new campaign touting the company's whole grain oats.The event, which took place in New York’s Times Square, marks the first time the company will kick off an integrated campaign linking all of its oat products—including Life cereal and Chewy granola bars—under the health and wellness category.

The campaign is dubbed “Go Humans Go.”Former Oprah Winfrey chef Art Smith was on site in Times Square for the breakfast giveaway, which included hot oatmeal and energy smoothies. The promotion coincided with Quaker Oats' renewed emphasis on cause marketing, as the brand steps up its hunger awareness project with charitable partner Share Our Strength.

Today's event also featured an on-site food donation drive, hunger awareness bloggers and bicyclists using “pedal power” to blend their own smoothies.Outdoor elements of the campaign have started appearing on Quaker Oats’ Web site, and on bus and taxicab ads in the Big Apple and other major metropolitan cities. The bulk of the effort begins March 16, with television ads elaborating on the “oat as a nutritious fuel” theme. The ads were created by Quaker Oats’ new lead agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

Print ads will appear in April in consumer publications.In an interview with Brandweek, Quaker Oats CMO Annie Young-Scrivner said the company chose to focus on the oat because “it’s not just a grain. It’s a super grain that powers your day and helps you do amazing things.

It lifts you physically and emotionally and makes you feel good knowing you did something good for someone and yourself, and it’s one of the most nutritious grains.”Quaker Oats, which spent $50 million on advertising last year (not including online initiatives), per Nielsen Monitor-Plus, may be onto something, said Harry Balzer, vp at the NPD Group’s Chicago office.

Calling attention to oats' wholesome, filling properties is indicative of a larger consumer trend: The shift from meat-based to grain-based meals, Balzer said. “It’s a way of moderating food costs,” he added, noting that grain-based meals are usually cheaper.