Before and After: VO5 Elixirs

Before

After

"The unique expertise of Vo5 hair care is deeply rooted in its 5 vital oils. Over the years, the product line had grown and yet the original meaning of the masterbrand had been lost, especially on pack. Our exploration uncovered a way to actively capture the blend of essential oils.

Also inspiring to us was the new “light up your magic” positioning, so we walked away from a consistent bottle color in favor of a more sophisticated and luminous color palette that reflects the translucent qualities of the oils themselves."

Swarovski:::can this brand still sparkle in modern times?

	Swarovski cutting edge? How did it happen? How did a company that began cutting lead crystal glass more than 100 years ago in northern Bohemia become the must-have bling of modern society?

That’s the power of brand marketing. “Crystal can sound a bit old-fashioned and grandmotherly so we at Swarovski have worked very hard to keep it modern,” says Peter Zottl, Swarovski’s corporate vice president of travel and retail (“Brand Profile,” The Moodie Report, October 2008). Modern is an understatement. Swarovski has single-handedly cut a swath through the designer and celebrity world. The Swarovski name is associated with miniature collectibles, sculptures, jewelry, fashion, lighting, watches and every type of accessory imaginable. It is a brand name that is the envy of every marketer who wants to garner the attention of the beautiful people. There was no indication that Swarovski would become such a sensation when Daniel Swarovski, son of a Czech glass cutter, patented an electric glass-cutting machine in 1892. In 1895, Swarovski opened his company in Wattens, Tyrol, in Austria, because of the availability of hydroelectric power. Swarovski has been in Wattens ever since. Still independent and family-owned, the company is managed by fourth- and fifth-generation family members. Swarovski employs about 26,000 people and maintains a presence in more than 120 countries. If it were just about lead crystal glass, the Swarovski story might end here. But this is a company that is nothing if not aggressive about extending its line and getting its brand name exposed—really exposed. According to the company, Swarovski is the global market leader in loose crystal; crystal objects, jewelry and accessories; precision optical equipment through its Swarovski Optik subsidiary; bonded grinding and dressing tools through its company Tryolit; gemstones and created stones; and road safety products through its company Swareflex. There are close to 900 Swarovski-operated boutiques around the world and nearly 750 partner boutiques. As for brushing shoulders with celebrities, stars have been star-struck by Swarovski ever since the days of Marlene Dietrich. It hasn’t hurt that Swarovski has carefully cultivated the Hollywood relationship with its presence at the Oscars (practically defining the word “bling”), the Cannes Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. Swarovski has also played the product placement card brilliantly, collaborating with the costume designer of the movie Moulin Rouge, creating the crystal for the chandelier in the film version of Phantom of the Opera and making notable appearances in two James Bond movies, Ocean’s Thirteen, Dreamgirls and other films. You’ll also find Swarovski in the public eye, always in a high-profile way. For example, the star on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City is Swarovski crystal. Swarovski is prominently present along the world’s finest shopping boulevards and in international airports. The company has pushed its brand beyond its own products. In an effort to have almost everything Swarovski-ized, the company recently introduced its “CRYSTALLIZED – Swarovski Elements” brand. Basically, the product “can transform any item into something entirely beautiful,” the company says. These loose crystal elements can be embedded in a limitless range of products, each of which carries the “Made with CRYSTALLIZED Swarovski Elements” tag. Think of this as the fashion equivalent of the computer industry’s memorable “Intel Inside” campaign. The result is almost overwhelming. Swarovski is showing up in products from the sublime to the ridiculous. How do you even begin to think about haute couture crystal-encrusted dresses, handbags and shoes in the same way as rhinestone license plates, iPod cases, cell phone faceplates, personalized baby bottles, pet collars, Havaianas flip flops and Phillips Swarovski-encrusted USB flash drives? And if you’re thirsty, try a bottle of outrageously expensive Bling H20—it’s water packaged in bottles encrusted with Swarovski crystals. You can even use CRYSTALLIZED Swarovski Elements to create your own products. With all this, one might well question whether Swarovski has gone too far. But competitors recognize the company’s gift for marketing and they have followed suit. Waterford, the Irish company long known for its crystal, has dramatically expanded its product line in recent years. While it offers a range of crystal items, including collectibles and limited editions, the Waterford brand name now appears on fine china, flatware, perfume, and table and bed linens. Despite Swarovski’s trendy, glitzy side, there remains a significant group of people who take its reputation for quality very seriously. The Swarovski Crystal Society, which began in 1987 as the Swarovski Collectors Society, today has more than 400,000 members in 35 countries worldwide. These enthusiasts receive a quarterly magazine and can purchase annual editions and exclusive products. If you are not quite ready to own the brand, you can still interact with it up close—if you visit the Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds) in Wattens. Swarovski calls it “a guided tour through a sensual kaleidoscope.” CNN says it is “as fascinating as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.” Swarovski Kristallwelten attracts 700,000 visitors annually. It is second only to Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace as the most visited tourist attraction in Austria. There is little Swarovski hasn’t thought of. It is crystal clear this brand has every sparkling facet of marketing covered.

Busted....

New Media[Social Media]::: Who stays????

Ikea::: tidy up tvc's

Did You Know?

Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?

Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?Did You Know?

Fantastic video on the progression of information technology, researched by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman.

McDonalds Mega Mac

A successful use of the World Cup

September 98: a few weeks after Frances victory over Brazil, McDonalds and their agency BDDP & TBWA used the fame, popularity and smooth head of Fabien Barthez for a campaign to promote the Mega Mac. For its re launch the product was called the burger of sportsmen, since with its four pieces of meat it was aimed at people with large appetites. Having used Michael Jordan in 1997, Mc Donalds, as partners in the World Cup and the French football team , had wanted to be the first brand to mount a campaign using one of the French team. But they did not want to be considered opportunist. The gamble paid off thanks to a creative and eye catching campaign ('the kiss' on television, 'The prayer' on posters) and Mega Mac exceeded commercial goals.

Context

In September 1998 McDonalds suggested a campaign for the Mega Mac, a non-permanent product in McDonalds range. This burger was larger and more expensive than the others: it would allow McDonalds to increase the value of their transactions.

Since the Mega Mac had already appeared in restaurants in February 97, a re-launch was now needed to give the Mega Mac greater staying power than in the campaign of 97.

Objectives

To increase turnover and profitability of McDonalds restaurants, reaching a strategic threshold of 200 Mega Macs sold per 1000 transactions (one transaction = one till receipt.)

Strategies and working of the campaign

Strategy

To position the Mega Mac in the market as the Burger of sportsmen intended for large appetites.

In July 98 France awaited a happy event: The World Cup. McDonalds immediately saw public interest and signed a partnership with the French team. As they went along the French teams good results kept the association between the Mega Mac and football in peoples minds.

In September the agency recommended capitalizing on the fame of the French team who had won the World Cup two months previously on three conditions:

• To be the first brand to feature a member of the French team in a campaign
• To choose the player
• To avoid accusations of opportunism by being creative.

Thanks to the ritual of the kiss on his shaven head Fabien Barthez became the mascot of the French team. His personality made him one of the most popular players in the team. It seemed obvious to the agency to associate this man with the product.

Fabien Barthez became the spokesman for the Mega Mac which carried the fortunes of McDonalds.

It remained only to put in motion a creative strategy worthy of this great name.

The concept was to play on the head of Barthez and the famous kiss.

Media plan

The media chosen for the period 3-20 September were:

• one TV spot of 30' reducing to 15'
• a 4x3 poster campaign
• point of sale advertising at McDonalds

Results of the campaign

Quantitative :

Greater turnover, more profit and more sales than predicted.

255 Mega Mac sold per 1000 transaction, 49% more than in February 97

Increased turnover and profit for McDonalds restaurants of +4.1% and +344% respectively compared to the first launch in 97.

Qualitative :

A creative campaign which people noticed and talked about.

An attribution score of 79% was the best Ipsos score of 1998 in all sectors.

The success of the campaign in publicizing Mega Mac led to a new campaign centered on Barthez being developed in March 99 (a film called 'Shaving')

The Barthez magic worked

The Mega Mac campaign is proof that endorsement of a product by a World Cup star, if it is creative and innovative (the first brand to use one) is a safe bet for effectiveness.

ZAP from Yoplait: How to stir up a fermented market

This document contains information from an article from the CB News No. 543, 26^th October 1998, with the kind permission of Christian Blachas and Emmanuelle Fradet. It is completed with information provided by the agency in its presentation dossier.

With the flavored yogurt market losing its momentum, Yoplait zaps the end of the family meal with its new yogurt, which can be eaten without a spoon, and therefore away from the table.

Who? Yoplait

What? To become brand leader in the standard flavored yogurt market.

How? The launch of Zap, the first yogurt in a sachet

With what? TV and poster advertising campaign

With whom? McCann Erickson (advertising) and Logic Design (packaging)

How much? FFr16 million gross on advertising

Result? +12.7% in Yoplaits turnover on the flavored yogurt market in one year.

1.    Objective: To be market leader of flavored yogurts

On this supermarket aisle there is hustle and bustle According to studies, 95% of hyper-market customers go to this aisle every visit (1) and not just to look, as 80% leave with at least one product in their trolley. Chilled desserts, a sector with FFr23 billion in turnover in 1996 represents a very dynamic market with a year on year growth rate of 5.3% in comparison to 1995.

An interesting sector, as new products are frequently being launched onto the market. But there is one problem: yogurt, the biggest segment of dairy products in France, with a turnover of FFr8.8 billion in 1996, sales were sliding. Or to be more exact, the flavored yogurts, which represented 11.9% of the yogurt markets sales. In fact sales were in free fall, down 10% compared to 1995. 'However flavored yogurts remain the second market segment of fresh dairy products', explains Hlne Roux, Product Manager for Zap from Yoplait. 'Unfortunately retailers own brands continue to increase their market influence and the major brands, Yoplaits Fructos, Danones Kid and Nestls Yoco only compete during promotions, robbing the market of any exciting competition'. As a direct consequence, investment in advertising is stagnant, increasing across all brands in 1996 to FFr19.4 million gross

Flavored yogurts, 75% of which are purchased by households with children, were gradually losing interest. This was as much the case for consumers as for retailers. Although bought mainly for children 50% of flavored yogurts are consumed by adults. The major brands have tried as well as can be expected to give more punch to the sector. Danone introduced a 'creative' version of Kid, with an accompanying small dish containing chunks of fruit or cereal; Fructos repositioned itself as the only yogurt flavored with fruit juice; Senoble joined forces with Haribo to launch the strawberry flavored yogurt Tagada In short, each one tried to differentiate itself from the others on the market.

In vain: the market remained stable, with no increase in the number of consumers and the brands retained their positions, only making an impact on the competition during price promotions. In 1997 the flavored yogurt market collapsed even more, only just reaching 21 000 tons and turnover of FFr960 million (-8.7% in volume and

6.7% in value)

The time had come for existential questions: Stay or go? Not an easy decision as Yoplait did have a good market share, as was the case for the three major brands (2). Yoplaits Fructos accounted for 28.8% of the market in terms of volume in 1996, whilst Danones Kid had 18.7% and Nestls Yoco 21.5% (respectively 28%, 20.1% and 21.6% in financial terms).

'We therefore had no choice if we wanted to remain in the market than to create market value by trying, once and for all to become market leaders', continues Hlne Roux.

2.    Resources: FFr16 million to kill off the little spoon

With a clear aim in mind, it only remained to find a solution. Having completed some studies, two strong tendencies in French society leapt out at Yoplait: the increasing amount of snacking and the explosion of the mobile phone market. Nothing to do with yogurt? 'Wrong' comments Jacques Hervouet, Commercial Director at McCann Erickson.

'In fact this indicated the presence of a McDonalds generation, ready to break free from eating traditions'. 'We then only had to create a new product which would correspond with these tendencies towards snacking and being on the move', continues Hlne Roux.

'This all came back to adding value in two ways: habit and pleasure', continues Renaud Degon, Director of Strategic Planning at McCann Erickson. So with added value, the price per kilo of the product would rise and so there would be an increase in turnover

Snacking and being on the move: the two main sales features of the product were established. Yoplait had experience in this area already, having launched the Petits Filous with straws on the petit-suisse sector (that were now called Petits Filous Tubs), and in the yogurt drinks segment, they had launched Yop. These products were aimed at different target groups, with the former for small children and the latter for adults. As for the 'medium' sized (aged between 7 and 12), they found themselves 'orphans' in the yogurt world.

Not for long - as Yoplait decided to launch a product aimed at them. The aim: a yogurt, not to drink, but to swallow, greedily, without a spoon. The yogurt sachet weighing 90g (compared to 125g for a pot) is born.

'We originally envisaged launching under the brand name Pocket Fructos so that we could capitalize on our brand. But this posed a problem: we risked reducing the added value of this new product. To fully optimize the novelty, we decided to create a new brand: Zap', explains Hlne Roux. Zap as in to zap, of course Price per kilo: FFr22 compared with an average of FFr6 for standard flavored yogurts.

September 1997: Zap appeared on the shelves for the first time. The launch of this yogurt in a sachet attracted major retailers. The availability in shops grew steadily and in December 1997 Zap was available in 60% of large retailers, which account for 74% of total retail turnover (3). In short, the time had come to launch the advertising campaign.

A double objective: image and volume

• To create a new category in the mind of the consumer: yogurts without spoons
• To encourage people to try it

McCann Erickson performed studies to decide on which tactic to take. 'Two discoveries came out of our meetings with consumers: firstly that mothers can no longer manage to keep children at the table. So fairly often children skip the end of the meal and mothers feel guilty that they havent given their child enough milk', continues Renaud Degon. 'Now we had a product which would allow children to consume a dessert elsewhere and provides what mothers feel is most lacking in their childrens diets: milk', explained J. Hervouet.

Deciding against an evidential campaign (a film showing children eating Zap outside), McCann Erickson suggested the idea of symbolically showing the arrival of the sachet yoghurt on the market with a fact: the death of the spoon (the spoon is yesterdays news).

'The choice of media was self-evident: television to demonstrate the product and posters because, of course, it is an outdoor product', concludes Renaud Degon.

Zap appeared on the TV screens on the 16^th January 1998, with two clips of 30 and 20 seconds directed by Pascal Chaumeil (production: Quad). The defunct little spoon, which is thrown out the window, plays the star part.

From 21^st January 1998 the billboards displayed, along with the fossils of the yogurt spoon, two slogans which left nothing in any doubt: 'No future' and 'End of the reign' (165 showings of 30 and 20 second clips; 6236 boards, in pairs, in all towns with over 50 000 inhabitants). Total budget: FFr10.6 million for television and FFr5.4 million for the outdoor campaign (4).

3.    Results: +12.7% in Yoplaits turnover on the market

'No other advertising campaign took place. We had planned a series of promotional events in stores, but they were not needed. Sales escalated from the appearance of the advertising to such an extent that we didnt need to use any other techniques', comments Hlne Roux.

On the shelves, Zaps arrival did not go unnoticed. Without doubt because McCanns advertising had been seen, by children as well as by mothers. The post-tests prove it (5). The recognition rates for the TV ads (interviewees claiming to have seen the campaign) were 78% amongst children and 52% amongst mums (average for children 81% and 46% for mothers). And those who had seen the clips didnt forget them: 54% of children and 30% of mothers remembered one or more details of the clip (average 35% for children and 15% for women).

It was the same story for the poster campaign: 54% of children and 23% of mums were able to recollect details (average 35% for children and 15% for mothers).

'We are all the more proud because this campaign did not resort to using the methods for reaching children, with neither comic book characters, nor cartoons', continues J. Hervouet. 'All the more proud because the appearance of the advertising campaign coincided with soaring sales (from 10 tons per day during the first week of January 1997 to 86 tons at the time of the outdoor campaign). And this development did not suffer a downturn, as in June 1998, sales were still at 74 tonnes per day' Had the launch of the sachet yogurt revitalized the flavored yogurt sales? too early to tell. The fact remains that Zap seems to be a real success (6). The new brand from Yoplait had gained a presence in the shops very quickly.

Available in 83% of French hyper-markets and supermarkets in August 1998 (accounting for 90% of total retail turnover), Zap alone holds 3% of the flavored yogurt market in terms of volume but when taking into account its price per kilo, in terms of value it holds 8.1%'. There was no noticeable cannibalization of Yop or the Petits Filous Tubs', concludes H. Roux. Final result: Zap made Yoplait market leaders on the flavored yogurt shelves (6). By the end of August 1998, taking into account all their brands, Yoplait held 37.5% of the flavored yogurt market in volume terms and 41.2% in terms of value, compared with 28.9% and 28.5% in 1997.

At the same time, Danone retained 22.8% of volume and 24% of value (compared with 20.8% and 23.8%). And Nestl pulled out of the market. So Zap re-launched its campaign with repeats in September 1998 for FFr9 million gross.

TV Scores

	Ave.	Children	Ave.	Women
Total score	77	85	38	38
Specific score	35	54	15	30
Proved score	44	56	21	34
Recognition	81	78	46	52

Poster Scores

	Ave.	Children	Ave.	Women
Specific Score	35	54	15	23

1. Marketing Book, Secodip, 1997
2. Nielsen, Annual accumulation 1997
3. Nielsen, December 1997
4. Secodip
5. Post test Ipsos TV and posters (752 people, groundwork 5^th and 13^th February 1998)
6. Nielsen with annual accumulation end August 1998 

Adidas:::Urban Art Guide

BRAND OWNER:Adidas Group

CATEGORY:Accessories/ Clothing/ Footwear

REGION:Germany

DATE:May 2009 - Dec 2008

MEDIA CHANNEL

Adidas has a strong association with street art and graffiti, with the brand having been inspired by the New York hip-hop and graffiti subculture in the 1980s. It wanted to pay homage to this heritage with a smartphone application.

Adidas came up with the Adidas Urban Art Guide to Berlin – an iPhone travel guide that lists Berlin’s best graffiti. Users download the application for free or visitwww.urbanartguide.de. The guide gives them access to a Google map of Berlin that is marked out with the locations of street art. The map can be navigated by a number of ways. Users can either “find artworks nearby”, take a tour of the city with “Tour Guide” or browse the cities art in a “gallery”. Users can click on each marked location to view images as well as information about the piece, the artist and further references. The application allows for users to comment and rate the art as well as upload their own pictures of the art which updates on the map.

Berlin is currently the only city on the Urban Art Guide's map, but plans are underway to develop similar guides for other cities

Gerber Graduates – Wobbly World

Category: Packaged Food

Brand: Gerber Graduates

Client: Gerber

Primary Agency: Draftfcb

Media Agency: MindShare

Contributing Agency: Zipatoni

STRATEGIC CHALLENGE

Keep Mom in the Baby Aisle

In addition to three stages of baby food, Gerber had launched various toddler foods by 1990. In 2006, although Gerber was experiencing a year-over-year growth rate of 15% with their toddler foods, they knew they could get much more share of stomach in the toddler category. At that time, 90% of competitive share came from table foods, and a small bit from an increasing number of direct competitors. A true toddler category of foods had yet to be created. We saw this as their golden opportunity.

Moms were loyal to the Gerber developmental stages of feeding – to a point. Penetration of 1^st stage foods was 60%, but by 3^rd stage foods, penetration dropped to 36%. Mothers of toddlers feel pressured to prepare healthy meals for their child. By aligning their toddler's eating with the rest of the family, mom was reaching a developmental milestone and leaving the baby aisle behind. We had to find a compelling way to keep mom in the aisle and better transition her to toddler foods before we lost her forever (Source: Client data 2006).

OBJECTIVES

Our campaign strategy involved two clear objectives:

• Clearly establish toddler food as a category and Graduates as a brand

• Recognize toddlerhood as a distinct chapter in mom/child's life and connect the Graduates brand to that experience.

CREATE A CATEGORY

Not another Stage of Babyfood, a New Phase for Mom and Baby

Up until this time, Gerber had treated toddler foods as an extension of their baby food line, both in how they branded the products and how they communicated. After doing a store audit of Mass, Grocery, Drug and Natural retailers, we quickly assessed that a specific “Toddler Section” did not exist in the store. Also, there was inconsistency across channels in the way products were displayed. Products themselves were a blend of toddler and baby food, eg. with toddler food in baby jars and 3 rd stage foods and Graduates grouped together on-shelf and online. The branding architecture was loosely held together under the Graduates and Gerber logos, but hierarchy was not clear.

Within what was considered toddler foods, multiple branding architectures for products existed: Fruit Splashers, Mini Fruits, Pasta Pickups and Li'l Entrees all competed for consumer recognition of a discrete line of toddler food. Our first recommend was to simplify the branding architecture on individual lines to help better establish a toddler brand: Graduates from Gerber.

Relevance, Relevance, Relevance

Most importantly, toddler food and baby food were also advertised jointly. Even the classic Gerber line, “Shouldn't your baby be a Gerber baby?” was merely adapted for toddler, “Shouldn't your toddler still be a Gerber baby?” Gerber's infant campaign, though moderately successful for infant, scored much lower perceptually and attitudinally for toddler moms.

Our challenge was to develop a brand that would connect and really resonate with Moms of Toddlers to establish and grow a category of Toddler Food. Specifically, we would be deemed successful if we:

• Expanded Gerber's compassionate brand image into the toddler age range and solidified an awareness of Graduates as a “brand for me,” and a product “made by a company that understands my needs and my toddler's needs.”

• Increased cross-segment usage gaining a foothold as a viable meal and snack option for toddlers

• Increased our penetration of dinners for 9–24 months households

THE BIG IDEA

“Graduates from Gerber: Steady nutrition for a wobbly world”

Client Leverageable Truth: Nutritional Evangelists

The Agency fielded a custom brand health study and found that Gerber remains one of the most loved and trusted brands in the United States amongst the general population, outscoring Coca Cola, Levi's, Nike or even Starbucks. With this iconic status comes responsibility and the permission to think BIG THOUGHTS. For Gerber, that goal is “To cut childhood obesity in half in the next 5 years.” Kurt Schmidt CEO, Gerber

“Start Healthy, Stay Healthy” is their unifying mission statement. Stakeholder interviews revealed this mission to be more than packaged goods puffery. From knowing where each veggie comes from, promoting 5-a-day fruits and vegetables, offering organic options before the market demanded it, or initiating the largest study ever done on the nutritional state of infants and toddlers, Gerber is a company with an unwavering commitment to the health and wellness of infants and toddlers.

Advertising had been used to educate moms on the developmental needs of infants (and toddlers) and the safety measures inherent in feeding their delicate systems. But copy testing revealed these educational messages were not as relevant or resonant to Moms as they entered the toddler phase.

Knowing nutrition would absolutely be central to our brand promise, we sought to better understand mom's perspective on life and on nutrition.

Consumer Relevance: Toddler Tornado Transforming Two Lives

After reviewing secondary literature sources on the developmental traits of baby and toddler, we focused our discovery process on understanding the difference between life with baby vs. life with toddler from mom's lens. What was different? When did it change? Where did food fit into the equation?

A series of ethnographies and friendship playgroups with a mix of first-time and experienced, working and stay-at-home moms (and their toddlers) revealed that life with a toddler is a totally different world than that with a baby. Moms were somewhat blown away, after a year of quiet cuddling, to suddenly find herself engulfed by what can only be described as the Toddler Tornado. Predictable becomes unpredictable and order becomes chaos. Everyday becomes a new adventure - cluttered, loud, and on the move - and moms develop a new set of needs, attitudes and compromises to get them through it, especially when it comes to feeding.

Unlike the impressionable stage of baby, it was evident that by toddlerhood, moms were feeling more confident or at least more ingenious as mothers. As a baby grows stronger and becomes more independent, moms also begin to be more pragmatic. They can think beyond just what is best for baby, and can factor in what's important to her (the mom) as well.

Learning this, in communications we would never preach to her, but absolutely embrace her ingenuity and support her on the ride that is the Toddler Tornado. A shift from the infant approach, this story was as much about her as it was about the child.

Competitive Opportunity: Convenience without Compromise

To determine what might be the competitive opportunity, we conducted Pediatric interviews, web searches, store visits, and more peeking in moms' cupboards and freezers. This revealed that unlike baby food, there is no roadmap to toddler feeding and no clear “toddler brand”. Table food is the unwashed “competitor” with the addition of more specific toddler-appropriate products like Cheerios trying to carve out this space. Although moms are eager to get their child onto table food, they aren't sure as to what toddlers should eat, how much, how often, or the most important question – why aren't they eating?!

Moms aspire to a perfectly nutritious toddler diet, using healthy, fresh ingredients, abiding by Food Pyramid and instituting the family dinner. But we found that most moms were compromising in the face of realities. Busy lives combined with an ever-changing toddler mind, means that moms take a broad view on their approach to nutrition. Food is only nutritious if you can get your child to eat it. They allow themselves the compromise, and in some cases that compromise had become a slippery slope... Based on Gerber's proprietary research, French Fries had become the #1 vegetable in a toddler's diet.

The ownable opportunity space is to offer moms foods that are both convenient, nutritious and developmentally appropriate: traits Gerber Graduates can offer. Our communications would not try to compete with her desire to offer table food, but supplement her efforts (offer a tool) when things don't go to plan.

BRINGING THE IDEA TO LIFE

The organizing idea that drove 360 communications: “Graduates from Gerber: Steady nutrition for a wobbly world.”

As important as this idea was to the integrated marketing process, so to was the brand personality that acknowledged both Mom and child: “A brand that embraces the rambunctious world of toddlerhood and celebrates Mom's ingenuity through it all!”

Seeking to represent the authenticity of real moms, creatives visited the front lines of toddlerhood and simply radio-ed back what they were seeing. They reveled in the chaos and depicted truly heroic stories of moms steadfast in battle. The campaign came to life through the idea of “mom interrupted”.

TV was a series of product testimonials from moms in the midst of the wobbly world. Of course, they're too busy to give a full testimonial, so they're interrupted seconds into these quick :15 spots. Just enough time to state the problem and hail the solution. Casting was careful to have women/men/toddlers that were relatable – not perfect moms/parents, but women who were doing the best they could and laughing their way through it. The campaign was planned to surprise mom everywhere along her media routine.

Print was a snapshot of the television and placed in environments where moms were actively seeking information on how to navigate the new challenges she was facing in the wobbly world.

Probably the most poignant depiction of the organizing idea was done on the web, where Creatives built a site section called the “Toddler Takeover”. Gerber.com/toddlers was designed to convey the new and chaotic world of toddlerhood and position Gerber Graduates as an essential tool in mom's arsenal. The website provided her objective tips/tricks, in-depth content and interactivity to connect with and involve moms.

The Agency also created two new mailers for moms of toddlers ages 14–15 and 16–19 months. Each mailer included proprietary content that provided nutritional information to help moms with practical and healthy feeding solutions appropriate for the rambunctious world of toddlerhood. The articles were short and easy to read since we knew these moms don't have a lot of time. The creative vision for these mailers was that they should be “the instruction booklet that didn't come with your kids.”

Communications Touch Points

Reach: $5–10 million

Total Media Expenditure: National

RESULTS

The Wobbly World campaign met or exceeded all of the quantitative goals previously outlined.

We increased cross-segment usage from a pre-campaign level of 53% to achieve our goal of 54%.

The campaign increased penetration of dinners for 9–24 months households by +4pts, or 21%, and snacks did even better. Penetration for those products increased +3pts or 27%.

Finally, we exceeded our goals on two key brand measures.

Gerber Brand Awareness

Anything Else Going on that might have Helped Drive Results?

Retail Marketing embraced the idea as well, redesigning the packaging to increase the prominence of the Graduates branding. The design decreased the Gerber Baby iconography and diminished product sub-brands to provide greater clarity and prominence of Graduates. FSIs (with coupons) were developed to provide purchase incentives for moms to try Graduates. Once in-store “Steady nutrition for a wobbly world” floor graphics and shelf danglers were used to call out the key products featured in the advertising.

The Wobbly World results were independent of a Heavy Up TV spend test, which indicated an additional 2.2% lift can be garnered across the entire portfolio and a 13.7% lift can be achieved on featured products (Minis, Tub Meals, Lil' Entrees) (Source: Client data 2006).