Case Studies on Kelloggs and Nestle Products

------------------------------------------------- Kellogg’s Special K® – Setting the (Cereal) Bar Higher Once upon a time, the cereal category was simple, but over the last decade, food manufacturers have created a host of innovative new entrants to the category – and no brand has done it better than the Kellogg Company with their Special K line. In 2006, BusinessWeek. com writer and marketing pundit, David Kiley, predicted that “Kellogg will run up against what every ambitious consumer marketer eventually faces: a case of brand extension greed. ” But four years later, that prediction hasn’t materialized.

Kellogg has sustained healthy success, generating nearly $13 billion in 2009 sales, by continuing to introduce low calorie cereal and snack options. Most of the products in the Special K line build on the famous “Special K diet” and provide versatile weight management solutions that are marketed toward a largely female consumer segment. Special K has even crossed aisles to energy/performance foods and frozen meals. But the two most recent launches, Special K Low-Fat Granola Cereal and Special K Fruit Crisps, seek to continue the trend of cereal category dominance.

For the new launch, Special K used a heavy dose of social media outreach. In addition to leveraging a huge Facebook fan base of over 34,000, free samples of the Fruit Crispswere provided to ‘mommy bloggers’ to create awareness, generate buzz, promote product trial and engage consumers. They also posted coupons for Facebook fans to try the new product. In addition, during January, the all important New Year’s Resolution month, Kellogg reached out to thousands of Special K lovers and brand advocates, and positioned the Low-Fat Granola Cereal as a New Year’s resolution tip on their Web site and Facebook page.

Complementing the social media strategy, Kellogg issued a press release (New Year, New Food: Kellogg® Introduces Two New Ways to Recharge Your Resolution With Special K®), followed by television commercials. The Kellogg Company seems to find creative ways to align their brand with the lifestyles and everyday challenges of their target customers. The Victory Projectincludes a Web site tracking the journey of 12 women in three U. S. cities who shared the common goal of losing weight before one of the biggest moments in their lives, such as 29 year-old Rebecca’s fitness test for her police exam.

The Victory Project Web site offers tools, tips, articles, discussions, and video profiles of these women succeeding at implementing a new, healthy lifestyle. There’s no question that Kellogg has set the cereal bar higher by establishing new products at regular intervals under the Special K weight management brand. Now, they have created a new innovation with the flatter and flakier Fruit Crisps. It will be interesting to track the success of these ‘newbies’ in Kellogg’s arsenal of products: Will the Fruit Crisps cannibalize existing cereal bar sales?

Will the low fat granola do likewise? More importantly, how long can Kellogg’s Special K brand continue to grow before competitors steal market share or the category becomes saturated? I guess we’ll just wait and see while we watch our weight with Special K. ------------------------------------------------- KELLOGG'S SPECIAL K SETS WOMEN UP WITH VIRTUAL DIET BUDDY * by: Melita Kuburas * December 23, 2009 ShareThis Fitness centres may be empty now, but they will be packed come January - the indoor air thick with earnestness of weight-loss resolutions (and, hopefully, sweat).

According to an Ipsos Reid survey for Kellogg's Special K cereal, 56% of women aged 25 to 49 resolve to lose weight. However, four in 10 don't make it past the first week, and just 11% attend to their goals all year long. To help these Canadians stay on track with their health and fitness goals all year long, MSN. ca and Kellogg's have luanched the "Victory Project," a year-long campaign - with media by Starcom MediaVest Group - to promote the health benefits of Special K, and the health and wellness content on MSN. ca.

Kellogg's AOR is Leo Burnett. The campaign revolves around an MSN-built microsite based on the insights of the Ipsos survey, which found that women felt they could achieve their goals more successfully if they had encouragement. The site is meant to serve as a full-on lifestyle guide for women, providing them with advice on fashion, fitness, nutrition and beauty, starting mid-January. It will also feature a discussion board where visitors can share their weight-loss management stories and find a buddy with whom to vent about triumphs and obstacles.

The site is being cross-promoted with MSN's Better Body Guide site, which will contain "Victory Project" content and drive traffic to the Kellogg's site (and vice versa). Other media elements to the campaign include keyword search and a television campaign that launched this weekend. "The whole idea is for [consumers] to bring out the best in each other, help each other through the tough times and celebrate each other's victories," says Johanne Trudeau, director, nutrition marketing, Kellogg Canada. Special K has always positioned itself as a woman's "ally" in helping achieve and maintain weight-management goals, Trudeau says.

But women don't often know where to start or how to stick to a plan, which is where the virtual realm comes in, she explains. The "Victory Project" also has downloadable meal plans available on SpecialK. ca. The Kellogg survey, conducted this fall with 2,714 adults, shows that 76% of women agree a meal plan would help them stay committed to their diets. "Whether it's a virtual diet buddy or your best friend, working alongside someone on resolutions can help keep you both motivated and make the journey more fun," says Trudeau.

The campaign will run through 2010. Speical K - Market Penetration Strategy Kellogs Special K advertising has taken a radical turn, moving away attacking head on with competitors and 'stealing' market share, but trying to expand the market by targeting women who skip breakfast to stay slim. The bold new marketing strategy is a powerful step for Kelloggs which also helps to position the brand as a healthy alternative. When choosing how to advertise Special K, marketers had two options.

They could try to increase trial of the product in order to 'steal' market share & support the ads with a pricing 'pull strategy' (discounting) which tends to be a very short term strategy with short term results. Instead they tried the more difficult direction, expand the market and attract new customers with no existing brand loyalty. This has the potential to form longer lasting and more profitable relationships. The ads also brand the company as a healthy alternative. The additional benefit of the advertising is the positioning of the product as the 'healthy' alternative.

Many breakfast cereals are undermined because of sugar content concerns (amongst other ingredients). Special K are differentiating in the same way Wheat Bix did when they referenced "9 out of 10 nutritionist recommend Wheat Bix", moving into the growing market of health conscious consumers. Do not make this look like the one and only way to advertise your cereal, there are pitfalls and risks along the way. The ad needs to convert enough consumers to the brand to pay off the production and airing costs, there is every chance that the breakfast skipping segment is either too small or constrained by other reasons (e. lac of disposable income) to be able to make a purchase. Josh Strawczynski's Opinion: I think it is clever and worth a shot at doing, I think the creatives they designed were good and the message was clear. This being said, there is a lot of negative comments being posted on blogs and forums and realize that I am not representative of everyone. Kelloggs need to be careful not to build up negative brand equity, annoying people with your ads is worse than keeping you ad budget in the bank. Sam Berringer's Opinion: My only comment on this matter is targeted at the forum banter that thinks this study was made up:

Skipping breakfast has more implications than just mid-morning hunger pains. A new review, published in the Nutrition Bulletin verified that people who eat cereal for breakfast regularly tend to have a lower body mass index (BMI) and are less likely to be overweight than those who do not eat cereal for breakfast regularly. Read more: https://www. ciims. net/2008/11/speical-k-market-penetration-strategy. html #ixzz0zlL29UOi KELLOGG'S SPECIAL K RED BALL KELLOGG SALES & MARKETING CO. (UK) LTD Sector Foods Objectives Loyalty Techniques Self Liquidating Promotion Agency BLUE CHIP MARKETING INTERNATIONAL LTD

Back Background * Special K is one of Kellogg's power brands with a target audience of AB shape conscious women aged 20-44. * Following consumer research the brand was shifting its position from 'health & beauty' to 'shape management'. * As the most high profile brand within its sector it is premium priced and has many competitors offering health credentials at a lower cost. Objectives * To reinforce the 'shape management' positioning and credentials for the brand * To offer added value to consumers via a powerful SLP offer. * To drive sales in the face of strong price competition.

Strategy * To target current and lapsed Special K consumers within the shape conscious ABC1 20-44 year old female age group. * To identify the latest trend in shape management to hit the UK before it became mainstream, seize the territory and claim ownership for Special K. * To develop a related shape-management premium offer that would deliver real value to consumers. Summary * To target current and lapsed Special K consumers within the shape conscious ABC1 20-44 year old female age group. * To identify the latest trend in shape management to hit the UK before it became mainstream, seize he territory and claim ownership for Special K. * To develop a related shape-management premium offer that would deliver real value to consumers. Elements * Development of premium. * Lucy Knight contract. * Video production. * TV advertising. * Press advertising. * Design. * Print. * Posters. * POS. * Purchase of premiums. * Handling * Promotional website. * Fitness demonstrations. * In-store competitions. * E-mail campaign. Techniques * Cause Related * Free Mechanics 1. PREMIUM * The offer was available in the UK and ROI. * Each promotional pack carried one Exercise Ball & Video token and an application form. Consumers submitting two of these tokens and a cheque for ? 9. 99 (17. 80 Euro for ROI) received the premium within 28 days. * A cancellation facility allowed consumers to return the items within 7 days of receipt and claim a full refund. * The pack and instructions carried safety warnings relating to the unsuitability of the premium for people with certain medical conditions and for children under the age of 36 months. * The pack also warned that the premium should not be used as a flotation aid. Materials * Design. * Print. * Promotional packs. * Posters. * Exercise Balls and pumps. * Videos. Instruction leaflets. * POS. Results * Exercise balls became THE fitness trend of 2003 and are now standard in gyms and fitness clubs across the UK. * Over 100,000 consumer applications were received equating to a 1. 25% response (3 times the industry average). * 18,000 consumers participated in demonstrations and competitions in-store. * The campaign delivered high value with a premium worth ? 25 available for only ? 9. 99 + 2 tokens. * Time sales of Special K increased by over 1% during the promotional period. * In-store promotion delivered a sales uplift of 29% week on week. Nesquik

Nestle NesQuik and Rare Medium Find Brand MarketingSuccess In Mini-Site Strategy; NesQuik... Nestle NesQuik and Rare Medium (NASDAQ:RRRR) have developed an online strategy that successfully markets the NesQuik brand by providing value-added, brand-specific content to popular, childrens' Web sites. The strategy involves the development of the portable NesQuik mini-site, which features games, puzzles and other interactive attractions designed to appeal to young audiences. Instead of residing at its own Web site, the mini-site is customized and exported to serve as an integrated addition to an established high-traffic site such as Disney. om. With the famous NesQuik Bunny featured in the mini-site's games, puzzles, printable coloring pages and screensavers, NesQuik is able to promote its brand on premier host sites, while the hosts benefit from the addition of new, compelling and interactive content that appeals to their target audience. The strategy has clearly paid off for NesQuik, the host sites and the sites' visitors. Click rates on the NesQuik mini-site have been five times higher than the national average. "We are very pleased with the results of this mini-site," said Robert Albritton, marketing associate for the NesQuik brand. It provides a perfect medium for us to go to where our consumers are and have them interact with the brand and the Bunny. " The mini-site concept grew out of NesQuik's desire for a cost-efficient online strategy that would enhance its brand marketing efforts without requiring the resources involved in developing and managing its own high-performance site. The brand turned to Rare Medium, a leading provider of end-to-end Internet services that works with a number of other Nestle brands, to help define and implement its marketing strategy.

Building on its existing relationship with Nestle and its expertise in developing and implementing Internet solutions, Rare Medium helped identify premier sites that could serve as hosts and ensure technical coordination between the mini-site and the host sites. "NesQuik was searching for a less resource-intensive strategy that would still allow them to reach out to their target audience online," said Jon Yokogawa, vice president of marketing and media for Rare Medium. Building on the NesQuik vision, we jointly developed a solution that is working well for NesQuik, the host sites and the kids who clearly enjoy the fun activities that the mini-site provides. " The mini-site remains with a single host site for several months, giving regular visitors to the site an opportunity to fully enjoy the NesQuik offering. The mini-site is then retooled to include new creative elements and moved to another host site, with the games and puzzles customized to fit the new environment. The NesQuik mini-site will remain on the Disney. com site until November 6th. About Rare Medium Group, Inc.

Rare Medium invests in next generation Internet companies and provides end-to-end Internet Services. Rare Medium incubates, finances and manages private companies and also makes strategic investments in independently managed companies that it believes possess superior Internet-focused business models. Rare Medium's Internet Services include development and authoring of business plans and strategies; strategic, creative and technological consulting for Web initiatives; on-line brand development and management; development of content for broadband and wireless applications; and launch of on-line commerce trading exchanges.

Rare Medium leverages its Internet Services expertise to increase the overall success of the companies in its investment portfolio. Rare Medium employs over 1100 people in more than 20 locations worldwide. For more information, visit https://www. raremedium. com. Except for historical matters contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that may affect Rare Medium Group Inc. , and its subsidiaries' business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ are Rare Medium's limited operating history; competition; low barriers to entry; reliance on strategic relationships; rapid technological changes; inability to complete transactions on favorable terms and those risks discussed in the company's filings with the SEC.

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