Kraft Foods Group is kicking off 2013 by announcing more than 40 new products. This marks the first comprehensive product launch announcement since Kraft became an independent public company in October. Kraft has grouped the innovations (some of which were introduced into stores in late 2012) into general areas of focus reflecting the desires of today’s consumers: Bold flavors; flexible eating patterns; simpler product recipes; and customization. “We're seeing an all-out quest for fun, passion and adventure in food and beverages as people embrace a multitude of global and regional flavors,” says Barry Calpino, VP, breakthrough innovation for Kraft. “Culinary experimentation is ‘in,’ so everyone wants the flexibility to customize their food.” “As culinary trends continue to evolve, one constant is a desire for even more choices,” adds associate director of culinary Robin Ross. “Some consumers find a healthy balance with less complex ingredient lines important, while others want bold or ethnically inspired taste experiences. Young people are especially adventurous and food-savvy. “ Launches featuring bold flavors include a Miracle Whip Dipping Sauces line (in Smokin' Bacon Ranch, Kickin' Onion Blossom and Sassy Sweet Tomato flavors); Spicy Jalapeno Philadelphia Cream Cheese; two new flavors of Philadelphia Indulgence Spreads (Cinnamon and Dulce de Leche Caramel); new flavors of Kraft and Polly-O String Cheese (Cracked Black Pepper, Italian Style Pizzeria and Sweet BBQ); a Cherry Chocolate flavor of Planters NUT-rition Peanut Butter; new flavors of A.1. Dry Rubs and A.1. Marinade (Chipotle BBQ, Tomato & Chili Pepper, Cracked Peppercorn); a new Zesty Lime Vinaigrette flavor of Kraft Anything Dressings; and new Jalapeno and Bacon flavors of Oscar Mayer Bologna. Launches focused on offering flexible meal choices include an Oscar Mayer Carving Board Pulled Meats line; Velveeta Cheesy Casseroles in Chili Cornbread, Chicken Pot Pie and Shepherd’s Pie varieties; new flavors of Velveeta Cheesy Skillets Dinner Kits (Jambalaya, Chicken Parmesan and Ultimate Cheeseburger Mac with 2% Milk Cheese); and Kraft Fresh Take cheese/breadcrumb mixes in Smokey Mesquite BBQ, Spicy Chipotle Cheddar and Classic Four Cheese flavors. Launches offering simpler product recipes/ingredients include a new Chicken Breast Franks flavor (no artificial preservatives) within the Oscar Mayer Selects line. Launches focused on customization include a new Cherry Blackberry flavor of MiO; six new flavors of Crystal Light Liquid (Mango Passionfruit, Strawberry Lemonade, Blueberry Raspberry, Iced Tea, Peach Bellini and Pomtini); Tim Hortons coffee in T Discs (including decaf and latte); a Cool Whip Frosting line; Jet-Puffed Mallow Bites product extensions (fruit-flavored, ice cream-cone-shaped and brownie-bite mini-marshmallows); and three new varieties of Planters NUT-rition Sustaining Energy Mix (Honey-Roasted Peanuts, Crunchy Honey Soy Clusters with Soy Protein, and Wholesome Roasted Almonds).
Michael Stanton, president and CEO of the Association of Global Automakers (rebranded as Global Automakers) took the podium at last week's meeting of the International Motor Press Association in New York to talk about the view from Washington, DC. The organization is the Washington voice for around 13 import-brand automakers, making up about 40% of the market here. It's worth noting that today about 50% of what these automakers -- including Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Hyundai -- sell in the U.S. is also assembled here, part of a strategy to avoid the vicissitudes of the global exchange rate. Stanton talked about the statistical and political side of fuel efficiency and emission targets set by this and former administrations. Actually, noted Stanton, it was Republican President Gerald Ford who established CAFE the '73, and that CAFE and MPG are directly proportional. And in 2008, under the aegis of famed EPA administrator Carol Browner, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, California Air Resources Board and environmental groups like the Union of Concerned Scientists hashed out an aggressive emissions and MPG standard to be extended to the entire country. Phase One of the new standards stipulates 34.1 mpg for 2016 model-year vehicles; Phase Two: 60 mpg by 2025. That program includes an exit ramp for automakers in around 2016 pursuant to a "mid-term review" where automakers would not be held to the fuel-economy standards if they demonstrated to agencies that there was no way they could achieve them, per Stanton. "If it turned out to be too high an expectation, it would be adjusted down," said Stanton, adding that while there is uncertainty with regard to the technology mix going forward, "Some would have you think that every vehicle by 2025 will be a hybrid or some variation, but most of us think the internal combustion engines (ICE) will be the predominant technology for reaching with these standards," he added. By then, he said, internal 88.3% of market versus 95.3% will be ICE. Stanton pointed out that today, while over 60 advanced tech vehicles are on the market, nearly 75% of those are hybrids, and all of alternatives comprise 3.4% of total U.S. sales, though by 2015 45 more hybrid vehicles will be available, and even now 14% of Toyota sales are now hybrid. From the consumer perspective, the challenge is about regulatory and economic. "If we can’t make them competitive they won't sell." That also means there has to be a benefit to owning, which is demonstrated by sales in the two biggest areas for these vehicles where such vehicles can take the HOV fast lane, a point made by at least one automaker in TV ads. On the political side Section 177 of the Clean Air Act lets states adopt California's 90% zero-emission standards by 2020, a goal that can be met by either electric or fuel cell vehicle, with a very small number plug-in hybrids. Stanton said that by 2025, some 1.5 million vehicles on the road will have to be zero-emission. That may be an infrastructure problem electrics pose for every state, but especially ones that don't have plans or the kind of head-start California has. "The Section 177 issue bothers me because nine other states have adopted California's standards, but what are they going to do for infrastructure?" And climates are harsher in some of them, and EV's perform worse in very cold and hot weather." He also went into legislation around texting while driving, using a sign on a church to make his point. "Honk if you love Jesus, text if you want to meet him."
DirecTV says its programming fees will rise sharply -- by nearly 10% this year. In that regard, it will be raising prices to consumers to help defray these costs.In a message to its customers, the satellite TV program distributor says retail prices will climb 4.5% starting in February. DirecTV big package "Premier" will now carry a $124.99-a-month price tag. Its now named "Ultimate" package is $77.99; "Xtra" is $70.99; and "Choice" is $64.99.There will be increases in pay TV, such as HBO, which will have a $2.00 hike. Some regional sports network fees will also climb $2.00, as well as higher monthly rates for its receiver/DVR equipment.DirecTV says: "Each year the owners of television channels increase the programming fees they charge to DirecTV for the right to broadcast their movies, shows and sporting events to you. As a result, DirecTV must periodically adjust the pricing and channel lineups of our programming packages so we can continue to deliver these channels to you."Both DirecTV and Dish Network have been involved in a number of contractual stalemates with major programmers recently resulting in temporary and long-term channel blackouts for consumers.DirecTV competitor Dish Network will also see its retail prices climb starting next month -- from around 10% to 20%, with many monthly programming packages rising $5 per month.
If you made the switch from print books to e-books this year, you’re not alone. The proportion of Americans 16 and older who read e-books increased to 23% from 16% in 2012, according to new data from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. At the same time, the share of those reading print books in the 12 months ending in November fell to 67% from 72%. Fueling the rise of the e-book reading population is a growing number of tablet and e-reading device owners -- to a third of Americans from 18% a year ago. A quarter of these owned an iPad, Kindle Fire or other tablet -- up from 10% a year ago -- while 19% had an e-reader, also up from 10% last year. Those figures don’t include the millions who received a new iPad mini, Galaxy Tab, Kindle or Nook this week as a Christmas gift. E-book readers in general tend to be between 30 and 49, better-educated and more affluent than average. Earlier this month, IDC raised its forecast for global tablet shipments this year to 122 million from 117 million, based on strong demand for the smaller new Apple tablet and surging sales of Android devices. But it expects that increase to come at the expense of dedicated e-readers, whose shipments will fall to 20 million units from 28 million in 2011. Whether using a multipurpose tablet or e-reader, however, more people are curling up with a good e-book. “These data show that the process of book reading is shifting,” said Lee Rainie, director of Pew’s Internet & American Life Project. The rise of e-reading devices has major implications that are affecting the publishing industry and eventually could affect the way knowledge is packaged and the way ideas are spread.” Still, a New York Times article this week noted that the e-book market is not growing quite as fast as forecast. An analyst with Simba Information told the newspaper that at any given time, about a third of e-book users haven’t bought a single title in the last 12 months. That may be because they haven’t gotten to e-books already downloaded. Wider adoption of e-books has also affected libraries. The share of recent library users who have borrowed an e-book from a library rose from 3% to 5% this year. The increase partly reflects more people being aware that they can take out e-books from libraries, with that proportion increasing to 31% from 24%. The overall number of book readers in 2012 was 75% of the population, ages 16 and older, which Pew said was a statistically insignificant decline from 78% in late 2011. The latest figures are from a survey conducted from Oct. 15 to Nov. 10 among a sample of 2,252 Americans. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.
There’s a stilted, “Twilight Zone”-ish vibe to the opening of this commercial, as if the viewer somehow broke through the time/space continuum to find herself watching TV in Poland. We hear Middle-Eastern music suggesting a mystery, as a kid (six to seven years old or so?) zips through a curtain, holding a soccer ball. He looks around, and then, bug-eyed and open-mouthed, says “Meeshi?” For the futbol-uninitiated, he’s referring to Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi, a huge Argentine soccer star who plays for La Liga club FC Barcelona and Argentina’s national team. OK, so far, so weird. Argentina and Spain are in the house! Messi starts signing the kid’s ball, but the little guy’s focus is soon diverted by another man who seems desperate for the boy’s’ attention. “Hey, kid!” this person shouts. Why, it’s L.A. Lakers’ All-Star Guard Kobe Bryant! And the camera pulls back to reveal that all of this is happening on an aircraft with a first-class section the size of St. Louis. Kobe sits right up front -- where, after executing a crackerjack fingerspin with the basketball, he switches to showing off his impressive soccer footy skills. (It helps that he has an acre or so of footroom with which to keep the ball afloat.) For reasons not explained, but could be kind of creepy, both men start crazily vying for the kid’s attention. Kobe builds a house of cards (hmm, what would Freud say about this?). Messi follows with a much more elaborate one -- his boasts a windmill. Kobe follows up with a yellow balloon dog, but all the air goes out of it (paging Dr. Freud again) when Messi’s balloon dog again tops his. Forget about the frantic competition. Ultimately, the boy’s head is turned by the flight attendant, who asks if he wants ice cream. She’s a normal-enough-looking person, but unfortunately, her lines have been overdubbed in “English” by a possessed robot. The kid ends up enjoying his elaborate foodie dessert plate, decorated with two balls of ice cream and a strawberry wedge. There’s something of a perverse exegesis on manhood here, what with all the ball handling, lots of balls in the air, air going out of Kobe’s balloon, etc., as these grown men attempt to attract an acolyte. I’ll leave that for another time. Because through a musical tag line and logo, we discover who has brought us all this somewhat-innocent mirth: “We are Turkish Air Lines. We Are Globally Yours.” And in that context -- Turkey is not known as an advertising powerhouse -- the spot comes off as kind of whimsical and sweet. (If any commercial with Kobe Bryant can be sweet.) It’s a postmodern joke on hero worship: now our sports gods have to be self-deprecating. For example, contrast this kid-spot with the “Mean Joe Green” Coke commercial of 1979, which reverses the roles. One of the most beloved of all time, (and the only commercial ever to serve as the basis of a made-for-TV movie) it showed the grumpy athlete limping into the locker room, being pursued by a kid who while getting rejected, manages to give his wounded warrior-idol his bottle of Coke. Mean Joe swigs the whole thing down in one gulp, as part of the longest glug-glug-glug heroic upward bottle shot in history. Cut to the “have a Coke and a smile” jingle. All that sweetened, caramel-colored liquid has its effect: Joe throws his sweaty jersey to the kid. The spot proved so successful that it was remade all over the world with each country’s biggest local sport star. Meanwhile, it seems that Kobe, the Lakers all-star, desperate for a little admiration only to get negged by the little one, actually signed on as a “Global Ambasssador” with the state-run Turkish Air Lines in 2010. The deal caused a huge brouhaha among Armenian-Americans, including the tweetin’ Kardashians, who want Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian genocide of 1915, and threatened a boycott. (You can’t make this stuff up.) It seems Turkish Air Lines is at times the Rodney Dangerfield of air transport. Its sponsorship of the British Manchester United soccer league was also roundly mocked in Britain, where local sports journalists wondered why the league would so lower itself for this deal. But in the end, whatever massive fortune was shelled out for Messi and Kobe in this spot (if not for the English dubbing) seems to be worth it. Respect must be paid: So far it has garnered over 100 million views on YouTube. That’s right. That’s the power of sports heroes -- no matter what they’re doing, to cross borders and cultures, if not the space/time continuum. Advertising is a psychological house of cards, you see, and now Istanbul is on the map.
The New Year, 2013, approaches. And as everyone knows, the number 13 holds great symbolism. For the religious among us there were the 13 guests at the Last Supper and the 13 tribes of Israel. Scientists know the universe is governed by 13 fundamental constants of physics, and the relationship between the volume of the Earth and the sun is 1310. For shoppers there’s added value of 13 items comprising a “baker’s dozen.” Anthropologists study the 13 skies of the Aztecs. But for marketers and brand managers who want to look beyond the horizon, we have identified 13 critical trends for 2013:1. The expectation economyOver the past decade, customer expectations have increased on average by 28%. But brands in all categories overall have kept up by only 8%, which anyone at the checkout counter can tell you is an awfully big gap between what brands offer and what customers desire. Accurate measures of real, often hidden, expectations provide significant advantages to brands that understand their value and point to how to delight customers.2. Me-tailThe consumers’ heightened awareness of their actual control, added to the commoditization of brands and products, equals a significant segment of consumers craving customized and personalized products and services (see success of Pinterest). Customization will become an even more important brand differentiator, with returns-on-investments of loyalty and profitability made to order for your brand.3. (E)tail everywhereAlong with consumer expectations, online retailing increases daily. But increases in brand equity, and usage among online retailers, will come with consumers’ desire to be constantly connected to these brands. Brands will have to watch for online retail pop-up stores, like Amazon, and physical kiosks for brands like Groupon, and think in terms of broader access.4. Siri-ously soonVoice assistance -- or more accurately, voice assistants -- will become more the rule than the exception. Such applications will be designed and incorporated into more devices to meet consumers’ increasing expectations for immediate and customized support in all forms of outreach.5. The known and the brandedReal brands will become rarer. Examples of brands that delight consumers have become the yardstick to evaluate all products and services. While we may still call them brands, consumers think of them as category placeholders: stuff that doesn’t stand for anything. Understanding what will turn consumers into fans will provide a foundation for meaningful differentiation.6. Storytelling talesBrands that seek differentiation and wish to establish emotional connections that produce consumer engagement will need to get better at storytelling. Understanding where the gaps exist between emotional aspects of the brand’s category ideal and how the brand is seen by consumers, can provide opportunities to identify unique stories, histories and tales that will differentiate, entertain, and engage.7. It’s not going to get any easier being greenProducing, selling, and shopping based on environmentally “green” production and design, fair-trade and socially conscious consumption are on the rise. But given ease of consumer outreach and their ability to pull back the brand curtain, watch for significant increases in total sustainability and corporate responsibility in the consumers’ decision process.8. Social susceptibilityWatch for greater influences of engagement and purchase habits via friends and social networks. Brands will have to factor in the reality that peer-to-peer communications come in three varieties: good, bad, and bland. This makes companies more susceptible to consumer indifference, their conversations and social interactions. Already brands are watching the “de-friending,” or worse -- negative news or outright bad evaluations about the brand. The brands that make it here will know the "how" of this consumer-controlled space.9. Mobile screen testsMobile devices will become mainstream testing retailers on those screens. Brands must prepare to accommodate this trend, as consumers will rely more upon screens to engage with brands and guide purchase decisions. Brands will need to create carefully targeted campaigns for this platform and provide screen-friendly promotional materials and retail sites.10. App savantsConsumers will take greater advantage of applications. But this year those typically small, specialized programs downloaded into mobile devices will move beyond games, GPS, and media, to more personalized applications that monitor, remind, suggest, learn, and know their users’ profiles and preferences. Brands will need to make greater use of such emotional and intimate connections.11. Facebook is a givenWith brand ubiquity on the largest social network, recognition will be the least of a brand’s concerns. The question is not “should I be on Facebook,” but has now become “what should I do on Facebook?” Brands will have to graduate from posting pictures, collecting friends, and/or offering coupons. But doing so will depend on the category in which the brand competes and where social networks make themselves strategically felt in the category. 12. Saturation levelingIt’s no secret that there are more products and services using more platforms and outreach streams with the marketplace dangerously close to saturation with marketing messaging. But just because it's different doesn't mean it's differentiating. Brands will have to plan and research engaging pre-launch activities if they wish to level the playing field and earn a high engagement-to-effort return on their investments.13. Engagement empowersNon-engaged customers are a brand's most vulnerable assets. Period. Marketers need to engage all along the journey, from engaging platforms, programs, messages, or experiences. Brands must keep their eye on the prize when using any of these engagement methods, however. It's all about meeting the ultimate goal of increasing brand engagement.By the way, the number 13 is also considered by some to be unlucky. And we agree, but only those brands that ignore these trends will face direct consequences to the success or failure of branding, engagement, and marketing efforts in 2013.
As is my wont in the lead-up to Christmas, I was getting into the spirit by watching "The Elephant Man" and contemplating just how horrible we can be to each other. There's a key scene in the film where the titular John Merrick announces, "I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being!" It's this declaration that got me thinking about how us marketing types tend think of people. We like to put people into buckets so we can think about more of them at the same time, and one of the biggest buckets we use is "consumer." It's our way of describing any sentient individual based on the only aspect of their existence that we're remotely concerned with and I think it's time we let it go. As with most things in marketing, there are strong moral reasons for making this change, but it also makes sense from a business perspective. While on the surface, "consumer" seems an innocuous way of referring to something that's not a "business," like many evils, its damage is slow, insidious and subtle. Words - pregnant with meaning The language we use in everyday life has power attached to it; words are pregnant with meaning and history, and have an agenda independent of their speaker. By calling the people that buy our goods and services "consumers," we're referring to them by the basest representation of how they sustain us, as if they're an indiscriminate mass that lives only to absorb what we push out. But not only do we do a disservice to our customers when we refer to them as "consumers," we rob ourselves of the opportunity to maximize our meaningful engagement with them. How can you engage with someone who you define purely by their capacity to consume stuff? As someone who looks at the digi-web-o-tubes all day, most of what I see is product marketing people who obviously have one, catch-all term for the people that turn up to interact with them. I'd even go so far as to say it's one of the biggest reasons why people don't buy as much from us as they might. Ironically enough, people are "better consumers" when they're treated like anything but. This is because it's nobody's purpose to consume. People don't get up in the morning with an insatiable desire to acquire indiscriminately. Consuming is a means to an end. We buy things because we believe they will help us be the person that we want to be. Even if I'm only buying a hamburger, it's because in five minutes' time, I want to be the guy eating a hamburger, or the guy who's not hungry, or the guy whose girlfriend is impressed with the size of the hamburger I can eat. Not buyers, but beings By focusing not on what someone wants to buy, but on who they want to be, we can create a more powerful bond with customers. We are transformed from vendors into partners -- sometimes even trusted partners. But this dedication to working with the people who sustain us can't be an afterthought or an additional consideration; it must be baked into our core offering. We don't have to do it out of a sense of benevolence -- although I'd like to think we could -- but because happy people are good customers (unless you're selling antidepressants). And strangely enough, people are most happy when they are given the opportunity or the help to be who they want to be. Anyone who sells anything can help a customer be someone else, even if he just wants to be the guy with no rats in his house. But you don't get to that stage by assuming that the best way to define your audience is by its capacity to consume your product. I don't expect that this little piece will change much in the way that marketers refer to their audience, but then I don't think it has to. Companies that truly understand who their customers are trying to become, and put that consideration before shilling their wares, will shortly put everyone else out of business. People don't want to consume -- they want to be. So maybe we should just stop calling them by a name that demeans their role and recognize them for what they are. They're not elephants. They're not consumers. They're human beings.