food

Johnsonville Sausage Intros 'Ville' Campaign

Johnsonville Johnsonville Sausage's new campaign represents a shift -- from a product- to brand-driven strategy and the company's first foray into social media.

The campaign is dubbed "___ville" because all of its variations play off filling in a word in front of the "ville" that ties into social moments in which people can enjoy Johnsonville Sausage.

Two of the first print ads, for instance, show kids engaged in summertime fun and use the headlines "Summerville" and "Vacationville." All of the ads feature the social scenes and the first half of the headline on their left sides, and a photo of Johnsonville sausage and the "ville" part of the headline on their right sides.

The campaign is intended to "elevate our brand awareness by connecting with consumers in a more emotional way" and build awareness of the full range of the brand's products, says Mark O'Brien, director of marketing and general manager for the company's fresh business unit.

advertisement

advertisement

Johnsonville is the sales leader in all sausage categories, per Nielsen data, according to O'Brien -- but brats are its largest product line, and many consumers associate the brand mostly with brats and grilling sausages. "We want consumers to understand that sausage is the only thing we make, and that we make sausages ranging from fresh brats, Italians and breakfast sausages to smoked, ready-to-eat varieties," he says.

"With competitors in the category stuck in sameness -- flavor-centered creative with gratuitous 'bite and smile' shots -- we needed to change the category conversation," added Chris Jacobs, SVP/executive creative director for Cramer-Krasselt/Milwaukee, Johnsonville's agency of record and creators of the campaign. "We did so by capturing the simple pleasures people savor and making it about their experience and emotional connection to this iconic brand."

Kicking off for the grilling season, the campaign will extend through the fall/winter tailgating season. Two TV spots began airing on Monday on networks, including HGTV, WGN, Soapnet, TNT and USA. Six different print ads will appear in magazines such as Good Housekeeping, Everyday With Rachael Ray, Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone.

Out-of-home executions will be strategically placed to define a specific moment, including "Tailgateville" in and around stadium parking lots, "Bleacherville" outside of Wrigley Field in Chicago, "Tastyville" near grocery stores, "Vacationville" on highways from major metropolises to popular vacation destinations, and "Summerville" near beach spots and outdoor summer festivals.

In addition, Johnsonville is working with C-K on a redesigned Web site and incorporating the "___ville" campaign in all of its in-store executions and on its truck fleet. Media continues to be handled by Minneapolis-based Campbell-Mithun.

The main Johnsonville.com site and a dedicated site, createyourownville.com, are featuring a contest that encourages sausage fans to create their own "___ville" versions for the chance to win $10,000. Site users who vote on the entries are eligible for a contest offering grilling prizes.

Finally, the company is using the new campaign as a springboard for creating a presence on a variety of social media, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious and Reddit. Ryan Pociask, Johnsonville brand manager of fresh business, is working with C-K, L.A.-based Matrix and Tech by Design on the creative and technology for the social media/user-generated content efforts.

Next story loading loading..