For Kraft Foods' snack brands,
winning the pre-game means winning the game -- marketing-, engagement- and sales-wise.
That's why the brands' overall 2011 Super Bowl game plan is actually more a pre-game plan. This year,
as in 2010, Kraft is forgoing game ads in favor of ramping up social media and other activities leading up to the big day -- culminating in a marketing blitz, including multiple ad spots, during the
Fox pre-game programming.
"As part of our strategy to step up our investment in our power brands, we're looking for new ways to engage with our consumers and really change the conversation,"
says Dana Anderson, SVP, marketing strategy and communications for Kraft Foods. "What better venue to do this than the Super Bowl? During the pre-game, we have a unique opportunity to connect with
people as they're preparing their menus for the big game."
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But pre-game isn't the whole nine yards. Employing social media to make real-time connections with consumers during the game, as well
as before and after, is another critical strategic element, Anderson stresses.
Here's the play-by-play for the brands:
- The Ritz and Nabisco cracker brands have multiple elements
featuring celebrity chef Guy Fieri. Fieri was also featured in the brands' pre-game promotions last year, preparing Ritz recipes on the pre-game show set.
This year, he'll
do on-set recipes again, but he is also featured in a new TV spot that broke in mid-January and in spots airing during the pre-game. (The spots show Fieri bringing "love" to tailgate parties, in the
form of recipes using Ritz.) "With the fun and bold recipes we've created with Guy, we're giving football fans and foodies alike a new way to make Ritz part of their celebration," says Ritz senior
brand manager Sheeba Philip.
In addition, digital advertising and in-store displays and recipe booklets were used to support a Ritz Facebook page promotion offering the chance to win $20,000
and a meal with Fieri at one of his restaurants in Northern California. This traffic-enhancer has helped drive more than 100,000 fans to upload Ritz recipes featured on the Facebook page, according to
Kraft.
- To build buzz leading up to the game, Planters previewed its new TV spot -- featuring the now-speaking Mr. Peanut (voiced by a "well-known actor") and a new
character, Alejandro the Almond -- on YouTube. That spot will have its broadcast debut during the pre-game show.
"After recently speaking for the first time, Mr. Peanut felt
it was important to say something special during one of his -- and America's -- favorite days of the year, the Super Bowl," says Planters director Jason Levine.
What's the Alejandro connection?
On Bowl Sunday, Planters will be promoting its flavored almonds on Mr. Peanut's Facebook page via a coupon give-away for free almonds to 25,000 fans.
- Chips Ahoy! also
previewed a new TV spot -- the brand's first from agency Mcgarrybowen -- on social media, and will air it during the pre-game show. The campaign features life moments "Crammed with Joy," with Chips
Ahoy! enhancing the fun. This first new spot in a series shows a friendly football game with a twist: a bag of Chips Ahoy! is used in place of a ball. One stylistic element: A scene is shown frozen in
time, with the camera panning across it and a voiceover building a sense of drama until live action kicks in.
The Super Bowl is "a perfect fit for Chips Ahoy!, which is all
about bringing families together for joyful moments of fun," notes senior brand manager Janda Lukin.
- The Wheat Thins and Hall's candy brands already had TV spots that were
good fits for the Super Bowl, and will be airing these during the pre-game show.
Wheat Thins' is a football-themed spot from its popular "Twittervention" campaign (which
has already drawn 40,000+ views on the brand's YouTube channel).
Kraft media planning and strategy agency Mediavest was instrumental in developing the pregame plan.
