Commentary

Reframing a Brand: Expanding Without Alienating

by Nina Lentini , Staff Writer, August 19, 2019

The Challenge

Snacks like chips are in 90% of U.S. households. But snacks like beef jerky are in only half of them. Jack Link's needed to get the other half to see the brand as a relevant snack low in sugar and calories and high in protein. And, among those already eating it, the brand wanted to increase the incidence rates.

As CMO Tom Dixon put it, "We had low household penetration and low buy rates but otherwise, it was perfect." It needed to reframe the category as protein snacking and to expand not only the eating occasions but also the audience that consumed beef jerky.

The Execution

Jack Link's converted the product into bars that people could carry in their workout bags to the gym. It focused on just such occasions, including being at home watching TV, needing a late snack at work, indulging with no guilt. With its media partner, it expanded the outdoor occasions to take in not just the "hooks and bullets" male audience but hikers and bikers as well.
The company is using everything from programmatic out of home to geofencing mobile, down to the granular level of conversion. It's diversifying its media buying up and down the funnel, including gas station TV. Dixon called it "a little bit of a leap of faith" and leading to its need to get more surgical.
It kept the Sasquatch character because it "helps us punch above our weight." New videos show new types of consumers and occasions using digital and social to bring the campaign to life.
The Results

Awareness is up 10%.
Unaided awareness is up 6%.
Household penetration is up 2 points.
Web traffic is up 62%.
Sales are up 5%.