• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, December 6, 2024

It’s not easy cranking out positive, entertaining CPG marketing at a moment when the consumer landscape is clouded with more than the usual amount of negativity. That’s why Gail Hollander, chief marketing officer of the J.M. Smucker Co., is focusing on finding moments of light by going beneath the surface, using research to pinpoint cultural passion points for a brand portfolio that includes peanut butter, coffee, snacks and pet foods. She tells CPG Insider what she expects those moments of light to look like in the coming year.

 Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

CPG Insider: Many CPG companies are struggling. Yet sales of Smucker brands are up, with Uncrustables, Meow Mix, Café Bustelo, and Jif posting better-than-expected growth. How does marketing play into that?

Gail Hollander: We keep looking for new ways to engage with consumers, using culture as a lever. We’re always trying to go below the surface with positive and entertaining ads. Things are hard for everybody right now, and we have a responsibility to entertain them.

CPG Insider: Almost all marketing only works on the surface. People feel bombarded by too much communication. What makes people let a brand get closer?

Hollander: Traditionally, advertising has always been about a human truth and a brand truth. You have to know the heart of your brand, and you have to understand consumers. You can create iconic brands through that lens, but they are going to get tired. If you're saying the same thing over and over and just occasionally changing the colors, people ignore you. Being able to plug into culture allows you to maintain relevance and resonance. That creates a sense of modernity and helps our brands punch above their weight.

CPG Insider: What’s a favorite recent example?

Hollander: We just did an ad for Milk Bone called “Howl You Know.” It doesn’t look like an ad but like a movie trailer for a rom-com and ran in cinemas. We knew Milk Bone consumers love movies, so we thought this approach would work. We were right. The ad generated engagement scores 2000% above benchmark.

CPG Insider: How did you know?

Hollander: Our research told us that Milk Bone audiences love movies. We reasoned they also like trailers since that’s part of the movie experience. We can identify areas we consider growth audiences, where there’s an affinity for the category and our brands, and scale that. That’s the kind of insight that allows you to understand people’s passion points, as well as the attitudinal principles that are important to them. Then, you can decide if that fits with your brand. In this case, it did.

CPG Insider: Got another example?

Hollander: Meow Mix. Meow Mix is about music -- and the fact that we understand cats. We were launching a wet brand of cat food just as there was a big resurgence of boy bands. We worked with JC Chavez of NSYNC and developed our Tabby Five Meow Mix execution for our wet product. That line is doing really well.

CPG Insider: People love dancing cats.

Hollander: Everybody's busy. Life is chaotic. The world is sort of a scary place. It's our job not to make it harder. It's to bring levity and put a smile on people's faces. It's our job to put positivity out there -- that’s what gets below the surface. So, we stay very connected to culture and try and help our consumers.

CPG Insider: One aspect of the recent election that surprised many people is how upset voters are about food prices. Are you changing the way you talk about value?

Hollander: We try to communicate value through actions more than anything. Our portfolio provides brands at different price points, and within each brand, there are value options -- like single-serve packs at Hostess, for example. We’re very mindful of that.

CPG Insider: Most marketers seem optimistic about business next year, but WARC reported only 34% anticipate an increase in their budget. What are you expecting?

Hollander: We’re still figuring out our next fiscal year's budgets, so I don't have hard numbers for you. But we believe very strongly in the power of brand building. And as a result, our working media budgets have gone up year over year. I have no reason to suspect that that's going to change. Those investments are focused on innovation and fueling our growth brands. We’re always looking to drive short-term volume and long-term brand health.

CPG Insider: Any significant channel shifts ahead?

Hollander: We’re about 90% in digital. We’re in cinema and increasingly in audio, with podcasts.