Archer Meat
Snacks is rolling out “Stick to Real,” its first national brand campaign, a comical push that pokes fun at pretentious foodies
while extolling clean ingredients. It breaks at a moment of peak protein obsession. Andrew Thomas, vice president of marketing, tells CPG Insider how he hopes the work can close a
brand-awareness gap and make the challenger feel bigger than it is, while skipping the preachy “better-for-you” cliches.
This interview has been edited for length and
clarity.
CPG Insider: What problem were you trying to solve with this campaign?
Andrew Thomas: We’ve been growing fast, with a 90% year-over-year growth rate, far outpacing the category’s 5.8%.
We’ve done really well in places like Costco. We are the fifth-largest meat snack brand in the country, yet our brand awareness ranks 11th. We were doing a good job selling our products,
but people didn't necessarily know what brand they were buying. And there was a lot we didn’t know. So we dug into segmentation studies, which showed us what consumers care about most right now
are real ingredients.
We needed a new brand positioning. We settled on real ingredients for real people living real lives.
CPG Insider: They buy you and don’t know it?
Thomas: Yes. It’s a good reminder to marketers that humans are terrible at
self-reporting. They’re bad at predictions, so “how likely are you to buy” questions are misleading. Marketers need to take it with a grain of salt.
CPG Insider:
We’re in a confusing “Make America Healthy Moment.” How accurate is the average American at defining “real” food?
Thomas: I just saw a
poll that said 75% of Americans report that their diet is at least somewhat healthy. Three out of four people say that they read labels. And it’s driven by social media, which can be a blessing
and a curse. Some people get stuck in their echo chambers, but others are learning about things like seed oils and inflammation.
I don’t think people really understand what healthy is.
But it is helpful they’re taking their health and nutrition into their own hands and realizing there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution.
It’s helpful for brands to be
transparent about what's in their product and communicate about ingredients, without getting too ideological or preachy about it. You risk a lot of social media chatter if you do. That’s why we
worked with Demonstrate to create a campaign with a wacky sense of humor.
CPG Insider: Yes, your big blue bull makes a nice
contrast to the overly earnest protein messaging out there now.
Thomas: We don’t want to come across as if we are taking ourselves too seriously, or that we know better
than anyone else. That sense of humor and that kind of lightness, we’re hoping to make it approachable and accessible.
The zeitgeist right now is after a combination of protein, but also
unprocessed ingredients you can pronounce. Take protein bars, which are a massive category and super-convenient. But consumers are looking at the ingredients and going, "Hmm, this is full of processed
stuff." They’re saying, "Give me food that looks like it came from a real animal or real plant."
Those are the people we’re talking to, especially those with kids, who are always
looking for a healthier, convenient food that their kids will actually like.
CPG Insider: So what are the big bets in this media plan?
Thomas: Hulu is a
big component. It has a reality programming slate called "Get Real," which couldn’t have been more fortuitous for us. Beyond that, we’re making a
large investment in youth sports in the L.A. area, our home base. We bought an Airstream trailer that we’re taking out to large soccer tournaments, which typically sell some pretty unhealthy
snacks, like churros and kettle corn. So we’re handing out samples and giving away branded items, like misting fans and seat cushions -- the kinds of things that will actually help parents.
The campaign also includes out-of-home placements, digital media, influencer content, and digital ads on Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Google and Instacart.
CPG Insider: You’ve worked at interesting companies, including Soylent, Chicken of the Sea and PepsiCo. Some lessons?
Thomas: At Soylent, a liquid meal product, I learned that even when people say they want to drink, they want to eat. Eating is a very emotional part of people’s lives. At
PepsiCo, I learned that big companies often choose marketing buys because they can measure them -- even when there are better, if less easily measured, alternatives. Things like out-of-home brand
activations and experiential stuff get overlooked. That thinking can "blandify" a whole campaign.
It’s also another example of how terrible we are at forecasting, even with our Excel
spreadsheets and media modeling.