Oreo

This is Teara Joy's post on Oreo, which she was having trouble getting onto the blog:

An example of Oreo controlling the information we see:
Title: How the Cookie Crumbled.
Authors: Ebenkamp, Becky
Source: Brandweek; 8/23/2004, Vol. 45 Issue 30, p18-18, 3/4p, 1 chart



How the Cookie Crumbled


“Insights into what consumers are thinking, how they're acting and why
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: During a recent junk food jihad, consumer peer-to-peer networks spread nutritional news online rather than experts, according to a report by research/planning agency BuzzMetrics.
Before a consumer advocacy group filed a lawsuit against Kraft over its use of unhealthy trans fats in Oreos last summer, Web surfers linked the cookies with topics like recipes, purchasing, product feedback and dieting. Following the action, chewing the fat about trans fats became the topic du jour, the New York agency observed.
About 90% of Web messages mentioning Oreo referenced trans fats or the lawsuit, while Kraft's name was dropped in 30% of these conversations. Also known as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, these fats have been linked with lowering "good" cholesterol and increasing "bad" cholesterol, and are associated with artery clogging, diabetes and other health problems.
The lawsuit lobbed discussions once relegated to nutritional-expert circles into the consumer realm. Before the Oreos case, 82% of these conversations were held in dedicated nutrition, fitness and health groups, while only 11% occurred in forums for consumers. After the suit, mainstream forums such as those dedicated to wedding planning, home management and teen communities hosted over 30% of these discussions, while health forums accounted for about 50%. Nearly 40% of the top 100 Google search results for "trans fats and oreo" were consumer blogs, personal home pages and newsgroups. Top media sites accounted for only 20%.
"The spike was driven by this interest of the mainstream consumer, and that change is something that lasted for months and months after the suit," said BuzzMetrics' president/CEO Jonathan Carson, who analyzed more than 2.6 million comments from 120,000 consumers.
Interestingly, only 6% of postings about the lawsuit were positive--the overwhelming majority found it frivolous--but the chatter brought widespread awareness to the issue. By 2006, all food labels will contain trans fat information; individual companies have also been quick to stick "No trans fats" bursts on packaging.
And all because consumers were quick to blurt it through the grapevine. "I think the food companies were sort of blindsided by this issue," Carson said. "If they knew it was coming they could have been proactive and in control rather than take a beating from consumers."

PERCENTAGE OF TRANS FAT DISCUSSIONS THAT MENTION...
FOOD BRANS

Oreo 26%
Doritos 16%
Crisco 16%
Skippy 8%
Cheetos 8%
Jif 7%
Peter Pan 6%
Tostitos 3%

COMPANIES

Kraft/Nabisco 17%
McDonald's 8%
Frito-Lay 1%”







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Title: Lick the Screen: How to Sell an Oreo.
Authors: Stanol, Tony1
Source: Brandweek; 5/3/2004, Vol. 45 Issue 18, p22-22, 1p, 1bw

Here is some details of the Oreo “Twist” campaign, mentions targeting ids

“We were running advertising for Oreo cookies in the U.S. called the "Twist, Lick and Dunk" campaign featuring the popular ritual of how to eat an Oreo cookie: twist apart the wafers, lick the inside crème, reassemble the cookie, dunk it in milk and eat it. In truth, less than half of all consumers actually eat Oreos like this. But it was a great way to get the viewer involved with the product in a way unique to sandwich cookies, of which Oreo is far-and-away the market leader.
The campaign worked extremely well in the U.S. and the agency was able to pool out the idea with a father teaching his son, a grandfather teaching his granddaughter, and even a boy teaching a dog. Oreo became the No. 1 cookie in the U.S.

After going market-to-market convincing managers on the merits of marketing Oreos, we next needed to confront the question of which advertising to use. Some markets, like China, had built a nice Oreo business advertising just to kids, thank you very much. Others had local campaigns they were reluctant to lose. Some countries didn't want to use a U.S. campaign simply because it originated here. Fair enough. A lot of local ego--from both client and agency--was involved.
But eventually we managed to get nearly everyone to run a version of the "Twist" campaign through a combination of old-fashioned arm-twisting, copy testing and demonstrating its proven success in other markets. The process built on itself as more countries came into the fold. And it worked. Oreo became the No. 1 cookie in the world.”
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I just thought this was funny:
Title: Licker Or Biter? Of Cookies, That Is.
Authors: Applebaum, Michael
Source: Brandweek; 3/1/2004, Vol. 45 Issue 9, p34-34, 1/4p

Licker Or Biter? Of Cookies, That Is



Reading between the lines of business, politics and culture
• 61% of Oreo "lickers" actually scrape off the cream filling with their teeth; two thirds of those use their top teeth
• 80% of "biters" take between 2-3 chomps to finish off the cookie
• Only 6% of "dunkers" discard their beverage after dunking; most drink it
• Regular milk is by far the beverage of choice for dunkers (87%), followed by coffee or tea (9%) and chocolate milk (4%)
• Most twisters pull clockwise
Source: Kraft Foods poll by Harris Interactive
Biters 45%
Dunkers 20%
Twisters 22%
Lickers 10%

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An example of advertising branching out:


Title: Package foods focus efforts on eating out.
Authors: THOMPSON, STEPHANIE
Macarthur, Kate
Source: Advertising Age; 8/12/2002, Vol. 73 Issue 32, p4-25, 2p, 2c

“Abstract: This article discusses the marketing efforts of packaged food companies in the U.S. in August 2002. Some marketing efforts of food companies are usually aimed at getting consumers to reach for their products at the grocery store. But many are now using advertisements to get consumers to reach for their products when someone else is cooking the meal. H. J. Heinz Co. recently launched a consumer advertisement effort on behalf of its food-service division to entreat people to insist on Heinz ketchup in restaurants. On the other hand, Kraft Foods has garnered attention for its Kraft salad dressing brand in a current Burger King print campaign and for its Oreo brand in upcoming television spots for Dairy Queen. According to Lauri Kien Kotcher, partner of McKinsey & Co., most manufacturers have not taken food service quite as seriously as the more traditional retail space, but food-service dollars are growing faster than retail and will be more than half of total food expenditures. Moreover, Kotcher addressed a group of food service manufacturer chief executive officers at a Grocery Manufacturers Association meeting, offering advice on how to make their brands into away-from-home outlets. Furthermore, Heinz launched a television, print and outdoor effort from Ten/United in summer 2002, showing the disappointment of restaurant customers if they are not given Heinz Ketchup.”

“Food companies' marketing efforts are usually aimed at getting consumers to reach for their products at the grocery store. But many are now using ads to get consumers to reach for their products when someone else is cooking the meal.
H.J. Heinz Co. recently launched a first-ever consumer ad effort on behalf of its food-service division to entreat people to "insist on Heinz" ketchup in restaurants. And Kraft Foods has garnered attention for its Kraft salad dressing brand in a current Burger King print campaign and for its Oreo brand in upcoming TV spots for Dairy Queen.”


“The co-branded advertising waged from quick-service restaurants on behalf of Kraft brands-from Burger King for its new Chicken Caesar Salad and 30-second spots in September for a new Peanut Butter Oreo Double Delight Blizzard at Dairy Queen-is not necessarily ground-breaking, as such initiatives have been developed before. But, according to Judy Karner, director of marketing services for Kraft Food Service, "There is greater receptivity now from food-service operators to brand our products in their restaurants," in part, she said, because of studies that show 48% of consumers feel brands enhance the quality image of a restaurant.”
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More kids, Event sponsoring, Advertising

Title: Kraft eschews TV for pop star promo.
Authors: THOMPSON, STEPHANIE
Source: Advertising Age; 8/12/2002, Vol. 73 Issue 32, p11-11, 3/5p, 1c


“Abstract: This article reports on the plan of Kraft Foods to sponsor pop star Aaron Carter's concert tour as part of its back-to-school advertising campaign in the U.S. in 2002. Kraft will not use TV advertising to tout its back-to-school effort, instead allocating its budget to the tour. The company will feature an instant-win Be a Pop Star game on 65 million packages across 10 product lines including Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Kraft Singles, Oreos, Cheese Nips and Ritz crackers. Additionally, consumers can win one of 10,000 Karaoke machines. In-store lobby displays will feature the school bus Kraft used to merchandise its Nabisco biscuit products, enhanced with Carter's image. Other displays featuring the combined portfolio of Kraft and Nabisco brands throughout the store will feature life-sized cutouts of the star. The display will also feature tear pad coupons for $1 off school supplies, a tactic that was popular with both moms and retailers. Print ads will feature all the participating brands and tout the Be a Pop Star promotion in such kid-targeted publications as Disney Adventure from Walt Disney Co., SI for Kids from Time Inc. and Nickelodeon from Viacom. The effort will also be touted with an Internet site, where the company will feature music-related entertainment and information.”

Kraft Foods will make music the centerpiece of its annual multi-brand back-to-school effort, eschewing its longtime association with Nickelodeon to sponsor tween pop star Aaron Carter's summer tour.
Although Kraft continues its tie to Nickelodeon, and plans to announce a large-scale 2003 event with the kids' property this fall, the food behemoth wanted to diversify its back-to-school effort and tap into kids' obsession with music and the desire to be famous.”


“Kraft Foods will make music the centerpiece of its annual multi-brand back-to-school effort, eschewing its longtime association with Nickelodeon to sponsor tween pop star Aaron Carter's summer tour.
Although Kraft continues its tie to Nickelodeon, and plans to announce a large-scale 2003 event with the kids' property this fall, the food behemoth wanted to diversify its back-to-school effort and tap into kids' obsession with music and the desire to be famous.”

“Kraft will feature an instant-win "Be a Pop Star" game-offering five grand-prize trips to Los Angeles to meet Aaron Carter and make a demo CD-on 65 million packages across 10 product lines including Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Kraft Singles, Oreos, Cheese Nips, Post cereals and Ritz crackers. Additionally, consumers can win one of 10,000 Karaoke machines. In-store lobby displays will feature the school bus Kraft used successfully last year to merchandise its Nabisco biscuit products, enhanced this year with Aaron Carter's image.”
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NBC cuts another deal


Title: NBC cuts deal for fall line-up with Baskin Robbins.
Authors: FRIEDMAN, WAYNE
Source: Advertising Age; 7/22/2002, Vol. 73 Issue 29, p4-39, 2p, 1c


“Abstract: This article reports on the integrated-marketing deal signed by NBC, to help its 2002 fall season premiere, with ice cream restaurant chain Baskin-Robbins, which will develop ice cream flavors for NBC shows. Ice cream flavors include Fear Factor Sundae and Will & Grace's Rocky Road of Romance, among others. Baskin-Robbins will run TV commercials for the promotion on cable networks. Additionally, the company will run a print campaign in Entertainment Weekly, as well as adorning its stores with signage for NBC shows. NBC will also run promos. In return, Baskin-Robbins will get to align itself with NBC, the No.1 broadcast TV network in viewers ages 18 to 49, and will help promote NBC shows in its 4,500 stores. Baskin-Robbins will roll out its must taste lineup of treats in stores from September 3 through October 27, 2002. It's hard for NBC to compete with other media conglomerates' wide-ranging assets, which are used for TV show promotion. A series of sweepstakes will also be included in the promotion, including a trip to a live taping of Fear Factor; a walk-on role on American Dream and a VIP trip to Miami, among others. The Fear Factor Sundae can be made with any flavor ice cream topped with broken Oreo cookies and green, gummy spiders. The effort is to bring consumers a chance to experience a friendlier version of the show where contestants eat real insects.”