Now better tasting!

April 12, 2007

Honeycomb - NOW BETTER!Our cereal is making a strange claim.

We just bought a box of Honeycomb cereal. Kraft foods has placed a new label on the front – Now Better Tasting!

Wait. Says who?

Who has decided that Honeycomb is truly “better tasting” than it used to be? What research have they done to back up this claim? What changes did they make?

I’m sure verbiage like this sells cereal all the time. The cereal industry has conducted plenty of focus groups on what to say and how to product their cereal.

So maybe I’m a cynic when I say, “If it’s better tasting now, what was wrong with it before?”

“Why wasn’t it the best it could be previously? And how did you quantify a subjective claim?”

So, with these questions in mind, I decided to ask. I went to kraft.com and sent an e-mail:

I have recently purchased a box of Honeycomb cereal. The box says “Now Better Tasting!” right on the front.

My question is this — how can you quantify “better tasting?” What research or changes were made to make Honeycomb “better tasting?” How can you account for personal taste on a cereal box?

I’m just a concerned customer wondering how accurate your cereal’s claims are.

Thanks,
Corey Vilhauer

Let’s see what they say. I want to know how they can make such an unquantifiable claim – to become so subjective in saying the cereal is now “better tasting.” It can’t be proven. I might not like it at all now.

Let’s see if this was an empty marketing ploy or a true-to-life statistic.

—

And the response from Kraft…

Hi Corey,

Thank you for visiting www.kraft.com/responsibility

Our policy is to be sure all advertising claims are supportable, neither false nor misleading.

Our Market Research Department conducts studies among representative groups of consumers. For nutritional claims, we make claims only after a thorough scientific analysis of the respective products involved.

We draft conclusions from studies that reflect consumers’ opinions on a national basis.

When appropriate, advertising is developed from studies. We take great care in the exact wording and overall impression of our advertising.

All advertising claims are reviewed before approval is given.

We base all of our advertising on this procedure; that is why we feel we may justifiably make such a claim.

If you haven’t done so already, please add our site to your favorites and visit us again soon!

Kim McMiller
Associate Director, Consumer Relations

In other words, this was the act of a study group. Common practice, yes. Truth (or accuracy, more specifically) in advertising, barely.

Simply put - don’t tell your customers if something tastes better. Let them figure it out for themselves. Advertise a great new taste. Promote a new recipe. Challenge the customer to try the cereal. But don’t make the judgment for them – regardless of what your study group says.

By Corey

Filed Under Advertising, Marketing, Criticism

You can’t fake personal

April 11, 2007

Yesterday I received a card from my bank. On the front was the bank’s logo. Inside, hastily scribbled with handwriting like a 10-year old was the following message:

Corey – Thanks for banking with us!
- Staff

And that was it.

I know why I received this card. My bank, a major regional bank with branches all over South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota, wants to look homier. More personable. People want their banks to know who they are. They don’t want to be another number, another ledger on the bankroll of Wells Fargo or US Bank.

So my bank sent me a personalized card.

Except it didn’t feel personal – it felt scripted and hollow.

First of all, my card reeked of assembly line scribbling. The words were the same as every other card that had come before. There was no mention of the accounts I held, or any recent activity, or anything that would separate my card from anyone else’s. There was no personalized aspect to it at all, aside from the name.

Second of all, the name was wrong. My wife Kerrie shares this account with me. Her name should have been on this card as well. Another strike – they couldn’t even bother to get the account names correct.

It all reminds me of the Vice President of a company I used to work at. As managers, we were required to give our team members birthday cards to show the company cared. I took great pains to make these cards personal – to give something more than the shallow scribbles that were the minimum required.

However, the Vice President (who was in charge of sending out the manager’s cards) would simply write “Happy Birthday on the 24th” and sign his name. He would send out every card at the beginning of the month, regardless of the birth date, leading to me getting my birthday card nearly three weeks before my birthday even occurred. They were assembly line products. There was no feeling in them whatsoever aside from “I’ve got to get this done.”

Sure. I know. My bank has a lot of cards to write. They have a lot of people to connect to. That’s not the point. The point is making it look like there’s no other customer but the one you’re writing to. There’s no one else in then entire world that the bank would rather talk to, cash checks from and start savings accounts for.

If a business is going to try to play the personal slant, they’d better be ready to take the extra steps needed to ensure the message gets across. Don’t just pull the customer’s name from a list – know the customer. Have ads that connect to the customer, not ads that tell the customer what the bank should be.

Try as you may, if someone can’t be personal, they’ll never seem personal.

The simple fact is: you can’t fake personal.

By Corey

Filed Under Marketing, Criticism

Where’s the link?

April 10, 2007

Your ad. Your identity in the marketplace. You have one spot – one creative piece – each year. You place it in every magazine, newspaper and media outlet in the area. This is your baby – the Raison d’être, the pinnacle of your marketing year.

Check it again. Everything is spelled right. Your message is sound – perfectly worded by a brilliant copywriter; maybe by me if you were incredibly lucky. The design is spot on.

Did you remember your web address?

No?

Oops.

Sure, this has been said before. But I’m still amazed at how many companies forget this one simple act – the addition of a web address.

So your message is sound. So your design is beautiful. You’re forgetting the most important part of marketing – giving the customer all of the tools needed to make a decision.

Your website is an online brochure, except better – it’s being viewed by people who are genuinely interested in your product. And people don’t want to search. They want the address.

Make sure it’s on there. Don’t make your work of art irrelevant.

By Corey

Filed Under Advertising, Technology, Marketing, Criticism