Size Matters

First let me clarify that I am talking about marketing trends in the food and beverage products category here. So stay with me. Because more than ever I see that size matters.

Let’s face it, we are a society that has been brought up to think bigger is better. It really is a psychological thing. I mean why should we settle for a small or medium sized offer when you can colossal-size or super-size? Who wouldn’t agree that bigger is better?

And yes, I am still talking about food and beverage.

Lately I’ve been encouraged by the smaller size trend in the industry and its effect on product offers and packaging. Smaller portions are popping up everywhere. Portion control has always been a major facet of dietary regimens but finally the rest of the industry seems to be taking note. For decades, we've been told to shape up, eat better and control our amount of calorie intake. Americans are becoming too obese. Much of this obesity has been due to the lack of portion control, fatty foods and demanding consumers wishing to get more for their money. This and the lack of restraint at feeding time.

Industry manufacturers are certainly paying attention. And as far as consumer packaged products go there seems to be a new direction. There are individual packets for snack foods, bite-sized breakfast snacks, bite-sized ice cream poppers, one cup coffee pods, pocket-sized diet bars, and my favorite: energy drinks that come in thin 8 oz. bottles.

The bigger the package you pour from, the more you will eat or drink. Larger portion sizes result in more consumption. Put the contents from a jumbo box into a small individual–sized package and consumers will eat less. The smaller the box, the less you prepare and the less you eat. It’s all about creating an illusion.

On the flip side, this can backfire for the consumer’s purchasing decision. They may simply buy more product. Talk about a marketer’s dream! Though not too good for obese America.

But forget about that. It’s not certain that food and drink manufacturers will help trim America’s waistline with this new smaller portion packaging. It’s a long-standing and open debate whether they carry this social responsibility to do so or not.

But what I like most about the smaller portion trend today is that consumers are getting the best of both worlds: convenience and taste. Food companies are producing new small products with big taste. Gastronomically speaking, smaller sizes combined with new and interesting ingredients are bringing about big and exotic new flavors too. Exciting ingredients, fewer calories, bigger taste. Layered flavors are sending sales of food such as cheeses, condiments and ethnic foods soaring. There are new flavored oils and vinegars, pairings of fruit and tangy flavors, and Asian and Latin American flavors which are all in vogue. It’s starting to feel like some sort of “gastro-orgy”.

All of this makes it an exciting time for the food and beverage brands. And for consumers as well. As long as you remember one thing - size matters.

Again I can say this is not Brand NonSense…it actually makes a lot of Sense!

And yes I am still talking about food and beverage!

Thanksgiving On the Go

Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays. It conjures up many memories and traditions. From family gatherings, to cooking in the kitchen for many hours, to the smells that fill the house, to the anticipation of the big feast – these are the associations I have with Thanksgiving.

But the world is changing. As such, even my traditional associations with Thanksgiving seem quite in contrast to consumer trends in the food industry. Today it is all about convenience. Meals are rarely cooked from scratch anymore – they are fast and on the go.

Today brands promote terms such as ready-made, self-heating, single-serve, in the car, 90-second, etc. All of this caters to the needs of consumers for fast and convenient meals. Who has time to cook from scratch? Today we are becoming a society of on the go chefs where a microwave or a self-heating can is our best friend.

So how does the traditional home cooked Thanksgiving meal fit into this new world of super fast convenient meals? More importantly, as consumers move further away from cooking from scratch, can the slow-cooked Thanksgiving meal survive or will it go the way of the floppy disk? Will the Thanksgiving dinner evolve into some on the go version that is whipped up in less than 15 minutes without ever turning on the oven?

Maybe.

So for this new legion of on the go chefs I have created a recipe for a full traditional Turkey feast: turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie – in the fastest cooking time and with minimal use of kitchen appliances or tools.

It all starts with the turkey. But who needs to prepare that big bird when you can pick up Butterball Oven Roasted Turkey Strips which are sure to taste fresh since they are delivered in a resealable freshness container (perfect for all those leftovers) which is also dishwasher safe.
Cooking time - 0 minutes.

Next come the sweet potatoes. A can of private label sweet potatoes will do just fine. Just dump them in a bowl and put in the microwave for 2 minutes. Unfortunately you will need a can opener, as this pack does not have a pull lid. Oh well.
Cooking time - 2 minutes.

Next comes the stuffing courtesy of Kraft and Stove Top stuffing. It always tastes great, but will take 5 minutes to cook. Can’t they make this cook faster?! And you will have to turn on the stove (it’s that big thing below the microwave) and boil water in a saucepan. I know, this is getting complicated! Okay stay calm…it is Thanksgiving.
Cooking time - 5 minutes.

Corn and gravy are next. These should be easy, thankfully, and will permit some time to recover from all the work spent on the stuffing. For corn, I’ve chosen Green Giant Just for One. It comes in microwavable trays and cooks in 2 minutes. No can opener needed – perfect! For gravy it’s a can of Heinz Turkey Gravy that comes with a pull open lid. Just dump into a bowl. Next put both the corn and the gravy in a microwave and cook at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking!
Cooking time - 2 minutes.

Cranberry sauce is one of my favorites. In the old days I either made it from scratch or bought the jelly in a can. But it was so difficult to get the contents to slide out of the can in one piece. Instead I recommend Ocean Spray Squeezable Cranberry Sauce. Just put it on the table and you are set.
Cooking time - 0 minutes.

Finally it’s down to dessert. Baking requires too much time so instead my recipe calls for a ready made pumpkin pie from you local market. Just put it on the table and cut. I’m hopeful that by next year they will sell it pre-sliced so you have one less thing to deal with.
Cooking time - 0 minutes.

So there you have it. An on the go full Thanksgiving feast cooked in less than 10 minutes. Who needs to spend all that time in the kitchen? Due to new technology and innovation in the food industry, it doesn’t have to be you. Now that is something to be thankful for!

And for those who want it fast and convenient, this one is not Brand NonSense…it actually makes a lot of Sense!

But for those traditionalists, it’s really…Brand NonSense.

The Innovation Journey

With the holiday season right around the corner, I’m sure many of you are planning trips, maybe even driving trips. As with any journey it is always a good plan to get directions and know where you are going before you start. This ensures you of knowing the fastest route and revealing where the roadblocks may be.

The innovation journey, much like a holiday excursion, also requires an understanding of where you want to go, the roadblocks you may hit and how long it could take. So before you get in the car and start your engine, here are some things to consider on the Innovation journey.

First, innovation must be fully aligned with your marketing strategies and objectives. Sounds obvious, right? But many marketers today undertake product innovation simply because they think change will provide an added benefit. This is not always a good thing, nor is it always greeted at the shelf with applause. Marketers oftentimes fail to properly align innovation with actual consumer needs, and this forces their strategy right off the road and into a ditch.

Innovation in product development and packaging design must be fully integrated; not separate. If not, your innovation strategy, like your brand planning, will never get out of the “garage.” More than anything, if you focus on being connected with the emerging needs and desires of consumers, your marketing strategy will unlock the clues on how innovation will lead to your product standing out on the shelf.

Another important element is understanding how consumers shop your category. How many of you have ever watched or observed consumers at point of purchase? (And no, reading research on how consumers shop doesn’t count). You have to see how they move and interact at the point of purchase. You have to know the environment your products occupy and realize what other forces are around it. Is it cluttered, poorly lit, noisy, cramped, or crowded? You must use these insights to challenge the norms to achieve distinction.

That’s real innovation.

Anything else is just some low-fat or reduced carb version of innovation. So understanding what I call “The Moment of Intimacy”, that brief two-second moment where consumers choose between brands and make a purchase decision at the shelf, is not only critical, it is key to staying competitively alive.

Innovation must keep the consumer’s needs in mind. And innovation must benefit your consumer by making a direct impact on their purchasing behavior. So remember, when planning any innovation “trip”, have a roadmap before you start, and carefully consider how it makes sense to your consumers. Otherwise you will never get out of your driveway.

And that makes no Brand Sense; it’s really…Brand NonSense.

9 Out of 10

In his book “Why Companies Do Dumb Things,” Calvin Hodock the former Chairman of the Board of the American Marketing Association, states that over the last 60 years 9 out of 10 new products launches have failed. In the food category alone, he estimates the cost of these failures to be nearly $30 billion. Oh and by the way, who do you think has paid for these failures – the consumer.

Why, you may ask, are these failure numbers so high? As someone who has led innovation initiatives for one of the world’s largest companies and who has served as a consultant to others, I have my point of view.

First, no one really teaches marketers how to develop product innovation. Sure there are some business school courses that exist, but they have the same basic flaw. The focus is always on best practices. In my view, it should be worst practices.

Why you ask?

I believe most innovation fails because marketers continue to make the same mistakes over and over. Maybe marketers would be well served to look and learn from this history of failure. After all, those who forget their history - tend to repeat it.

Failure can be a rich instructional tool. Many of the best professional (and personal) lessons I have learned are directly linked to an initial failure. But most marketers are loath to talk to their professional failures and are more inclined to adopt what I call the No-Bad News Policy.

Why you ask?

Marketing groups within large global CPG companies tend to serve as a “Marketing Kindergarten” – a training or proving ground for inexperienced marketers. Here the goal is to see how quickly you can vault to your next role versus spending the required time and rigor to develop a true case for product innovation. As such, the focus is on quickly developing innovation strategies that will be perceived as meaningful and then moving upward to the next assignment before implementation and imminent failure can set in. This becomes a true recipe for failure.

The recipe usually begins with fuzzy front end strategic development that has been formulated through an unclear discovery period. Secondly, you blend in a lack of respect / full understanding for marketing research. Next you let the calendar drive your launch date by setting a timeline that is unrealistic. Of course you must stir in a sales forecast that meets or exceeds expectations, but likely fails to understand trail versus adoption. Finally this get baked into a glitzy innovation presentation intended to sell the virtue of the initiative to senior management, but is delusional in thinking competitors will do nothing in reaction (untrue especially with testosterone brands).

What’s missing? Well intuition based on some experience for one. And also creativity. Plus getting into the minds of the consumers and really understanding how they shop the category – and what really drives preference.

Why you ask?

Let’s take a look at History 101.

In 1983, Procter & Gamble launched Citrus Hill orange juice nationally and positioned it as the sweetest and best tasting juice in the market. In test markets in Indiana and Iowa during the previous year, Citrus Hill had reportedly grabbed a respectable 14% to 17% market share. P & G supported the Citrus Hill entry into this $3 billion category with a $100 million media blitz.

P & G does everything in a big way. When they enter a category, competitors view the marketing assault as a massive invasion. Said a Tropicana spokesman at the time, “We intend to aggressively defend every area where we’re doing business.” So what happened? Citrus Hill failed and was out of the market 10 years later.

Why you ask?

P & G failed to understand the category. Orange juice was and still is a price promotion category. It’s not necessarily about taste. Consumers purchase based on buying 2 for $5.00 and generally are not willing to pay more for a brand because of taste. Besides, the perception is they all taste about the same. Citrus Hill’s mistakes included marketing misjudgments and positioning issues. Being positioned as a better tasting juice was insignificant to consumers. The product and the benefit were out of sync.

Additionally P & G underestimated the competition which fought back by sticking to traditional price promotion strategies that where more relevant to shoppers.

The failure rate for new products is staggering. Let’s face it; Corporate America does not do innovation well. They talk about it. It’s something they all want. And they think anyone can develop new products.

Cost of innovation is a barrier. Most CEOs look to generate short term results to create shareholder value. Rarely can innovation be implemented at the same cost as the status quo. My challenge in leading a corporate innovation team was justifying the cost to bring something new to market and showing how it would generate increased revenue through the sale of more units.

So how do you improve the product innovation process? I see the need for innovation advisory committees made up of internal and external constituents (including consumers) that act as consultants – making recommendations, not decisions – to steer corporate marketing teams. These committees would look at best and worst practices and provide the foresight to understand markets and consumers before moving forward. But most importantly, they would be focused on embedding the business of product innovation within an industry that has a history of failure – 9 out of 10 that is.

Innovation is too important a contributor to economic growth for us not to do well. It is the engine of business growth. The real danger is that the engine will keep stalling unless we get innovation right.

What Corporate America has done with innovation makes no Brand Sense; it's really...Brand NonSense.

Guess Who's Coming to the Boardroom

One of my favorite pastimes is to read all the different lists that are generated across the industry that predict hot brand prospects and consumer trends over the next several months or so. I really love seeing so many people busy divining the future and trying to uncover new opportunities. Everyone wants to be the first to gaze into that magical crystal ball and be the first to reveal the new hot idea. It just goes to show the desire and value the industry has for new trends and innovation!

I have already seen predictions for the food and beverage industry that speak to the continued rapid growth of organics, the rise of celebrity farms (rather than celebrity chefs), and the explosion and ubiquity of energy drinks. The nice thing about these predictions is that no one ever remembers them so you will rarely be targeted for being off base. Then again do we ever credit these prognosticators when they are on-target?

So now it’s my turn.

But my crystal ball gazing has not uncovered a “Top 5 or Top 10” trends list. Rather, I see one key focus for the foreseeable. And actually it is not a new trend. Honestly, it has been around ever since brands began to be marketed.

It’s the consumer.

So your immediate response might be, “tell me something I didn’t know.”

Well what is different here are some of the new ways consumers now think. Through the work I have done for many years on understanding consumer behavior, I now see a much stronger consumer conscience taking hold. Consumers want to know where their products come from and what they are made of. And it’s not just the ingredients - it’s the whole look and feel and tone of the packaging too.

Consumers now possess a much stronger internal sense of what is right or wrong which drives their thoughts, actions and decision-making, especially at point of purchase. When it comes to food and beverage, certainly they want assurance that products are wholesome and healthy so descriptors such as low sodium, caffeine free, all natural, trans-fat free or no toxins are still important. And when it comes to packaging they want it to be stylish, easy to access and have some feeling that what they dispose of will not sit forever in a landfill. But these are not enough on their own.

Consumers want to know what companies and brands stand for and believe in.

They want to understand the origins of everything they take home in their grocery bags, and they want to align themselves with brands that match their own values. If you do not believe me then please explain why there is a growing list of big-time global companies that are asking consumers to design commercials for them.

So it appears we are entering new period in consumer marketing that will be know as “Guess Who is Coming to the Boardroom.”

And for once I can say this one is not Brand NonSense…it actually makes a lot of Brand Sense!

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!

The introduction of upside-down plastic bottles by Heinz in the late 1990s was a milestone moment in the history of CPG packaging. I mean what consumer had not felt the frustration of trying to get ketchup out of a right side up bottle? Certainly consumers had concocted their own personal rituals on how to solve this sticky situation - from the “downward thrust” method of violently jerking the bottle down to the famous “stick the knife in the bottle” trick.

No matter what ritual you adopted, the problem of getting ketchup out of the bottle was universal. That’s why the upside-down squeeze bottle was such a great piece of innovation. It created a solution for a real consumer need.

This great piece of structural innovation did not come overnight. And its roots stretch outside of the food category—to the Health and Beauty industry. It took learnings from HBA “tottle” packaging (the first child of the tube and bottle) relative to the dispensing of viscous fluids such as shampoos, conditioners or lotions and applied them to the development of an inverted squeeze plastic bottle for dispensing ketchup.

But what happens when a great solution for one consumer need creates a new problem that, to this day, no one has effectively addressed? And why would other manufacturers continue down the same path without addressing it while promising consumers that their upside-down pack is more convenient and easier to use than its right side up predecessor? As I look across the alphabet of consumer products, I see virtually every letter offering up at least one upside-down product from BBQ sauce, to dish detergents, to mayonnaise, to scrubs, to Vaseline. All these packs have the same problem.

I look at this new array of upside-down brands I often find myself saying - why? When will someone address the problem?

So what is the problem I’m referring to? It’s like this.

Since the top of these upside-down packs are wider than the cap at the base they tend to be top heavy and therefore very unstable. So unstable that they tend to fall over quite easily. In fact every time I open my refrigerator I see one lying down on the shelf. At first I thought maybe it was taking a nap, but I have come to realize it simply fell over.

So I have come up with my own term for these top-heavy creations. I call them “wottles” which I describe as a wobbly alternative to a stable pack. Or if the pack could talk, it would say, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”

Excuse me but I have to go now. I just heard something fall over in my refrigerator – again!

It makes no Brand Sense; it’s really…Brand NonSense.

Phone A Friend

I got a call from my friend Karl the other day. He’s a mathematician by trade and one on the smartest people I know. An Ivy Leaguer, tops in his class – a real center of knowledge. When ever I need to “phone a friend” for some help or information, Karl is the one I call. No doubt.

So guess what happened yesterday. My cell rang. It was Karl.

“Hey Ed I need your help.”

Boy, this was a first! I couldn’t believe Karl was calling me for advice. Before he talked further, my mind stated to wander. Did he need some assistance with a complex mathematical equation? Maybe he needed to consult with me before purchasing some new super computer. I listened closely.

“I’m at the drugstore shopping for some cold tablets. I just felt a little nasal congestion and I wanted something so I wouldn’t be stuffed up while trying to sleep. I don’t normally do the shopping – and I trying to figure out what to get. I can’t believe the choices. I mean I just want something for my nose. You’re the marketing guy. Can you help?”

He went on.

“Gee, this box says quick acting and the other box says long lasting. Are they asking me when do I want to feel good – now or later? Why can’t they just put in clear, simple terms what this stuff does Ed? I thought this would be easy. And why are there so many choices? They all seem the same with not real distinction among them. I’m no marketing guy, but if you can’t figure out what brand does what and why it’s better than the next one on shelf, it doesn’t make much sense.”

“Hey Karl, as usual, you’re right,” I said.

It makes no Brand Sense; it’s really…Brand NonSense.


p.s. - Karl said he was next headed to the toothpaste aisle. Wait until he sees those 43 versions of Crest!

Shop 'Til You Drop

We’ve all heard this expression, but recently, I have found a new meaning for it!

Simple said, it refers to the cluttered shelves that have been created in virtually every product category in your favorite retail store. You now, the clutter that makes it downright difficult to find what you want on shelf.

And by time you find what you want, you’re ready to drop.

It doesn’t even matter where you shop - grocery, mass merchants, drug stores – it’s all the same. Yet marketing teams never seem to learn. They continue to invent more products, concoct new flavors and conceive new forms all that look and feel similar to what already is on shelf.

I mean, do we really new 43 varieties of Crest toothpaste or 18 types of Oreos?

I often wonder if the great marketing minds that create all this shelf clutter have ever gone into a store and tried to make a selection – or better yet, watched how consumers shop their category.

Today the shopping experience is akin to going to the eye doctor. Locating what you want on the retail shelf is like reading an eye chart. After a while your develop eye strain. Perhaps consumers should ask their local store manager to set up places to sit in each aisle to allow them to recover from the shopping experience. Because no matter what aisle you shop, by time you find what you want, you’re ready to drop.

And it keeps getting worse!

Across all the marketing briefs I have seen over the last few years, from marketing teams in well-known companies representing brands we all buy, there is always embedded the same design objective. Can you guess what it is???

Make shopping the category easier!

Like that free spot on a bingo card, it’s always there – in every marketing brief. Hey fellas, you want to know the best way to improve shopability. Get rid of stuff!

But if you don’t believe my why don’t you ask consumers. I’m sure they will tell you how they feel, assuming they have fully recovered from their last shopping journey. – when they too found a new meaning for shop 'til you drop.

It makes no Brand Sense; it’s really…Brand NonSense.

Brand NonSense

If brand means to engrave an identity, then why do so many consumer product companies try so hard to destroy their identities in the marketplace?

What do I mean?

Well today it is quite common to see brands with distinct identities come out with new product variants served up in packaging that looks nothing like the established image of the brand. To me this actually serves to weaken the distinct and memorable brand associations that companies have tried to engrave in our minds. As someone who has been in the strategic branding and package design world of consumer products for 20 years, I wonder this myself. I don’t get it.

It was once so simple.

Red stood for Coke. Hershey’s was chocolate brown. Kodak was yellow. Clorox was blue, red and white. Tide was orangey red. And Windex was that aquamarine blue/green. It was easy to find these brands in the marketplace. They were constant, easily identified and yes, engraved in our minds.

Oh how things have changed. Finding these iconic brands in a grocery or mass channels these days has become an adventure. And even once you locate one; it is a challenge to sort out what variant you want.

Sure I get that line extensions and proliferation of product portfolios make the introduction of new colors and imagery necessary, but why would you give away an equity that you have owned and that has an emotional connection with consumers.

It makes no Brand Sense; it’s really…Brand NonSense.