All Insights

Wit Will Win: Irreverent Brands Making a Splash

October 19, 2023

Written By: Matt Sanders

Rebel, Disruptor, Innovator – these are just a few words to describe the brands that aren’t afraid to make waves, hear a gasp or see a shaking head. They live for making customers laugh, watching them share content and finding consumers that are ready to be loyal to something off the beaten path. They’re here to defy expectations, challenge the norm and exude authenticity. They have wit. They have will. And they’re winning.

So what is different about a rebel or irreverent brand as opposed to a long-term national brand?

Narrow Target Market 

They know they’re not going to please a large majority. Brands like Dr. Squatch and Off Limits Cereal have a much more narrow target market than Old Spice or a major Kellogg cereal. But these brands are just fine with that. You know why? They’ve got Millennials and Gen Zers on their side, AKA social media wizards. These consumers are HERE for pushing boundaries, finding humor in most things and supporting something with a purpose that screams, “what you see is what you get.” Rebel brands have a position and audience and aren’t necessarily trying to appeal to everyone and anyone; just those who might share their sense of humor and forthright style.

Take Dr. Squatch, for example. They use tongue in cheek humor around the manly man that has fun with the stereotypes and tropes. (Although this brand does have many similarities to Old Spice, since they’ve pushed advertising to use similar styles, their product is still different because of their focus on natural ingredients.) In addition, they’re giving back to other communities through their partnerships and philanthropic efforts AND they’re a B Corp. 

“Certified B Corps are verified by B Lab, a global nonprofit, that ensures businesses meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and accountability, all while balancing purpose and profit.” (Dr. Squatch)

Philanthropic efforts speak to the Millennial and Gen Z generations. These generations specifically look to support brands like this, maybe more than their elder generations, for many reasons. This could potentially be due to the increased urgency to address current social and environmental issues. Or it could be because there is more access to information about the needs in the world now. Or maybe because they no longer have to compartmentalize their giving? They don’t have to have a “charitable fund” AND a “shopping fund.” Now the two can become one. They can choose quality products while also feeling good that their purchase is going to support the social issues they believe in.

These generations also pay more attention to their health. Enter, OffLimits Cereal. They push the boundaries of the decades-old cereal that many 90s and early 00’s kids enjoyed (we’re looking at you, colorful, sugary, crunchy, and cinnamon-flavored cereals). In addition, the characters they’ve created as mascots for the flavors carry all the personalities of their customers with their traits and quirks. They bring fun back to cereal. I mean, cereal glitter anyone?

OffLimits Cereal has created a healthier cereal that doesn’t look like your grandma’s Grape Nuts or grandpa’s Raisin Bran. With flavors like Pancake and Marshmallow, Coffee and Strawberry, your first thought wouldn’t be that they’re offering organic, vegan and gluten free cereals made free from artificial flavors and non-gmo ingredients. Oh, but they are.

Now this target market can feel good about indulging in their favorite childhood snack (Did anyone else fill a serving bowl with cereal and still go back for seconds? No? Just us?) while still fueling their bodies. Not to mention, their social media posts and clever marketing efforts are oh-so-shareable. 

Humor Connects and Authenticates

The thing that is similar across the brands we’re mentioning is that they’re all taking risks with advertising/promotions via digital means that speak to their audiences in a language that resonates: HUMOR.

Last year, Oracle put out a global report on how people find happiness in advertising. A statistic that shouldn’t really be staggering and may really just be one that brands need to hear shouted from the rooftops is: 91 percent (of those surveyed) said they preferred brands to be funny; this number increased among Gen Z (94 percent) and Millennials (94 percent). That’s it. Just be funny, people!

Humor connects with humans. But if your target is narrow, you have to make sure you’re using the type of humor that speaks to them. So what do these generations find funny? GhostRetail tells us that “Gen Z humor often embraces the absurd, ironic, and self-deprecating. It can be highly referential, drawing on current events, pop culture, and memes for comedic effect. Additionally, it tends to be fast-paced, easily digestible, and driven by visual content, gifs, and captions.” Gen Z also appreciates unconventional – great news for these rebel brands.

If you get Millennials on board, they will be an audience who will generate the content for you! That same Oracle study also showed, “75% of respondents (said) they would follow a brand on social media if it was funny, despite only 15% of brands using humor on social media.” And once they follow you, they don’t even need a monetary incentive to spread your message far and wide if they believe in what you’re putting out there, and frankly, if they think it’s funny. They’ll become your best advocates, and all you have to do is be willing to make some people uncomfortable and some people pee themselves. Easy, right?

We realize we’re using a lot of male hygiene examples. Low hanging, fruit? Er, this is getting awkward. Anyway, let’s talk Dude Wipes and Dr. Squatch (again). 

How could anyone forget the Dr. Squatch Super Bowl LV commercial a couple years ago? It’s humorous, relatable and toes the appropriate line without crossing over.

And what’s more relatable but taboo to talk about than having a clean butt? Charmin does it with cute fluffy bears (that are blue – c’mon, that’s not authentic), but Dude Wipes does it with actual dudes…dropping their drawers to show off their clean undies. It “clears instead of smears.” Need we say more? It’s hilarious!

In the world of alt-cocktails, NOPE stands as a prime example of wit and authenticity. NOPE entices consumers with the promise of a great night. While others are putting themselves in some, uh,  precarious positions when imbibing, NOPE reminds the drinker that it doesn’t have to be so with humorous scenarios built into the packaging. The brand’s messaging, filled with sass and a feisty spirit, exemplifies its uniqueness. In a realm of irreverent brands, NOPE sets a remarkable precedent for connecting with a niche audience and transforming a product into a lifestyle. After all, would you want to drunk text your ex? NOPE.

If we’re honest, we realize that escapism may also play a part in these brands and their brand positions. There are enough dark and dreary things happening in the world these days. Does every product you buy need to be that serious too? But, just because a brand uses humor doesn’t mean that their product isn’t competitive. In fact, we would argue that their product would need to be even more bulletproof because they risk even more attention and scrutiny because of their marketing. Which comes to our next point…

Haters Gonna Hate 

We do understand that these same generations we’re saying want brands to use humor and push boundaries are also the same generations to cancel you, leave bad reviews and turn their back on you when you say just the wrong thing.

SO. A little humility and self depreciation can go a long way with this crowd. When you do use humor as your brand language, you can also look at your faults, and turn them into opportunities. Consumers today and into the future know that brands have their flaws, and inconsistencies, hell, they’re made by humans, so of course they do! Acknowledging them in a self-deprecating or humorous way can communicate much more to your consumers than other tactics. It shows that you understand the consumer’s perspective and it allows the brand to “fall on the sword.” Sometimes, that is the only way a brand can overcome the challenges faced in the culture of criticism that exists today. 

Do it in a creative way, don’t publish a press release that’s dry and lifeless. Do what Oatly did and elevate and embrace the criticism to make a point about your brand’s perspective and the “mistake” that was made. They created an entire website called “F*ck Oatly”, including a visual timeline, to help “(their) fans—and the thousands of people who hate (them)—better understand everything that’s “wrong” with (their) company.” This is bold. This is witty. And we all know, they’re still one of the top Oat Milk brands. Because it works! It’s authentic. And it’s F*kn funny.

Liquid Death is a canned water brand, and their consumers love the brand for being “badass” enough to drink at parties or bars without looking like they’re simply drinking water. They have even had some feedback that recovering alcoholics appreciate the branding for this reason when they’re with friends who do drink. However, they’ve also got haters (are you even winning if you don’t?). And instead of shriveling under the hostility, they made one of the most genius marketing moves ever. They created an entire 80s-sounding album that you can actually purchase and listen to, featuring internet hate comments that they turned into lyrics and song titles. It’s brilliant. And it’s truly hilarious. And a move like that makes their brand followers more revved up, more loyal, and, bottom line, more likely to buy.

These brands remind us that there will always be people opposed to your brand and your marketing efforts. But you don’t have to crumble under the animosity. They taught us to just do what they’ve always been doing. Be authentic and continue to be funny while admitting your flaws or even making fun back. (Of course, this will not work for race, orientation or other major issues.)

It’s Not a Product, It’s a Lifestyle

Once you’ve established who your target market is, you’ve made them loyal followers and brand advocates and you’ve pushed through the faux pas and haters, it’s time to turn your brand into more than just a product. Make it a lifestyle. You can do this through merch, and interactive things on your website like quizzes, recipes, coloring pages and cartoons.

We’ll move on from male hygiene (but only for like two seconds) and talk food for a sec. Grillo’s Pickles. You know ‘em. You love ‘em. And if you do, you know that their website offers it all. It’s a whole family affair. You can watch cartoons they’ve created on YouTube. You can print off coloring pages for the kids. They even have seasonal interactive activities (like providing pumpkin carving stencils). Not only that, but they provide some seriously delicious looking recipes on their site to help you incorporate their brand into your everyday life. And they don’t stop there. You can dawn their merch, including t-shirts, water bottles and custom Converse shoes. All of this screams SHAREABLE. Social media and brand ambassadors. 

Okay, back to Dr. Squatch. They provide an 8-question quiz to “Find out which soaps best match your scent preferences and lifestyle.” Who doesn’t love a quiz? Remember, their market is the same generation who LIVED for BuzzFeed quizzes back in the day. They’re on it. And they haven’t forgotten swag options either.

We can’t leave out Liquid Death and their very creative, very funny, very all-over-the-place merch store. From clothing to costumes to flasks and inflatables, this brand knows their consumers, knows they’ll love it, and knows they’ll support it.

Bottom Line: Be Brave and Be Funny

Bottom line? Humor shows authenticity. It’s relatable. It feels less salesy. And if you’re really willing to push the envelope like these irreverent brands, it shows your consumer that there are humans behind your marketing who are thinking about their audience and aren’t afraid to act like one of them. Then it starts to feel more relational and less business-to-consumer.

Far too many brands take themselves and their product so seriously that they can’t have fun with them anymore. Being serious about your product is a requirement. So be brave. If it makes sense for your brand, take a chance on wit (but don’t try too hard – there is no ‘fake it till you make it’ with these consumers.). If you’ve got a great product and feel that your market is full of serious brands, take a risk and push to differentiate using humor or irreverence. There are plenty of new consumers who thrive on this type of branding. Having some fun with it may build your brand into a cult classic!

All Insights

Private Label Growth: a Moment or a Movement?

September 13, 2023

Written By: Fred Gammon

Have you noticed that your favorite potato chips are now $1 more than they were last year, and $3 more than they were three years ago? If so, you’re a victim of inflation. If you’re now reaching for the Kroger brand of chickpeas instead of the name brand, is it solely because of price or because you’ve realized the quality is just as good for an even lower price?

For the past two or three years, inflation has run rampant during and post-Covid. We have seen 8-12% price increases become common for consumer goods every year, thanks to government restrictions, production limitations, shortage of materials, supply chain disruptions, etc.

Thankfully, this year, in 2023, we can see that inflation in consumer prices is finally slowing down (3.7% versus 2022). Many commodities and staples have shown sharp price declines (e.g. eggs, poultry, produce, gasoline).

However, many core center store products and pantry staples have maintained elevated pricing even as supply issues have been mitigated. After two or three rounds of price increases over the last few years, many center store grocery products are now retailing at a 30%+ premium over pre-Covid prices. Several consumer packaged goods giants are reporting minimal or negative unit sales growth, but significant revenue growth, and very attractive profit growth due to price increases, cost-cutting, and improvements in the supply chain.

The consumer has been faced with sticker shock at the shelves, but by and large, they have stayed loyal to brands, maybe out of a desire for normalcy and maybe also because of a lack of attractive lower-cost alternatives. Retailers reported shortages of product supply from private label suppliers, many of whom also produce products for national brands, as they give priority to their major national customers.Consumers were as likely to find empty shelves for private label products, who offer fewer varieties and sizes, as for national brands over the past two years.

Nonetheless, private label growth is happening. Nielsen tells us that, “Private label sales, which offer an average of 13% savings compared to national brands, have grown by 4% in June [2023]. Retailers with diverse and well-established private label offerings will benefit from this trend.” Now that the supply chains have been replenished, the private label versus national brand dynamic is worthy of reassessment. So what are some of the reasons, beyond price, why private labels are seeing growth?

Quality Is Up

In the past, choosing a value brand often meant trading down in quality. If you’re a middle-class child of the 90s, you knew this life. “Great Value brand cereal over Kelloggs? Don’t let my friends see!” “Mom, can we PLEASE buy Coke instead of America’s Choice Cola??” 

Well, a lot has changed since then. Knowledge and resources have increased. With the widening gap in on-shelf pricing grocery chains now have extra dollars available for purchase contracts, increased attention on product quality, and are able to require consumer testing by suppliers.

At-Home Chefs

More people are cooking at home for cost reasons and because they work from home. When you are creating a meal from scratch the cost and value of each ingredient can be more carefully considered. McKinsey tells us that, “the food-at-home market, which had been slowly losing share to food away from home before 2020, has surged 8.7 percent, four times its historical growth rate.” Now that we know consumers are opting for “cooking in-home [as] the new normal…, you need to understand how exactly brand shoppers [and] category shoppers are seeking value to keep up.” (Nielsen) 

TV shows like Chopped invite us to get creative in the kitchen and Master Chef makes us feel like at-home chefs who can create something of restaurant value? Cooking at home makes us become more health conscious which inevitably leads us to becoming more label conscious consumers.This examination of label claims and ingredients can make the case for private label more compelling. 

Category Selection

Store brands can be very competitive in categories where the national brands rely on reputation, heritage, or longstanding equity for their leadership positions, but which have no measurable distinctiveness or superiority in product performance. Frozen vegetables, coffee, and spices come to mind. 

In addition to these categories a survey conducted by Acosta Group presents more categories where private labels hold a large share of sales. “Across the store, the highest shares of private label are in departments like Bakery, Dairy, and Household Care, where private label share ranges from 30% to 40% of sales.” 

Branding

The reason that national brands command premium pricing is the branding itself, how it looks and what it represents. When Private Label invests in the presentation of the products via upgraded package design and strong branding it signals to the consumer the equal standing with the national brands. 

Store brands are paying careful attention to the product presentation on the package to generate visual impact and quality imagery. Claims and product attributes that suggest superior performance are featured, just like a major brand would.

Everyone can take a note from the Trader Joe’s playbook. They have created a private label name for themselves that presents more like a national brand. They’ve done it through creative ingredients, distinctive products, and especially through their branding and packaging. It’s bright, colorful, fun, and unique. It almost feels like you’re purchasing exclusive products when shopping at TJ’s. 

What’s Next?

“Consumers have taken notice of the potential savings in our current inflationary climate and pivoted to private label in droves.” And so, “This means grocery brands need to work even harder to compete with private label growth.” (Nielsen) 

It’s doubtful that disinflation will ever become the norm, and the reality is, because companies are seeing that inflation hasn’t kept many consumers from purchasing certain products, those prices may never drop in the future.

Peggy Davies, president of the industry group Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), says “Having opted for a store brand over the national brand for the first time, there’s a strong likelihood the shopper will stick with the store brand.” In contrast, BDO’s David Berliner states that when penny-pinching is no longer the norm, “we can’t assume consumer behavior is going to stay the same.” 

Now that Private Label is a reinvigorated contender in the race for consumer grocery dollars it’s time for major brands to up their game and deliver on premium performance that goes with their premium pricing. If they don’t, the share of own brand sales in grocery will continue to rise and further enhance the power of the major retailers at the expense of CPG manufacturers.

All Insights

Unlocking the Power of Brand Consistency

July 13, 2023

Written By: Matt Sanders

When the Gap changed its logo pretty much overnight (in 2010), the response was fast and fierce. The old logo, which had remained unchanged for 20 years, was replaced by a version that was intended to signify Gap’s transition from “classic, American design” to “modern, sexy, and cool.” 

The general public, taken by surprise, overwhelmingly rejected the seismic shift to the brand they knew. Amid the public outrage, the old logo was reinstated within a week, with an enormous rebrand bill lingering like a headache.

But what’s perhaps most surprising about this example of a ‘rebrand gone wrong’, is that Gap didn’t expect there would be such a violent aftershock to this out-of-the-blue transformation. 

They hadn’t engaged in any change management communication to bring consumers on the journey; they didn’t even let all staff know about the incoming evolution, surprising many of them as much as the wider public. Perhaps if they’d brought them along for the ride, and explained why they were changing, there would have been a very different outcome.

This Time It’s Personal’—Brand Consistency Creates Emotional Equity with Consumers

Consumers have an emotional bond with brands—the familiarity they feel when they recognize a logo makes them feel safe and assured of the experience they will have when they interact with that brand.

Gravitating toward safety and familiarity is built into our DNA. We are effectively in a relationship with the brands around us, and just like the human relationships in your life, strong brand relationships are sustained by credibility, care, honesty, and consistency. Is it any wonder that loyal Gap customers felt cheated? 

(That’s not to say that people don’t sometimes like to dance with a little disruption, excitement, and novelty—but most of us like to change on our own terms or with enough warning to prepare ourselves and adjust to our new reality.)

When consumers see your brand, it should serve as a beacon of recognition; a connection between the brand and the customer, where they feel safe in knowing what they are going to get behind the logo. 

This is especially true of CPG packaging, where consumers navigate extremely cluttered shelves using the familiar codes they have internalized to recognize the brands they know and trust easily. Changing a strong brand color to a new palette, without warning could mean a busy consumer struggling to find you quickly where they expect you to be. Risky, when your competitors may be so easy to grab instead. 

It goes without saying that anything that could jeopardize your brand saliency is a big risk. Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman indicated around “95% of purchasing decisions are subconscious, showing that purchasing is more of an emotional decision than a practical one… why do you buy the same brand of laundry detergent or frequent the same coffee shop? Because you know exactly what to expect and know you will enjoy the outcome. By giving consumers a dependable experience no matter the channel of communication, you instill a feeling of brand recognition, comfort, and trust, making them more likely to purchase from you again and again”

A consistent approach to brand representation also helps the all-important bottom line. A report by Lucidpress stated that “consistent brand presentation across all platforms can increase revenues by up to 23%.”

So for the sake of your consumers, your brand, and your bank account, keeping your brand consistently represented, and making sure that any necessary changes are handled with careful consideration, is a top priority.

How to Keep Your Brand Consistently Presented

To manage this consistent presentation, a brand has to be equipped to manage different marketing and branding professionals (who bring their own personality and ideas to the table), different environments, different formats and locations, and resonate with different customers.

There are several tools that can help with the practicalities of keeping your brand consistent (especially important if there are multiple cooks – brand managers, creative agencies, and marketing teams – in the kitchen.)

Style guides and brand books are a great investment, providing guidelines, standards, and rules to keep everyone who is working with your brand aligned and accountable. But, beyond the practical, it’s also vital that your entire team is aligned in knowing what your brand stands for and the all-important ‘reasons to believe.’

Some questions for brand teams to ask themselves:

• Do we look the same everywhere? Healthy brands are easy to recognize because they are always easily identifiable as themselves. Check all your collateral, packaging, signage, and website – are the colors, fonts, and photographic style consistent? Wherever your customer interacts with your brand, be it online or offline, you have to make sure they are having a consistent and easily recognizable brand experience.
• Are you providing a customer experience that is consistent with your brand? Failure to deliver on a brand promise is a sign of an unhealthy brand. Your brand promises must be consistent with the reality of your customer’s brand experience. If you feature ‘healthy options for kids’ as a central brand message but fail to make good on that promise, people will notice and your brand will suffer. In short, practice what you preach.
• Are you living your brand values? Brand guru, Marty Neumeier, says “When the external actions of a company align with its internal culture, the brand resonates with authenticity.” Authenticity brings trust; trust brings strong advocates for your brand.

Careful Evolution is Key

With all this being said, healthy brands do and should evolve. 

But by putting in solid, consistent groundwork so people know what to expect from your brand, these evolutions are easier to swallow.  

If you are communicating regularly and consistently with your consumers, you are able to bring them on the journey and make them feel part of the evolution.

Generally speaking, the safest way to approach brand evolution is to take a slow and incremental pace. Take Starbucks’ careful evolution from 1987 onwards, stripping back and simplifying the logo without losing the equity and identifiability with their customers.

Or Nike’s very gradual simplification of their brand mark.

There are a few exceptions where a complete brand overhaul can be transformational in a great way, but generally, this is reserved for brands that have little equity to hold them back.

Oatly, for example, was able to transform itself and redefine its brand identity, look, and tone of voice in one swift, simultaneous move, because its brand’s existing visual identity was at odds with the product and story behind it. The product was great, and people that tried it liked it, but they had very low market awareness and it was decided that the brand was holding them back from greater success. In this instance, the risk in throwing out everything was considered acceptable for the size of the potential reward.

Oatly is an anomaly though; generally speaking, changing too fast or too much in one go can cause enormous damage to brand perception and loyalty. The Gap’s, Tropicana’s, and Kraft’s of the world should serve as a warning to the majority, that carefully considered evolution is more palatable than revolution.

Consistency Is a Compounding Investment—The Dividend Is a Greater Creative Flex

Interestingly though, while the importance of brand consistency (particularly in the infancy and growth of a brand) is vital to building consumer trust and recognition, the dichotomous consequence of that ongoing consistent approach is that consumers will allow you some flex once you are well established.

Once your brand’s visual assets are embedded, there is the opportunity to ‘play’ with the different components (providing you are maintaining enough of your key brand assets to be recognizable). 

Just as you would still be able to identify a family member with a new drastic haircut, brands that have consistent, repeated brand expressions on packs and through comms, are able to temporarily ‘get a mohawk’ and still be considered recognizable and safe.

Take Leo Burnett’s Mcdonald’s adverts, they only show a small portion of that golden arch, but you know exactly who the ad is for without them even mentioning the name of the brand or showing the product.

Equity allows for creativity.  Once you have established yourself, you have the chance to push the boundaries with unbranded advertising or packaging. Whether it’s to drive home even greater brand awareness, like Doritos, confidently using their triangular shape and recognizable font to drive home their format and flavor proposition; or to try and create buzz like the interesting AI-inspired project Nutella unveiled in 2017. Keeping only the product name and ‘hiring an algorithm’ to uniquely redesign the rest of the pack with a different pattern for each jar, they were still unmistakably Nutella.

An especially powerful way of using consistency-created equity is to use your brand platform to show support for a cause.

Take Lacoste, temporarily changing out their famous crocodile motif to 10 threatened animals to help raise awareness about endangered species in 2018. Rather than causing harm to their brand by removing the iconic animal logo, they were widely praised for drawing attention to a worthwhile matter.

Or Cadbury’s complete ‘unbranding’ of Dairy Milk to donate to Age UK.

Maintaining their distinctive purple and glass-and-a-half icons ensured clear brand identification, but they used this platform to gift ‘the words’ from their pack to Age UK’s charitable campaign supporting loneliness in the elder community.

Keep Up The Good Work

Brand consistency has a compounding value, and the rewards are there for those who invest the time and effort into making sure they stay the course.  

But consistency is not just a visual ideal—it has to be a state of mind for your business to make sure that you never grow complacent or lose your purpose. 

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that even if your packaging, advertising, and livery are spot on, your product or service also needs to consistently deliver on your brand promise to help keep that relationship with consumers one of familiarity and trust. 

All Insights

The Controversy Behind DEI Ads for CPG Brands

June 5, 2023

Written By: Fred Gammon

Post-pandemic trends reveal that consumers desire authenticity and real human-to-human connections through shared values especially where Diversity, Equity, and  Inclusion (DEI) is concerned. The need for more or better representation is almost always centered around one question: Do the brands I use care about me or my community?  

In 2007, Procter & Gamble launched their global My Black is Beautiful Campaign to improve the ways that Black women were portrayed and represented in popular culture. In 2021, Old Navy launched the BODEQUALITY campaign to ensure that all body types and sizes were represented in their ads and clothing offerings. However, elsewhere there have been too many mishaps and missed opportunities worth noting, especially in instances where companies felt compelled to speak up or speak out on trending news where DEI matters were concerned. 

This year, Bud Light beer sales have experienced a decline of over 28% due to the backlash and call for a boycott by conservative supporters and celebrities, following the brand’s partnership with a transgender influencer who promoted a can design on social media, with her image on it. In 2017,  Skittles sparked a major outrage with their all-white bag of Skittles in honor of June’s Pride month, with consumers arguing that the absence of color was actually sending out a different message.

Unintentional consequences are the things that brands should be wary of before addressing controversial social issues. Here are 5 more to think about: 

Don’t create or use controversy to promote a product or service.

Your loyal consumers have been with you long before this campaign; meaning they are here because they believe in your product and have organically grown to trust your brand. Stating your position or values about social issues as a way to increase sales is an abuse of that trust. When sales are the motive, your campaign may be translated as insensitive, manipulative, and/or greedy. Instead, try using controversy to strengthen your brand positioning by demonstrating how key values are in place to benefit your customers, products, services, and even employees.

Miller Lite appears to be embarking on a potentially challenging path with an advertisement that celebrates women as brewers and challenges the portrayal of women as mere pinups in beer advertisements. It is foreseeable that this strong advocacy for gender equality might create a divide among male beer consumers who value female attractiveness and may not garner significant support from the broader population accustomed to sexual imagery, both explicit and subtle, in advertising.

 
Pick the Best Approach but Don’t Pick Sides

Bud Light and Skittles got caught up in an “us versus them” debate. Although with good intentions, both brands essentially dropped the ball by polarizing the issues of gender identity & equality and picking a side through their ads and campaigns at a brand level – something that works best for politics but not so well for marketing. Even without knowing, brands may be alienating one population by showing full support to another. Instead, companies should find ways to speak to a represented minority group through shared values that directly correlate to the ideas of diversity, equity, and inclusion without throwing full support to the underdog.

Following the global outrage from the George Floyd murder, peaceful protests were interrupted by looters who forced Target to close 175 stores. When addressing the public, Target released a comfort letter to their customers.  They acknowledged the pain and brokenness caused by the current events and provided a constructive path forward by emphasizing just how they planned on continuing to serve the communities affected by their store closings. Without pointing a finger or deliberating verdicts, they addressed the problems and used their resources to offer a solution that would help the families and communities that were hurt the most. 

Don’t Promote Values that are not represented in your own Company

The last thing that any brand wants is to be called out by employees for not demonstrating the same philosophies and values they’re advertising. This hypocritical move is a sure way to compromise work culture and lead to possible employee turnover. In the last 5 years, several fashion houses have been outed by employers of color for using DE&I departments as a mere formality with no real efforts in place for a diverse workplace.

In 2021, New York Times published a piece where executives of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) were asked to respond to the increasing diversity problem in fashion. The organization, which represents 450 fashion and accessory designers, returned with requests for pre-written questions, email-only interviews, and responses that never addressed the hard hitting questions at hand.  Meanwhile, these fashion houses were being called out by influencers, models, and employees citing the many discriminating practices that have become more norm than Monday scrum meetings. 

To avoid this kind of call-out, consider how any social controversy applies to your brand internally. Instead of a public announcement, this may be a call for you to restructure your work culture first. Take the opportunity to do a temperature check and speak to employees and even community leaders on how your brand can better serve them.  

Don’t become the controversy.

In 2017, Pepsi launched a commercial featuring Kendall Jenner in an urban, street-musical-like peace protest, sharing a can of Pepsi as a means of bridging the gap for inequality. Backlash for poor marketing can easily evolve into controversy that can compromise the face of your brand and the spokesperson. In this case, Pepsi came under fire for lack of sensitivity and trying to make light of a serious issue, using a privileged celebrity who did not have proven experience with racial discrimination or police brutality.

Team up to Avoid Blind Spots

When you decide to use your platform as a means to amplify an issue or perspective, it is crucial that parties closely related to it are involved. Don’t assume you know what’s going on. Add diverse voices and perspectives to the table rather than speak for them.  Use your brand to amplify their voices. The GRO Agency collaborated with The Hershey Company in 2022 to launch the Black Music Month campaign. The aim was to amplify the voices of young people through music and music education in and out of school by partnering with Black creatives and organizations.

In conclusion, it is important for brands to recognize that engaging in controversial issues doesn’t necessarily entail jeopardizing their reputation. Instead, it can provide an opportunity to showcase a different facet of their brand—one that genuinely comprehends and resonates with their audience beyond mere product sales. Moreover, if a brand needs to address areas that require improvement, transparency is key. By openly acknowledging shortcomings and expressing a sincere commitment to do better, brands can earn the trust and loyalty of those who rely on them.

All Insights

From Millennials to Gen Z: The Evolution of Frozen Foods and What Brands Need to Know

March 17, 2023

Written By: The GRO Agency

Older Gen Z’s are starting families and present the next psychographic puzzle for frozen brands to crack. What kind of frozen morsels will catapult growth with the Gen Z audience? 

The frozen aisle warmed up to the needs of a Millennial audience with premium offerings and disruptive innovation. Frozen food was a stagnant category for a long time. But the rise of premium challenger brands forged an evolution that was amplified during the pandemic. Premium frozen meals with clean ingredients and global flavor profiles sparked innovation and connected with the Millennial consumers’ value set.  In 2021 more than 50% of Millennials said that frozen is equal to or better-for-you than fresh. Older Millennials remain the largest segment — making up 48% of the core frozen food consumer. 

When launching Saffron Road, in 2010, Adnan Durrani–Founder and CEO–says they studied the purchasing behavior of Millennials. They understood that as the Millennial audience grew older, their behaviors and preferences would define success or failure for brands trying to grow with them. They found that Millennials would likely demand more natural foods and be more discerning about their food choices. Discerning palettes and a preference for natural ingredients implied they would also be willing to pay more for premium quality offerings. Saffron Road’s steady growth proved the hypothesis to be right on. Frozen is clearly HOT in the eyes of American consumers.

Cut to 2023, and we see the frozen food boom has a lasting effect, post pandemic. As lifestyles continue to shift and hybrid work models become part of the new normal, frozen meals claim a strong position for those seeking easy, better-for-you options in between virtual meetings.

Consumer demand seems clear, favoring super premium, small brands. According to IRI’s “The Premium Opportunity” study, smaller premium brands, like Amy’s and Saffron Road, experienced the highest growth within the frozen category in 2021. Larger brands that are accustomed to dominating the category should take their cues from these agile challenger brands. Transparency, authenticity, and disruptive innovation is key.

“Consumers today are all about new and interesting flavor experiences – especially younger Gen Z consumers. This certainly translates into flavors, think big, bold and unexpected – as well as types of cuisines like Peruvian and Chinese fusion for example,” said Nicole Desir, executive vice president of Brand & Communications for Fresh Realm, a provider of fresh meals at retailers nationwide. “Additionally, branding will play a key role. Standing out within the fresh prepared or frozen meals section can be difficult and brands that win will highlight the flavor value proposition in stand out ways.”

Humantel, a consumer intelligence collective that focuses on a quantitative examination of attitudes, emotions, and values, taught us a few things about the Zs. In a study conducted in 2021, The Gen Z perspective became clear…here are our insights:

1. Gen Z is all about flavor and experience. Make it taste and feel good! They’re committed to self-care and are discerning about clean ingredients, but they REALLY don’t want to skimp on flavor. They aren’t as focused on “healthy” eating as the older generations. Makes sense, right?  Their bodies are still young and not as sensitive as their elders.
2. They want brands to support their goals. They want to be in sync with the companies they buy from. And, they want to be successful. Whether that is in career or emotional well-being. They want connection and value! So let’s give it to them…make things good, convenient, and easy to prepare. Market to their values. Have an authentic mission. Craft content around how products fit into their lifestyle.
3. Underscore the value of food helping them to be the best version of themselves. Living a long healthy life is abstract. Living the most fabulous version of yourself– today–is tangible.

For more insightful reports check out these articles NBA Fans Research, A Sober Curious Audience Insight Report, Plant Based Consumers Report

All Insights

Big Brands Breaking the Plastic Habit

March 2, 2023

Written By: Matt Sanders

There’s no way we can tiptoe around the green elephant in the room; Sustainable packaging practices are no longer just a nice to have for CPG brands. Not only is legislation gradually changing to force suppliers to use greener alternatives, but the stats on how CPG packaging impacts the environment, uses up natural resources, and could be contributing to global warming, are damning.  

With the best will in the world, the positive efforts of smaller brands barely break the surface of the pool of emissions and waste that are produced by the CPG heavy hitters. We need bigger stones – bigger brands – to make the waves.

Big businesses can create the biggest impact

Consumer behavior has evolved over the last few years, and for a short while during the pandemic, the vital conversation on sustainability was sidelined as consumers prioritized products that were packaged with hygiene, convenience, and price in mind. 

But as the dust is settling, sustainability is still a very big part of the driving behavior for purchasing decisions. McKinsey found that 55% of US survey respondents reported being “extremely or very concerned about the environmental impact of product packaging”, and up to 70% of consumers said, “they would pay more for sustainable packaging.”

The good news is that the data is telling us that brands that are prepared to boldly take the lead on creating viable eco-friendly opportunities for consumers to buy sustainably are going to be more appealing to consumers. So any business, big or small, can create a competitive advantage by making sustainability a focus for their product offerings. 

But while all progress is a step in the right direction, the key to seeing real environmental impact is for big brands to take up the baton. Not just with virtue-signaling statements or ‘greenwashed’ PR statements… but real systemic change on a global scale. 

Sarah Dearman, vice president of circular ventures at Closed Loop Partners comments “Whenever you have companies stepping up to be leaders like that then it really shows the companies that are not stepping up,” she said. “A sustainable packaging strategy is really something that every company should have, that’s really a good place to start.” 

And the good news is, some positive steps are being made; some bigger stones starting to create waves.

COLGATE-PALMOLIVE

Toothpaste tubes have been a bit of a wicked problem for recycling – the multi-layers of plastic and aluminum that help keep the product fresh and hygienic, are notoriously difficult to recycle. So while your teeth may be shiny, the tubes (all 20 billion of them annually) typically end up in a landfill. 

Colgate has worked on several small initiatives over the last couple of years, using glass and PETE for some of their packaging portfolios. Last year, having worked closely with the Association of Plastic Recyclers, they launched their biggest packaging project yet, with their new fully recyclable tube. Made from HDPE (the same High-Density Polyethylene material used for milk and detergent bottles), no extra steps (rinsing, removing the lid, etc.) are needed before putting it into standard recycling, making it the first toothpaste tube to be recognized by external authorities as recyclable.

Colgate acknowledges it’s not a perfect solution; it still requires consumers to actually recycle them, but it does indicate that the business is starting to adopt sustainability values into the culture of the company and are committed to mass change. 

And in another extremely positive move, to try and promote the transition to recyclable tubes across the industry they made the huge step of sharing their packaging IP with other companies, including their competitors, at no cost.

(A cynic might suggest that this is also in their best commercial interests. With the price point for these recyclable tubes being higher than traditional tube packaging at present, it could a) help to reduce the costs of manufacture for them if the material volumes increase and the costs come down, and; b) force their competitors to line price their products with Colgate so they are not at a price disadvantage… but it’s still a ground-breaking move for a big corporate business).

NIKE

Plastic has been demonized of late, and for single-use items, rightly so. Nike has taken some innovative approaches to change its main products (recycled yarn, designs that use less waste) but they can’t escape the fact that their sneakers are not the most environmentally-friendly products out there.  

In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint around packaging, they’ve made a step in the right direction (pun intended) by developing a single box that can fit nearly any of its shoes. While previously a primary shoe box and an outer shipping box were used to send customers their new kicks, this box uses just one universal box for both jobs. This simple, practical reduction could translate to millions of boxes saved, cutting their cardboard use by 50%. 

It’s a pilot program currently but it seems like a great solution to reduce material consumption and, of course, save the company some dough.

ANHEUSER-BUSCH/BUDWEISER

The world’s largest brewing company, Anheuser-Bush, has pledged to focus on initiatives within their production that can help to minimize harm and waste. And while they remain an industry that’s almost exclusively delivering single-use packaging to end consumers, they do have the size and scale to really make a difference. 

Budweiser KeelClips™ is one such initiative, providing a sustainable alternative to the single-use plastic can rings, but still delivering on form and function. Made of rigid cardboard, the holding device provides a more hygienic cover to the top of the cans, is fully recyclable and from sustainable sources, and unlike the traditional plastic can rings, they pose no risk to sea turtles and other marine life.

DOVE

Dove has been lauded for their body-positive, responsible marketing over the years, but they are also showing a real commitment to responsible packaging development. In 2021 they created a refillable stainless steel deodorant tube, and in 2022, they developed reusable bottles for body wash sold with recyclable refill packages. The refills themselves are made from 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, with the product in concentrated form to reduce the amount of water and plastic used in development and production. 

“Many people have the desire to do their part in protecting the planet, but they’re not exactly sure how to go about it. Dove’s latest innovation provides them with an opportunity that is easy and effective,” comments Fiona Florence, managing director at JDO, who helped with the product design for the new packs.

We’re all in this together

Dove has recognized a key truth here in their new packaging development – people are creatures of habit, and changing user behaviors can take time. Their new reusable pack had to look, behave and feel as close as possible to what people were familiar with for consumers to readily make the change. 

And this is an important takeaway for other businesses trying to make changes. It is vital that big CPG brands evolve their processes, choice of materials, packaging and business practices to allow consumers to then do their part and buy wisely. But in a truly circular economy, we all have to play our part, and it’s on all of us as consumers to reduce, reuse and recycle where we can to make a difference too. We can’t just buy the ‘recyclable’ packaging… we need to then recycle. We can’t just purchase the refillable bottles… we need to actively refill rather than buy an alternative.

The time is now, and we all have to shift our behavior to be the change we want to see.