Lunchbox Wars: Hillshire Farms Throws Down the Tasting Gauntlet to Moms
Moms, Hillshire Farms is throwing down the gauntlet — and it kinda smells like ham.
Before school gets back in session, the brand is calling on lunchbox-packing moms across the country to take its “Fresh Taste Challenge.” Moms who sample its pre-packaged lunchmeats and agree they taste better that the competition can instantly download $5 in coupons at www.gomeat.com or sign up for a $5 grocery gift card.
“We’re essentially betting $5 that anyone who tries Hillshire Farm will say our lunchmeat tastes fresher than they think pre-packaged lunchmeat can taste,” says Lana Simon, brand manager at Hillshire Farm.
The lunchmeats are created with no by-products or artificial flavors and packaged in double-sealed, re-sealable tubs. To encourage people to go out and buy the products, the brand has assembled a “Hillshire Farm Fresh Squad” that will appear through media exposure, social media and in-person, one-on-one interactions with consumers at events like the BlogHer ’10 conference in New York in August. The Squad will also seek out bloggers who provide valuable food tips to be recognized with “Fresh Blogs” designations.
“With more and more consumers looking to the blogosphere for tips and ideas, we are helping to steer consumers to sites that truly offer the most valuable food and lunchtime content,” Simon says.
TV spots offering tips and ideas on assembling lunchmeat sandwiches are running in major U.S. cities. Other media support includes online advertising, in-store and on-pack messaging, public relations and social media.
NOTE TO BOSS:
Nielsen’s research on the innovation processes at 30 large consumer packaged goods companies operating in the U.S. revealed that: Companies with less senior management involvement in the new product development process generate 80% more new product revenue than those with heavy senior management involvement. Companies that employ this and other best innovation practices derive on average 650% more revenue from new products compared to companies that do not.
