Shrek Premiums Drive Big Sales for Kellogg
#19 Best Premium-Based Promotion
SHREK THE THIRD
AGENCY: Brigandi+Associates, Inc.
CLIENT: The Kellogg Co.
Kellogg took that big, lovable and very green Shrek character and whirled him into a mix of premium-based promotions, some to encourage physical activity.
In all, eight campaigns played out across the company’s cereal, frozen, toaster pastries and snacks brands in 35 countries, driving sales for those products by strong percentages.
Mail-in and insert offers featured Shrek, Donkey and Puss ‘n Boots, and all were tied to different premiums: swamp soccer balls, boogie boards, safety helmet covers, night-lights, milk straws, cereal bowls with ogre ears and talking key chains.
Why Shrek?
“Shrek is a property that’s appealing to the entire family. In fact, moms were just as excited as their kids to go to see the movie,” says Marta Cyhan, vice president of global promotions for Kellogg.
Three games based on healthy eating were created and appeared on the packaging of 100 million cereal boxes.
For the first time, a bilingual promotional insert was included, highlighting Puss ‘n Boots, Shrek’s Latin sidekick.
“The goal was to deliver a first-ever bilingual insert developed specifically to target Hispanic consumers in key Kellogg markets,” says Rocio Almodovar, chief creative officer, Brigandi+Associates.
Dozens of merchandising elements were created to support the promotions. How did they accomplish this in so many countries?
“Kellogg uses various agencies and partners internationally to fully execute a program like this. It was a global program,” Almodovar says.
As a result, 125,000 cereal bowls were redeemed, 85,000 boogie boards, 43,000 helmet covers, 37,000 talking key chains and 16,000 soccer balls.
The company also saw sales increases for key brands, including Rice Krispies (+21.5%), Froot Loops (+16.7%) and Corn Pops (+5.6%). Kellogg’s Snacks posted gains across the cookie and cracker franchise with brands like Cheez-It, Rice Krispies Treats and Grahams. Overall, Kellogg sales increased approximately 24% among top retailers.
Running premium offers is nothing new to Kellogg. Its first was The Funny Jungleland Moving Picture Book in 1910, featuring pictures of animals and short rhymes. Some 2.5 million of the books were distributed from 1910-1912 in packages of Kellogg’s All-Bran, Cyhan says.
“We were among the first to insert information inside in our cereal boxes — as early as 1907,” she adds. “These early ‘inserts’ included product information, mail-in coupons and recipes.”
Editor’s Note: Kellogg wanted to point out that its contract with the “Shrek The Third” movie was put in place several years ago, prior to its global commitment to shift the mix of products it markets to children under 12 based on its Global Nutrient Criteria. Under its revised Marketing Guidelines, it is limiting the use of licensed characters in child-directed marketing to products that meet those nutrient criteria.
IDEA TO STEAL: PICK A WINNER
Nothing too novel here. Kids love TV and movie characters and will hound their parents to buy products associated with them. Just pick a winner — and be sure what you’re pitching meets accepted health guidelines.
