Brian Weston (Account Director ) - Euro RSCG 4.27.11
What do you think about when you hear ‘Home Farming’?
- Victory gardens
- Herbs etc.
What is a key trend now?
- We are in a midst of a gardening renaissance – it is a better way to eat and live and it has caught
on in the mainstream media
- Even if some people don’t do gardening, it is a aspirational activity for many
- Farmers markets have more than tripled in the last 10 years
- Example: The Food Fight with Jamie Oliver who has been trying to change the way people eat at
home and at school
Why now?
- Behavioral changes: people stay at home more; they put off major purchases, use coupons,
lower the heat, reduce travel, buy more store brands, search for bargains online, make meals
from scratch, and conserve household goods.
- Strong obesity trends amongst US adults
How has this impacted marketing?
- Often companies use words such as ‘basic’, ‘simple ingredients’, ‘sun’ even if their products are
not healthy. There are no FDA requirement of using the word ‘Natural’
- Marketers have started to use more of these codes due to renewed interest in Nature cues
We saw an opportunity
Marketing now is not about the messages, it is about delivering experiences. People do not want to be
educated about products on Facebook; it is about offering a valuable experience. If they learn more
about your product in the meantime, that would be optimal.
Triscuit
-Delicious, addictive.
-Also has negative profile – could be dry and salty
-Been around for 100 years
-Uses 3 ingredients
-100% wholegrain
-Targets 35-44 year old women: she values quality relationships. She is part of a fast growing
demographic on Facebook and likes to share photos online, she still sends electronic greeting
cards.
So how does a brand like Triscuit stand out in the sea of sameness- become a brand of action.
Home Farming Movement
- Paid integration onto The Ellen Show
- Homefarming.com – consumers don’t just want to enjoy a product, we have to give people
value and show them what it means to be in something -> give consumers information about
when and how to plant different vegetables and herbs (gardening for dummys idea)
- Offer little rewards that can be shared on Facebook
- Use Facebook as a link- most people, especially target market, do not use more than one social
network platform
- Ongoing blogger outreach- looking for online websites e.g. about heath & wellness, parenting,
gardening etc, and look for conversations about gardening and sustainability and talk about your
product in a way that it is not spam – add value to their conversation
- Home Farming Day in 2011 with live webcasts
- Placement of Triscuit seeds in gardening stores – seeds in the biscuit – picked the ones that
were most easily planted because not everyone is skilled in gardening
- Urban Farming partnership – created and funded 65 community/urban farms
How have we done so far?
- Over 30000 registered homes and counting
- 462 million unpaid impressions
- United States Department of Agriculture talked about Triscuit as an example of what is good in
marketing now
- Helped to contemporize the brand: it is more than just a snack, improved taste perception,
became company who cares about the environment, delicious way to eat healthy
- Sold more crackers by gaining new customers, increased share, base velocity of growth
Closing Thoughts
3 things brands need to do now that they didn’t have to as much before:
- Integrity-if you do not perform ethically there will be a backlash that destroys all your previous
good work
- A Point of View – how does products intersect with people’s lives
- Courage- be prepared for a lot of negative feedback. E.g. on Facebook page
The social cause does not necessarily have to match the product, it should not be too focused on marketing, otherwise it will be boring and people will not take notice
There might always be contradictions but what it comes down to is do you champion good social behavior through marketing.
