Reference no: EM133174209

Case 1. Haagen-Dazs loves Honeybees

Overview

The Häagen-Dazs® brand recognized that it was an iconic, strong brand that had lost relevance with its consumers, and was looking for a way to highlight its all-natural positioning that would resonate. We were looking for a different way to crack the nut! The goal: to re-ignite consumer passion and boost annual sales growth by at least 1 percent and media impressions by 25 percent in 2008. At the essence of the brand is its commitment to all-natural ingredients. We uncovered an obscure problem, "disappearing honey bees" (referred to as Colony Collapse Disorder), threatening the existence of 40 percent of HD's natural ingredients. HD saw a unique opportunity to be the champion of an under-reported but critical cause. HD Loves HB was born to connect with consumers in an authentic way, be first to put the cause on consumers' radar in a significant way, and underscore HD's "all-natural" brand value proposition by inextricably linking the important relationship between honey bees and its ice cream. HD created a new flavor in honor of the honey bees, placed a captivating bee logo on all products threatened by these pollinators, launched a new consumer education website, and produced print and TV advertising. But the biggest marketing lever of all for the campaign was public relations. The brand and Ketchum set the tone for the entire campaign, formed an expert advisory board, directed significant donation funds towards meaningful research, and created an avenue for consumers in mass numbers to plant bee-friendly habitats to help save the bees. The campaign exceeded all management expectations in getting consumers, retail sales, and media buzzing. HD experienced the highest sales increase in 12 months, garnered 277+ million impressions with $1.5 million in advertising equivalencies, and increased consumer brand advocacy to 69 percent, the highest level among 19 different ice cream brands measured.

Research

• Discuss the importance of reinvigorating a brand with an "all-natural positioning."

• What elements of the audience analysis were most important in the design of a campaign?

• Discuss the importance of secondary research about a cause-notice no other major food brands had connected to the honey bee issue.

• Were focus groups the best way to conduct primary research about the Häagen-Dazsbrand.

Objectives

• Discuss classic business goals, such as driving revenue growth and product sales.

• How effective is cause-related marketing, such as "awareness of the honey bee issue."

• How realistic was the goal of 125 million media impressions?

• Discuss the behavioral objectives involving planting bee-friendly habitats, and driving unique views of the helpthehoneybees.com website.

Programming

• Discuss the importance of an "emotional connection" with a brand. List other brands that have solid emotional connections paired with cause-marketing.

• How did the public donation to Pennsylvania State University contribute to the tone of the campaign?

• Have students develop a list of ingredients that would go into a "flavor launch."

• Discuss the design of a "media multiplier" to expand impressions.

• How did the "Ice Cream Social on Capitol Hill" bring more publicity? Is this a typical publicity stunt?

• How did the campaign use Craigslist.com to reach out?

Evaluation

• Discuss each of the goals: business, awareness, and behavior.

• Discuss the comparisons of one business quarter's PR / buzz with another to show trends.

• Discuss the use of an Omnibus Survey to capture information about a campaign.

• Discuss the increase in "brand advocacy rating."

Case 2. Hallmark Sound Card Product Launch: Sweet Music

Overview

With the overwhelming growth of cell phones, Blackberries, and IMs, it has never been easier to communicate. With more options than ever to say "Happy Birthday" or "Congrats" rather than using a traditional greeting card, many card companies realized they needed to work to remain relevant. Industry-wide, card sales have been flat for years. So how does a company whose brand is built on greeting cards grow sales?

In 2005, Hallmark Cards created the answer. The company set out to invent a new type of card-something that tapped into deep human emotion- and more specifically tied into our culture's music obsession. From iPods to ring tones, Hallmark knew personalized music was hot and there had to be a way to merge it with the emotion of greeting cards. The "sound card" was born.

Although a card that plays music was not new, Hallmark's approach with original songs by original artists-partnered with relevant editorial-was like nothing the industry had ever seen.

After an initial "test run" during Valentine's Day 2006, the 24 new sound cards were a hit, leading Hallmark to embark on a mission to create 200 new cards in five months. With the ink still wet on the music licensing agreements, the expanded card line launched in summer 2006. Featuring recognizable songs selected for multi-generational appeal, it was the only sound card line to use original recordings by the original artists. And because of that, a key to success would be alerting music fans-potential new consumers-to the product.

One key strategy implemented by the Hallmark Cards and Fleishman-Hillard teams was to leverage extensive research about the consumer need/desire for the cards to raise awareness. The team showcased the cards via media sampling and unique direct-to-consumer tactics,

In the end, the Hallmark Gold Crown-exclusive sound cards created a buzz, drove traffic, and generated purchases from both Hallmark Gold Crown Card (HGCC) members and non-members.

Specifically, the sound cards:

• Helped card sales jump 9 percent over the previous year's sales;

• Formed the foundation of Hallmark's new "innovations" platform, demonstrating Hallmark cards' relevancy; and

• Reminded consumers of the power of a card.

Research

• Discuss the power of music as a personal way to communicate emotion

• Discuss the value of each component of the research used for the campaign:

• Product research

• Consumer focus groups

• Sales data research

• Consumer online idea exchange

Objectives

• What ways may a campaign measure "raising consumer awareness" or "creating buzz?"

• Notice that the objective to increase sales is never clearly quantified.

Programming

• Discuss the strategy of creating a sense of surprise and excitement about the product.

• Discuss the value of letting consumers "experience" the sound card to generate interest. (Sound and sight enhance the experience.)

• Why did the campaign use the MTV Music Video Awards to generate interest among the music industry to participate in the sound card product?

• Describe the procedures to arrange a radio media tour and a satellite media tour to deliver your campaign messages

• How did the top-selling cards become a news peg?

• Ask students to identify ways to conduct "customized pitching" to media outlets.

• Discuss the value of news releases about a new artist being include on sound cards. (Exhibit 8-3b News Release on New Recording Artist)

Evaluation

• Discuss the increase in sales (sound cards contributed more than half of the counter card dollar increase).

• Discuss 2-3 of the critical national show exposures for the campaign and how they helped generate awareness and buzz.