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• Awakening & Awareness
• Transparency & Traceability
• and Self-Sufficiency & Empowerment

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A Message to You Foodie 2011

Please feel free to share that delicious morsel with clients, colleagues, and lunch dates. Or, if you’d prefer a text-only version, just keep reading below. (And, if you’re completely confused by the theme of this post, the references to the Specials, or the dancing dude to the right, go ahead and get yourself acquainted.)

A Message to You Foodie 2011

Stop Your Messing Around. Better Think of Food Future.

In our last foray into food trends, things were looking pretty sour. Obesity was weighing us (and our kids) down, misleading food labels were offering everything but “smart choices,” and hucksters kept promising suspicious benefits from so-called “superfoods” that we could barely pronounce. Amidst plenty of Future Fear about intractable problems facing the economy, global politics, and the fate of Two and a Half Men, we’d understand if pessimism about food future was lumped into the mix. But, something funny has happened in the meantime: the major players in the food world suddenly started cooperating and taking significant swings at the category’s toughest problems. In the past few months alone, we’ve seen South Los Angeles (an area with chronically high rates of obesity) take a stand against food deserts by banning new fast-food restaurants and actively recruiting healthier options. We’ve seen San Francisco wrist-slap kids’ meals that dangle toys as carrots instead of just dangling some damn carrots already. We’ve seen food manufacturers like Kraft filling gaps in municipal funding (and giving kids a place to be active) by building neighborhood playgrounds. In fact, if we had to pick one overarching food theme for 2011, it’d be progress and pragmatism in tackling the category’s most entrenched problems. (Fortunately we don’t have to pick just one. We’ll get to the others in our forthcoming Smartshot webinar.)

As you’d expect, some of the biggest contributors to this remarkable progress have come from the liberal, hippie, anti-business, nanny-state environmentalists at… Walmart?? Yup, their Great Value private label foods were already tough competitors on price, and now Walmart’s launched a five year plan to reduce sodium, trans fats and added sugars in these foods. (A five year plan? What is this, Stalinmart?) The nation’s largest retailer is also exerting pressures on manufacturers like ConAgra and Kraft to adopt similar measures for the foods they sell in-store. For some added incentive, Walmart’s tightening the screws by dropping prices on whole grain foods, fresh fruits, and vegetables, and even considering a seal that would distinguish foods that are low in sodium, sugar, and fat. And, just to make sure they’re staying on task, Walmart has agreed to provide progress reports to… Michelle Obama?? Yup, the First Lady’s made childhood obesity her first priority, and her Let’s Move initiative is promising realistic, achievable changes that are grounded in common sense. While her neighbors in the Beltway must think that’s crazy talk, that’s exactly the kind of strategy that’ll go far in boardroom. The collaboration with Walmart is just one example of the First Lady actively engaging corporate America in her efforts, which is partially a realization that Walmart has as much power as the federal government to impact these problems (if not more). That’s not to say the feds aren’t trying. They just overhauled the USDA food pyramid, with takeaways that are uncharacteristically straightforward: eat less, be more active, cut back on salt and sugary drinks, and keep an eye on calories. The “eat less” piece is perhaps the most startling part (the pyramid has never really addressed the issue), and it’s a big win for the shift towards small (yup, we called it with our Sized Right trend). These recommendations are simple enough for a child to follow, and that’s no accident. Kids consume over half of their calories at school, which is why there’s an effort to get them involved in preparing cafeteria lunches or, at the very least, to understand where their food comes from.

This all sounds so completely… reasonable, which explains why we’re seeing such progress on these problems. There’s a growing acknowledgment that superfoods aren’t the answer, that quick fixes to health probably don’t exist, and that health and wellness isn’t as complicated as we often make it out to be. There’s not a lot here that we didn’t already know; it’s just that eating healthy and being active have always been so difficult for the average consumer. Ask Walmart why they’re instituting the aforementioned changes, and they’ll tell you that their customers asked them to help by making the healthier foods more affordable than the junk. And that’s what’s radically different this time ‘round: for every problem facing the food world, the big players are offering practical solutions that make it easier for consumers to lead healthy lives. Yes, the USDA is telling us to eat less, but restaurants and food manufacturers are making this trade-off a tasty one by offering everything from sliders to substantial snacks to small plates. Yes, fatty foods are a delicious way to ensure you don’t live past 50, but chefs are finding smarter and tastier alternatives like duck fat (as any Hot Doug’s fan already knew). Yes, you knew that a bacon double cheeseburger is basically a sucker-punch to your circulatory system, but menus with calorie counts are now revealing the less obvious horrors of your morning muffin or daily burrito. Yes, you need to eat your veggies, so chefs and food manufacturers alike are reexamining ways to get all kinds of flavors out of formerly forsaken produce, even if it requires looking toward cultures that are more traditionally vegetable-focused (anyone catching a whiff of our Primitive Simplicity trend?).

But the idea of practical solutions is perhaps most evident in the realm of meat consumption. Americans are grudgingly acknowledging the personal and environmental downsides of consuming too much meat, but many aren’t ready for the extreme limitations required by vegetarianism or veganism. (Gotta allow for Baconnaise, right?) Normally, that’d be the end of the story, but a number of strange bedfellows are finding themselves promoting a third option: flexitarianism, or getting creative about cutting back on meat consumption (without completely eliminating it). It’s certainly worth noting when numerous trend-setting eateries embrace Meatless Mondays, including all 14 restaurants run by snout-to-tail advocate Mario Batali. But things are really changing when we see Meatless Mondays institutionalized at Sodexo, which supplies food for hospitals, government institutions, and schools. As one of the biggest employers in the world, reducing Sodexo’s meat consumption by 1/7 makes a dramatic dent in the overall demand for industrial livestock, but also makes it more likely that others will follow. For instance, Kellogg is doubling down on its Morningstar product line, including a new line of soy-based breakfast entrees. (And lest you think it’s those darn kids driving this trend, Kellogg’s primary target for this line is Boomer women.)

Flexitarians aside, the meat of the matter is that concerns about health and wellness are becoming an increasingly significant part of the American consumer’s value equation. They’re realizing the long-term implications of the choices they make at the table. They’ve clamored for practical solutions, and the food, beverage, and beauty industries (among others) have delivered them. So here’s the message to you, Foodies: get your programs in tune with progress and your consumers’ calls for practical solutions.

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• Our #1 hit of 2010 was our celebration of the innovative marketing efforts of… a car company? An American car company?? Yep, Ford has Facebook all figured out, especially with their live launch of their 2011 Explorer. No other marketer demonstrated such a nuanced approach to engaging with consumers via Facebook. It’s the perfect case study for seamlessly applying all the features that Facebook has to offer, and giving consumers what they actually want from a brand on social media. (It’s also one of the reasons we wholeheartedly agree with Ad Age naming Ford marketer of the year for 2010.)
• Part of the impetus for naming Cause with Effect as a 2011 trend came from watching the shifts in cause marketing over the course of 2010. Pepsi Refresh was clearly the game changer in this category, but we put Levi’s “Ready to Work” campaign under the microscope because it really drove home the depth-over-breadth approach that we expect to become a bigger focus in 2011. Likewise, one of the few bright spots that came out of the Haitian disaster was discovering that enormous sums of charitable money could be generated by aggregating millions of small (mobile) donations. If only this breast cancer awareness gag could have tapped that tactic!
• Anyone could’ve told you that food trucks are poised to upend the restaurant world in 2011, but readers were enthusiastic about our coverage of non-food applications for the food truck fad.
• It’s not everyday that our readers get jazzed about billboards, but these outdoor spectacles changed that perception pretty quickly. Likewise, we think this might be the only time a conversation about sustainable packaging has ever been so damn sexy.

Head this way for Part 2!

So, what’s the deal? Is this glass powered by robotic sensors? A superpowerful microcomputer? Artificial intelligence?

Nah. The creator reveals his secret on PSFK (which hopefully doesn’t get him kicked out of the “Magicians Alliance”): the color of the liquid fills up specially-located spaces in the glass that are otherwise invisible. The color of that drink spells out the beverage type on the side – see how it works here.

With marketers increasingly throwing around the term “magical” to describe everything from devices to experiences, it’s refreshing to an old-fashioned magic trick in the purest sense of the term. Through clever design, the Cipher has made something seemingly unbelievable happen, just by tweaking what’s right in front of our eyes. When we talk about delighting consumers with hidden surprises, this is the kind of magic we’re hoping to encounter.

Since yesterday’s augmented reality update was such a hit, that seems like the best place to start. You may remember us calling out Ben & Jerry’s in our Smartshot webinar on QR codes. At the time, we argued that the brand’s Target-exclusive flavors had missed an opportunity to provide more information about the charitable component to the shopper marketing program. We’d suggested that a QR code on the lid could have delivered that content effectively, which is true. Of course, bringing those programs to life through 3D augmented reality animations works, too. The video below shows how the brand’s iPhone app interacts with a variety of Ben & Jerry’s containers, and without the need for an AR marker. Consider our criticisms vanquished!

You may also remember us struggling a bit with the “I Like It On…” Facebook meme that, ostensibly, was intended to raise Breast Cancer awareness. Our critique focused on the fact that there wasn’t much of a payoff: no one used the campaign to raise money for research, and the in-on-the-joke approach made it difficult for outsiders to learn more about the issue. Fortunately, a campaign from Abraxis Bioscience (pictured at the top of the post) got the balance right. Abraxis created a site called sharethelittlethings.com, where women were encouraged to post stories about their own (or their loved ones’) breast cancer survival. The submissions (which could be posted to Facebook and Twitter, t00) ranged from encouragement to actionable advice, providing a legitimate emotional and practical impact for visitors. Better yet, Abraxis donated $1 to breast cancer research for every post, ensuring that this effort has a long-term impact, even after the campaign ends. Maybe it’s not quite as fun as the “I Like It On” joke, but at the end of the day, Abraxis’ approach sure seems to a more effective approach to cause marketing.

(Say, that sounds like a trend worth watching in 2011, doesn’t it? We bet that if you follow the Awesome Blog on Twitter, you’d be the first to find out!)

Gap just broke out a new logo. But rather than refreshing the brand to connect with a new generation of consumers, Gap managed to send the world of art directors into a tizzy. Many of these critics have aired their grievances in a refreshingly productive manner; a redesign contest at ISO50 already has about 200 entries. By now, the hubbub has caught the attention of Gap executives, who are now promising to crowd-source their way out of this debacle.

Ah, tapping the power of consumer-controlled conversations to appease a passionate micro community of designers. It’s trend-a-licious, isn’t it? (A handful of Pepsi and Tropicana execs are solemnly nodding in the distance.) Of course, this approach has its critics, too. An open call for logo designs could also be interpreted as the spec work problem gone awry (i.e. declining quality + no one paying designers = everyone loses). Is there a middle ground that will make everyone happy?

Possibly. And it’s full of potassium.

A recent campaign from Chiquita provides a thought-provoking possibility for this predicament. Visitors to eatachiquita.com get the chance to design their own labels, combining a couple hundred elements into essentially endless possibilities. (Over 25,000 possibilities have been designed so far.) The top-rated stickers will be featured on bananas starting in November, but any design you create can be printed on a variety of shirts and other swag thanks to a partnership with Zazzle.

There are quite a few moving parts to this campaign, so let’s focus on the pieces that most relevant to the situation currently facing the Gap. (Otherwise, we would rave about the brilliance of that Zazzle piece.) Both brands faced the basic question about whether to mess with logos that have been iconic mainstays in the advertising world. But while the Gap (and Pepsi, for that matter) went ahead and thrust their new design on an unsuspecting public, Chiquita hasn’t committed one way or the other. Their strategy seems to be: have some fun, play with the logo, and let’s see where this goes. Maybe they’ll need a redesign, maybe they won’t. Maybe a new logo will come out of this experiment, maybe it won’t. Actually, it probably won’t. But, if and when it’s time for a logo redesign, the brand will have one hell of a focus group to draw from, having many thousands of consumers telling them exactly what they’d put on a banana.

In addition, letting aspiring designers choose from a curated set of elements saves the brand from the darker side of consumer-controlled conversations – you know, the part where your brand’s critics mercilessly tear you apart via your open-ended campaign. Unless someone manages to compose a scathing rant out of cartoon noses, Chiquita should make it through this unharmed (and even then, you’d have to admire the effort).

But, perhaps most importantly, there’s now a sense of discovery when it comes to something as banal as bananas. That little sticker isn’t a whole lot of real estate to begin with, but it’s now become something for shoppers to stop and seek out. This is exactly the kind of thing we’re talking about when we aim to break through the autopilot of the normal grocery experience. You know where we’re headed with this, right? Yep, it’s a manifestation of yet another of our 10 trends for 2010 – delighting consumers with hidden surprises. Anytime you can deliver unexpected moments of joy via a friggin’ banana, you know you’ve broken through the clutter.

(For more background on how the Chiquita campaign came about, check out this interview.)

Above, you’ll find the boldly titled webinar, “Holy S#!t, Your Sample Rocked My World!” In less than 15 minutes, we tackle the following topics with reckless abandon:

• Why sampling (still) matters
• 5 benchmarks for best-in-class sampling
• Examples of great samples

It’s the latest installment of the Upshot Smartshot webinar series, bringing you better marketing in 15 minutes.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@upshotblog) for information on subsequent Smartshots. And, if you have marketing topics that you’d like to see us tackle (in 15 minutes!), just let us know!

In this Posting, we take a sneak peek at what Stickybits is about to unleash upon the mobile marketing world. Hint: it’s about to render a lot of campaigns extinct.

As always, we’ve provided a PDF version of the original Potty Posting here, which we strongly encourage you to share with colleagues, clients, and anyone who you’d warn about an impending mobile marketing meteor. Or, if you’d prefer a text-only version, keep on reading below.

Has Stickybits Discovered Mobile’s Missing Link?

Don’t let your brand become a marketing fossil!

Students of The Awesome Blog will recall that we recently had a little chat about Stickybits. (If that doesn’t ring a bell, we strongly suggest following twitter.com/upshotblog, since this material will be on the final exam.) We talked about how scanning a UPC with the Stickybits smartphone app allows consumers to interact with physical goods by attaching (or receiving) images, videos, comments, or reviews to the product’s barcode. While we acknowledged this service’s intriguing potential, we also warned you about two potentially significant shortcomings. First, we struggled to find a non-intrusive way to inform consumers about which UPCs were worth scanning, so that shoppers weren’t aimlessly roaming the supermarket aisles in a zombie-like scanning haze. Additionally, we were concerned about the likely possibility that a product’s barcode could become the gateway for incessant brand bashing, considering the not-so-elevated discourse that often plagues social media. So, when Stickybits announced that they’ve got a big makeover coming in October, all we really wanted was for them to iron out these nagging issues. In a way, they did. But rather than worrying about resolving these problems directly, they’ve done one better: they’ve rendered them obsolete by drastically enlarging the scope of the service. In the process, they might’ve broken the mold for what mobile marketing can accomplish.

What, you think we’re being dramatic? When a few tweaks suddenly unearth the missing links between mobile marketing and digitally-enabled shopping, promotions, group buying, social media, location, scale programs, value-added partnerships, and shopper marketing, you’ll forgive us for getting a little verklempt. Look a little closer and you might find your own marketing mind blown into little sticky bits. (Hmm, do you think that’s how they came up with the name?)

Let’s get the mundane stuff out of the way. Stickybits plans harvest the low-hanging fruit by allowing brands to deliver coupons when a UPC is scanned. Hey, you could do worse as far as mobile marketing promotions go, since this will deliver relevant, targeted values at the point-of-purchase. Better yet, it also encourages consumers to physically touch your product, which increases the likelihood that they will buy the item. But, we know that digital coupons aren’t exactly making your blood pressure rise.

Now, you may find yourself getting all hot and bothered if we tap emerging trends to make those couponing promotions infinitely more engaging. (Admittedly, it’s a weird fetish – must’ve had something to do with those Baby Ogilvy tapes our moms played when we were infants.) Stickybits’ first smart move was noticing that this whole “social” thing seems to be going places. In response, brands will be able to offer coupons that are activated when a group of your friends all scan the code together. That’s a pretty simple (and, in the parlance of Upshot, pretty brilliant) way to build-in viral potential to your campaigns.

The service is also making an intriguing entry into the location space by offering location-specific deals. Say, doesn’t that sound like it’s full of potential for regional shopper marketing programs? And let’s not forget about event marketing applications: what if consumers could only gain entrance to your awesome branded party by buying your product and scanning it at the front door? Heck, you could take this one step further by bringing sampling into the mix, and using codes on the packaging to unlock experiences, discounts, and just about anything else around town. Age of boring mobile campaigns, meet your meteor!

Finally, Stickybits will also offer multi-item deals that can be unlocked by scanning a variety of different products. For instance, the Svedka campaign pictured above is dependent on the user scanning 5 different flavors of their vodkas. Wait a minute… do we finally have a compelling digital solution for scale programs and value-added partnerships??? I believe we do! If you just heard a squeal of joy from the stall next door, you can assume it came from our CPG and beverage teams, as they realized the potential for some serious digital enhancement for their promotions. Now, does anyone still think we’re being overly dramatic?

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Stickybits is a smartphone application that allows users to attach content to pre-existing barcodes, and access content that other people have left on the same code. That “pre-existing” part is the key; Stickybits turns any product with a UPC (so, uh, basically any product) into a social media channel. The brand often delivers the first “bit” of content, much like other barcode applications. For instance, a clever campaign from Food52 partnered with brands like Domino’s sugar and Organic Valley Sour Cream to provide recipes when users scanned the UPC on each product’s package. However, consumers can then respond by attaching their own mp3s, videos, text, pdfs, and what-have-you to the UPC for anyone to see. Imagine the possibilities for abuse!

And that‘s exactly why we’ve been hesitant to jump on board. In the era of Consumer Controlled Conversations, we all know that marketers have to engage in open, honest dialogs with consumers in public forums. But monitoring Twitter conversations is one thing; having consumers tearing your brand apart on a forum that’s attached to your physical product can, understandably, be a tough pill for clients to swallow. Sure, consumers can have these conversations with or without your involvement, but if you’re not calling attention to your UPC, most consumers probably aren’t even going to think to scan the code in the first place.

Which brings us to problem number two with Stickybits. As we mentioned in the QR code Smartshont webinar, one benefit of a QR code is that consumers always know that there’s some content on the other end of the code – it’s essentially a sign that there’s something more to see. With Stickybits, your campaign is relying on a UPC that’s generally ignored unless you explicitly call attention to it via packaging, in-store media, or some other touchpoint. Are consumers really going to go around scanning every UPC in the supermarket looking for content? Of course not, which means unprompted conversations will almost certainly come from extreme fans and extreme haters. By no means is that a deal-killer for Stickybits, but it’s worth considering.

For instance, it makes perfect sense for Campbell’s new campaign to utilize the Stickybits platform, because the campaign itself is explicitly about the redesigned labels for their soup cans. (Campbell’s is dangling a $500 sweepstakes to encourage participation.) This is a clear example of connecting the medium to the message (and the product, for that matter), so the item being discussed doubles as the platform for the discussion. Also, by giving consumers a specific topic to discuss, it’s likely that Campbell’s has pre-emptively reigned in some of the more “colorful” anonymous comments that are to be expected in the age of Consumer Controlled Conversations.

Coke’s application of Stickybits uses similar logic. Part of their mysterious campaign surrounding the brand’s secret recipe includes “unlocking the bottle,” communicating to consumers that there might be a reason to scan the codes on the product. (P.S. There’s a fun little trick hidden in that linked Coke video – let us know if you haven’t found it yet.)

So, where does this leave us? Frankly, on the fence. It’s a compelling platform, as evidenced by the three campaigns above. There are certainly good applications in the right situation, and the Food52 example offers a particularly innovative partnership strategy. However, for now, there are also considerable risks and shortcomings, many of which can be avoided using other barcode and social media solutions. We’ll certainly stick around and see how the situation develops.

If you haven’t already, please don’t forget to vote for our SXSW 2011 panel, accessible here. You’ll need to create an account to vote, but we promise that it takes less than a minute. Voting closes Friday, August 27th, and we appreciate every bit of help we can get!