Pitching a Product, Without Showing It

Reminiscent of the Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty” introduced in 2004 that featured curvy women, the new Special K ads also star women who are “not an idealized and unattainable image of perfection,” as marketing materials from Kellogg put it.

“In the past, we had cast women more in terms of their success at the end, but the object of these spots is just to get women to declare their vision,” said Mylene Pollock, a senior vice president and creative director at Leo Burnett who worked on the campaign.

New York Times

Chocolatey cereal doesn't appear to cure h1n1

Chalk this one up to a supercharged political environment that now attaches suspicions to cereal-box labels as well as virus vaccines: Kellogg has just announced that it is backing away from the “Immunity” claim on its Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies cereals.

As we reported Tuesday, critics recently scored Kellogg for emblazoning the claim, “Now Helps Support Your Child’s IMMUNITY” on the front of the packages after boosting the daily value of antioxidant vitamins A, C and E in the cereals to 25% last spring, from the earlier 10%.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera protested that Kellogg’s claim implied that its cereals could help protect kids against the swine-flu epidemic, and might mislead parents -- though Kellogg had been developing the line for more than a year, well before the advent of the H1N1 scare, and rolled it out in May.

Of course, the ubiquity of the virus by now, the deaths it has caused, and the ambivalence of American parents about the H1N1 vaccine created a sensitive landing place for such allegations

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How Special K Became a Social Media Star

It has to do with the strength of the brand at the moment we started to build our programs using digital and social media. With Special K, it’s our strongest cereal brand. It has a very strong relationship with consumers…The brand enables a dialogue around women and our key consumers, which revolves around weight management. You see a lot of the dialogue in this space that uses the brand as a platform for the interaction among consumers as they give each other tips and encouragement. One of the things we discovered about women when they go through a weight-management [stage] is support and encouragement from peers is very important, and social media is a great place for consumers to do that.

BrandWeek

Kellogg marks Pop-Tarts' 45th birthday with a pop-art celebration

Brand Freak

Kellogg banking on fiber as next consumer craze

Kellogg's brings us FIBER MADNESS:

The launch begins next month when fiber-enhanced Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks, two of the company's most popular children's cereals, replace the old versions on supermarket shelves.

The cereals were chosen to kick off the initiative because they are widely available and among the market's bestsellers, said Celeste Clark, Kellogg's senior vice president of global nutrition and corporate affairs.

"It's tough to get kids to get fiber and add it without compromising taste," Clark said.

The Detroit News

Kellogg Adds Honey to Target Hispanics

The new line extension targets loyal consumers of the original Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal, particularly the 55-plus demographic. The Hispanic population has also proven to be a strong following. "Kellogg's Corn Flakes has been a part of the Latino breakfast experience for years," said Susanne Norwitz, director of brand PR at Kellogg. "This new flavor addition simply provides another great option for those who love the wholesome goodness of Corn Flakes."

BrandWeek

Kellogg adds fiber, hoping to bowl cereal consumers over

"Some 80% of Kellogg cereals will have at least 3 grams of fiber per serving by the end of 2010. That may sound small, but foods with 3 grams are rated a good source of fiber by the government. The fiber boost begins in August with kid-targeted cereals Froot Loops and Apple Jacks.

"The move is expected to rock the packaged foods industry, which is under pressure from consumers and lawmakers to boost food quality. The industry has recently begun embracing fiber-fortified products at warp speed."

USA Today

Kellogg chief calls for overhaul of U.S. food safety

The head of Kellogg Co, whose company lost nearly $70 million in products from a recent peanut recall, will tell lawmakers on Thursday the U.S. food safety system must be overhauled with a focus on prevention.

Reuters

Food Marketers Take Safer Course in Recession

As economy contracts, marketers increasingly rely on the safe and familiar:

Whereas previous years were marked by ambitious launches and re-branded lines, this meeting was mainly about line extensions or re-branding. Campbell emphasized it is reducing the sodium content across its soup portfolio, with 50% of its soups expected to have less salt than the original versions by fiscal 2010. General Mills is building on its success in the cereal category by offering new versions of its most popular brands, such as Banana Nut Cheerios. Kellogg Co. is launching savory cracker products tied to its Special K brand (a line extension), and a number of new Eggo waffles with flax and blueberries (also a line extension).

Ad Age

Frosted Flakes Super Bowl Ad Promotes Goodwill Program

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes will use a Super Bowl ad to promote a new program in which it will renovate about 50 community playing fields as an extension of its "Earn Your Stripes" kids' program.

MediaPost

Kellogg Is Testing Space-Saving Box

Kellogg says that the box--which is shorter and appears to be wider than a traditional one--will be easier for consumers to store. The eco benefit should also be appealing: The new design uses an average 8% less packaging material per box.

The company also said the new box could help retailers make more efficient use of shelf space and provide more varieties of products.

Media Post

Fiber Being Pitched As Tasty, Sexy Even

Fiber, the chewy, gummy, indigestable substance that is said to promote both weight loss and regularity, is not known for its taste, but you wouldn’t know it from the industry’s latest spin.

BrandWeek

Special K Launches Crackers, Blueberry Cereal

Just last month, Kellogg rolled out three new, protein-fortified Special K products--K20 Protein Waters, Protein Snack Bars and Protein Meal Bars--that extended the brand's retail territory into the diet/nutrition sections of grocery and drug stores. The products were also the first to emerge from Kellogg's new Health & Wellness Division.

Like all Special K products--which also include cereal bars, Snack Bites, Bliss Bars and waffles, Special K Crackers are being positioned as convenient, nutritious, tasty solutions to help consumers (women in particular) "address their weight management goals."

MediaPost

Kellogg, Kraft Forge Ahead Through Market Turmoil

The sour economy continues to be sweet for package-food marketers, as Kellogg Co. reported double-digit increases in third-quarter earnings today. It credited stepped-up marketing support for the gains -- but a slowdown looks to be on the horizon. . . .

AdAge

Foodmakers come up with 'Smart Choice' label to denote healthier fare

The label, dubbed "Smart Choices," will be featured on products made by General Mills, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Kellogg and Con-Agra, as well as Kraft. Wal-Mart, the nation's leading grocery retailer, also played a role in developing the program, though the label will be carried on products sold at all grocery stores.

Chicago Tribune

Economy May Be Rotten, but It's Ripe for Package Food

Campbell Soup's sales rose 13% in the most recent quarter, a phenomenon CEO Douglas Conant said was aided partly by strapped consumers embracing condensed soup as an inexpensive meal alternative. Kellogg Co.'s second-quarter sales climbed 11% to $3.3 billion, a rise CEO David Mackay told analysts was due to "a reduction [by consumers] in out-of-home consumption."

Ad Age

Kellogg Buys Australian Cereal Company

It has acquired Specialty Cereals Pty Limited, a privately owned manufacturer of natural ready-to-eat cereals based in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1988, Specialty Cereals markets products under the Vogels, Wild Oats, and Cerevite brands.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. With Specialty Cereals' net sales of approximately $17 million for the 2007-08 Australian Financial Year, the transaction is not expected to have a material impact on Kellogg's 2008 operating profit, it said.

Marketing Daily