Did Kellogs continue advertising in this recession?
Last year I posted a blog looking at why it was of benefit to continue advertising during a recession. My case study touted Kellogg’s as being a success during the recession of the 1930′s and now we’re out of this current one it got me wondering if Kellogg’s had followed the same route during this one and if they had come out tops once again.
First for the success.
A recent press release shows that Kellogg’s made an increase of 6% on their $1.1 billion profit from 2008 and with European net sales showing an increase of 2% on 2008.
Kraft, one of Kellogg’s major competitors saw their profits raise by 3.2% in the same period.
How did they advertise in 2008 and 2009?
According to the Kellogg’s press centre, amongst other things, they undertook to following marketing campaigns in 2008/2009:
- In Nov 2009 Kellogg’s released a £2m TV campaign for Crunchy Nut Bites.
- In Sep 2009 they undertook a £80k sponsorship for Classic FM Brighter Breakfast show to show the cholesterol reducing benefits of Optivita.
- In Aug 2008 they released a £2m TV campaign for Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (a campaign that came top in a poll by Marketing Magazine of the Most Watched TV Adverts).
If you want to know more about each of the individual advertising campaigns you can find it on the Kellogg’s website.
Advertising Online
A huge part of Kellogg’s marketing comes through their (incredibly catchy) TV adverts, what I’m interested in is how they have utilised the Internet during the last two years to promote their product in this relatively cheap medium.
- Twitter : Kelloggs have a Twitter account which is managed in a friendly tone and despite every second Tweet being a marketing Tweet it manages to come across as approachable. Also, the woman managing the account responds frequently to followers which adds to the approachability. The twitter account currently has around 2500 followers.
- Facebook : In 2009 Kellogg’s teamed up with Katalyst to promote the awareness of the hunger epedemic in America. As part of this they (Katalyst) Tweeted on their Twitter accounts, Facebook groups were set up and an online video was created (directed by Demi Moore). The facebook account currently has around 204,000 members and the online video has had 8855 views on YouTube.
- Social Media : In Jan 2010, Kellogg’s appointed CMW to promote new cereal Krave. The advertising will be a mix of online video, social media and a Krave microsite.
Obviously I’m only touching the surface with this post (given the reams and reams that’s been written about their marketing campaigns) but it’s enough for me to illustrate my thoughts.
While Kellogg’s have stuck with traditional means of advertising they are also making a clear move towards social media with the launch of Krave. I think it’s clear from this that they continued to advertise during this recession and they were able to launch new product ranges during that troubled time too.
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