Women's Movement

CAROL ANGRISANI

Old Home Foods may have an 80-year history, but there's nothing old about its marketing efforts.

The company has kicked off a major integrated effort to reach its target demographic: women between the ages of 25 and 49. Along with a new ad campaign, the thrust of the initiative involves event marketing.

In doing the latter, Old Home hopes to show women that it cares about them, their lives and their interests, said Dave Holdsworth, Old Home's sales and marketing vice president.

“When you sponsor something that's important to them, you appeal to them on an emotional level,” Holdsworth said.

The St. Paul, Minn.-based regional marketer of sour cream, yogurt and other dairy products has already sponsored two family oriented sporting events: baseball and gymnastics.

“The majority of the people at these events are women, who are taking their daughters and family members,” Holdsworth noted.

Old Home was the local presenting sponsor of the U.S. gymnastics championships in St. Paul over the summer. As such, it sold $69 event packages that included four tickets, and coupons for four hot dogs and drinks. The packs also included an Old Home recipe/coupon booklet.

At the events themselves, samples of Old Home yogurt smoothies were distributed.

Old Home continued the momentum by hosting in-store appearances at area Cub Foods stores by several celebrity gymnasts, including Carly Patterson and Todd Thornton.

While the company has always been female-focused, it's now more consciously going after the demographic, which accounts for 75% of Old Home purchases. The intent is to make its brands relevant for reasons far beyond price.

“We have great products, but we want people to know we're also caring and giving,” Holdsworth said.

To help in that effort, Old Home also tied in with the St. Paul Saints, an independent minor league baseball team, by handing out samples of its yogurt smoothies at games. It went even further by hosting what it calls “Smoothie Strike Human Bowling,” a game in which people go inside an inflatable life-size bowling ball and try to knock down pins in the shape of its yogurt smoothies.

The company is still reviewing 2007 sponsorship opportunities, but plans once again to maintain a presence at women-oriented events.

Old Home's efforts enable it to connect with women in a more powerful way, said Dori Molitor, president and chief executive officer, WomanWise, a St. Paul-based consulting and marketing firm that developed Old Home's women's-marketing campaign.

“When people talk about event marketing, they talk about the importance creating an experience. But what many forget is that it has to be a meaningful experience,” Molitor said.

Women lead busy, often stressful lives and are looking for brands that empathize with their harried situation.

“Woman do not expect a brand to solve their problems, but they want one that at least acknowledges them,'' Molitor said.

To help achieve this, Old Home developed a new tagline: “For the way you live.”

The tagline is the focal point of a new ad campaign that recognizes the many roles women play in business and home. Ads for Old Home sour cream, for instance, stress that it can be used on everything from potatoes, tacos and nachos and, therefore, “multitasks as well as you do.” And ads for its cottage cheese emphasize that the product is “as dependable as you are.”

Such statements reconfirm the brand's commitment to and understanding of the women's market, Molitor said.

“Women will say, ‘That brand gets me,’” she said.

Holdsworth said many female consumers have already voiced support of its efforts.

“People really appreciate what we're doing,” Holdsworth said.

While certain brands may boast quality ingredients and attractive packaging, these attributes alone won't make it a success among women, Molitor said.

“Woman want more than just a sterile transaction,” she said. “They want to buy something that matters and is relevant to them.”

Companies that make a connection with women will gain a unique competitive advantage, Molitor said.

“If women identify with a brand, they won't switch to another one for a 20-cent savings,” she noted.

Likewise, they're more likely than other consumer groups to use word-of-mouth to share their positive brand experience with family and friends.

Being that woman account for 93% of all retail purchasing power, the time for women's-marketing efforts couldn't be better.

Event-marketing is critical, as it provides a more interactive branding environment.

“At an event, you're able to immerse the consumer into your brand experience,” Molitor said. “You're able to bring to life the character of your brand.”

The Ladies' Room

Consumer packaged goods marketers do more than just recognize female-dominated diseases — they help fight them.

Take Frito-Lay's SunChips brand and the role it plays in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Along with hosting volunteer resources at www.sunchips.com, the brand recently named Georgeann Corey of Columbus, Ohio, as national Volunteer of the Year. Corey was recognized during a special ceremony at one of the final 2006 Komen Race events in San Diego, where SunChips donated $10,000 in her name to Komen's Columbus affiliate.

SunChips brand also runs the “Volunteer Thank You Wall” where people can post their personal thank you notes to the race volunteers. Postings from more than 100 local Komen Race for the Cure events were showcased recently in San Diego.

“The SunChips brand is proud to recognize the spirit of these volunteers and support their work to keep hope shining on,” senior brand manager Leslie Lee said in a statement. “The awards program celebrates the dedication and service of truly outstanding volunteers and recognizes the contributions of these individuals to their communities.”

SunChips efforts do not stop there. From April through December, consumers could register their specially marked SunChips bags online at www.sunchips.com or by mail. In return, the SunChips brand donated 25 cents to the Komen Foundation (up to $410,000).

Masterfoods USA's M&M's brand is also active in breast cancer research. From August through October, it sold specially packaged bags of dark pink and light pink M&M's Chocolate Candies. Masterfoods donated 35 cents to the Komen Foundation for each 14-ounce package and 50 cents for each 21.3-ounce package sold.

Yoplait from General Mills, meanwhile, also has a lid-collecting effort that runs twice a year.

For each pink lid mailed in by customers, Yoplait donated 10 cents to the Komen Foundation (up to $1.5 million).

Along with breast cancer, other medical conditions that affect women are getting the attention of marketers.

Kellogg's “Smart Start Healthy Heart” cereal is a national supporter of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Movement.

The brand sponsored a sweepstakes for a trip to Beverly Hills, Calif., where the winner will be treated like a Hollywood star, complete with a personal training session, spa treatments and a deluxe hotel suite.

The winner will be outfitted in a red dress chosen by a celebrity stylist.

“We hope that excitement about this special weekend grand-prize trip will help encourage other women to think about the importance of leading a heart-healthy lifestyle,” said Chris Noble, senior brand manager.

A winner will be announced next month on National Wear Red Day.

Smart Start Healthy Heart is a cold cereal with ingredients that Kellogg said may help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. It is certified by the American Heart Association.

Kellogg dedicates its www.smartstart.com website to educating women about heart disease. Women can use the site to learn risk factors, terms and other useful information.

“Many of us still think of heart disease as a problem men face, but it's also the No. 1 killer of women in the United States,” the website reads.
— C.A.