When you think of food, there are some that you can definitely tell that they have their own unique and fabulous personality. You have the steak – big, tough, and strong – a definite Freberg family favorite, especially when I was training as a track and athlete. Then you have chicken tetrazinni – sophisticated, classic, and integrated with various ingredients that makes it rich and memorable.
But what about oatmeal? I particularly never got into hot cereal (or cereal in general until I got on board with Jenny Craig), but the first associations I make about oatmeal is: healthy, functional, and it is good for you – but I would not have categorized it immediately as being something that I would choose over let’s say ice cream.
But with the current state of the economy, the increase awareness of having a healthy lifestyle, the new food recalls on one of the classic and iconic food items of breakfast (eggs), there are many opportunties for oatmeal to position itself as the safe, dependable, and fabulous breakfast food today. One thing that Quaker Oats has done very strategically is position itself with some leading breakfast brands and products (ex. coffee and Starbucks and McDonalds), which has been very beneficial for their company as well as for oatmeal as a breakfast food. In addition, the brand is also trying to transform the image of having oatmeal for breakfast from being not just healthy – but healthy and fabulous. So, what you can see is definitely an example of food reputation management. 🙂
In addition, Quaker Oats is releasing its new tradtional and social media campaign focusing on “Amazing Mornings” which is focusing on their new oatmeal products that have a more heartier taste to them, with less sugar and fat. With this strategic focus and insight about current health trends and understanding the current status of the food industry with safety recalls, I believe that Quaker Oats is going to reap in the benefits from this, and the egg industry will have to make sure that they are aware of this.
While I do believe that Quaker Oats is being proactive in using social media (ex. Facebook) to their advantage, but what are they doing in terms of mobile applications – do they have applications set up to update people on stories from others on what it means to them to have an “amazing morning?” What about a cooking and tailoring application for the iPhone, Blackberry, or iPad to provide suggestions and ideas on how to use oatmeal not just for breakfast, but for all meals throughout the day.
In addition, this mobile application could also provide suggestions on exercises, activities, and other healthy-related products that might help in living a complete healthy lifestyle? What about implementing QR-Codes on the new products? Are they positioning these codes on their new products for people to download more information and health-related points on the benefits of eating oatmeal products?
These are just a few questions and thoughts I had about the new campaign. Hope you all are having a wonderful day.
Best Wishes,
Karen
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