Keebler BRANDWEEK, April 3, 1995 Keebler Hits Arcade for Pizzaria Reset Promotions By Gerry Khermouch Keebler Salty Snacks, which restaged its flagging Pizzarias chips in January, will marshall video arcades and Brutal monsters to reach teens where they hang. Keebler this weekend launches a sampling blitz and sweepstakes at more than 200 Time Out and Aladdin's Castle arcades, tying into the release of Gametek's Brutal: Paws of Fury PC game. The promo, "Pizzarias Delivers the Brutal Challenge, " will sample 1 million-plus 1oz. packs during high-traffic hours after school and on weekends and give away 50,000 playable demos of Brutal, plus chances at one of one of 100 full-length versions, valued at $59.95. The promo marks a tilt away from mom-targeted supermarket-based promos in favor of less-exploited alternative venues that could generate a buzz in Keebler's "heartland" markets, off the two coasts, said brand manager Jamie Miller. The promo requires a one-bag purchase to qualify for the sweeps and get the demo and free playing time at the local arcade. POP includes a seven-foot high standee featuring Brutal stars such as Kung Fu Bunny and Tai Cheetah; Radio supports in 10 key markets. A parallel effort, minus the sweepstakes, runs in convenience stores. "It's different, fun and in an exclusive arena where teens talk to their peers," said Alyse Kobin, head of Kobin Enterprises, N.Y., which devised the promo. Pizzarias currently hold less than 1% of the $14 billion salty snacks market. For its restage, Keeber adopted more youth-oriented graphics for packaging and launched ads, via agency Leo Burnett, Chicago, that took a quick-cut, rock & roll tack and limited Keebler's elves to a cameo role. April 24, 1995 Brand Builders Pizzarias Game Not Over Program: "Brutal Challenge" Marketer: Keebler Agency: Kobin Enterprises, N.Y. Key players: Keebler: Mark Miranda, Marketing Director Jamie Miller, Brand Manager Kobin Enterprises: Alyse Kobin, President Sharon Tracy, Vice President Christophe Jonatowski, Promotion Coordinator Leo Burnett: Jamie Kieffer, Account Executive Barb Kitridge, Media Supervisor T.S. Elliott, VP/ Assoc. CD To start a buzz among teens for Pizzarias chips, Keebler is taking its samples and sweepstakes to video arcades and movie theaters, with a plan to drive traffic into its core retail channel, the supermarket. "Pizzarias Delivers the Brutal Challenge" recently broke at more than 200 Time Out and Aladdin's Castle arcades, tied into the release of Gametek's Brutal: Paws of Fury PC game. The promo calls for teens to sample more than 1 million 1-oz. packs during high-traffic hours, mainly on weekends, while giving away 50,000 playable demos of Brutal, along with chances at one of 100 full-length versions of the $59.95 disk or CD-ROM game, or one of 500 T-shirts. Keebler hopes to capture teens' attention in a less-exploited venue, rather than sampling in supermarket where "kids aren't the ones shopping, but their parents," said Pizzarias brand manager Jamie Miller. The effort "leverages an activity kids are real excited about," he said. "It's different, fun, and in an exclusive arena where teens talk to their peers," said Alyse Kobin, president of Kobin Enterprises, N.Y., which devised the promo. It's a national program, but emphasizes Keebler's core markets off the East and West coasts. A parallel effort without the sweeps supports convenience store sales. Separately, Keebler hit moviegoers with 1 million Pizzarias samples during Spring Break, mid-February through mid-March, via Outside the Box Marketing, Bedford Hills, N.Y. Sampling is crucial to a broader restaging of a brand on the decline since its 1991 launch, as marketing resources were diverted to other Keebler brands, Miller said. Pizzarias currently hold less than 1% of the $14 billion market for salty snacks. Keebler has made the chips thinner and crisper, with more distinctive flavors and more youth oriented graphics for the packages. It also launched the first ad campaign since 1991 with kid-targeted TV, radio and print ads from Leo Burnett, Chicago. Miller and Kobin have been careful to structure the promos to get kids, or their influence, into supermarkets. A February on-pack promo giving away shopping sprees at record stores contributed to a 22% sales spike in key markets, Miller said. Teens must buy one 6.25-oz. bag or larger to qualify for the Brutal sweeps and get a sampler kit with the demo and free playing time at the arcades. Dramatic POP, including a seven-foot Kung Fu Bunny, Tai Cheetah and other Brutal characters, supports; there's also radio in 10 key markets, with stations in eight markets giving away Brutal soundtracks and Sega Genesis machines. June 5, 1995 Pizzarias Inspire Dredd Licensing by Gerry Khermouch Keebler Salty Snacks, lurking in teens' convenience store hangouts, this summer hitches up Pizzarias chips for a ride with Disney's Sylvestor Stallone vehicle Judge Dredd. "Judge Dredd Speaks!" begins this week and runs through September 1, offering winners video game versions of the action-adventure movie/comic book. Dredd invades 12,000 c-stores with tearpads inviting customers to submit, with proof of purchase, the 10 or fewer words that Dredd is thinking in a photo in which he confronts his scar-faced enemy. Prizes include 100 of Acclaim Entertaiment's Judge Dredd games, which retail for $67, along with 500 one-year subscriptions to the DC Comics series and 1,000 milk caps and slammers from Edge Entertainment, Denver. The flick opens June 30. The promo is part of Keebler's ongoing project to turn around Pizzarias by linking it to cutting-edge, high tech products and venues via promo agency Kobin Enterprises, N.Y. Although Pizzarias has upped its ad budget this year, this promo is supported strictly at POP. There's also a direct mail component: 300,000 warranty card holders who get Acclaim's newsletter receive coupons for free Judge Dredd/Pizzarias T-shirts for proof of purchase. September 19, 1994 KEEBLER GOES CYBER Promotions By Gerry Khermouch Keebler in November will bring supermarket aisles into the personal computer marketing mix via a fall sweepstakes offering multimedia-related PC gear, capped by 50 of Compaq's new Presario home computers. The instant-win promo, styled "CD-ROM Snack to Win Multimedia Giveaway Sweepstakes," rolls into some 30,000 grocers and mass merchandisers. Keebler Salty Snacks will belly-band some 30 million packages of O'Boisies, Chacho's, Ripplin's, Tato Skins, Pizzarias and Knots pretzels with the Keebler and Compaq logos to flag the sweeps. The promo represents the further mainstreaming of the personal computer, at a time that PC makers are looking to position their systems as familiar home appliances rather than arcane technical devices. New TV spots for the Presario also seek to do so, but "the grocery aisle is a place they would never get, even with their advertising," says Alyse Kobin, president of Kobin Enterprises, New York, promo agency for Keebler Salty Snacks. Compaq's agency is Rives Carlberg, Houston. Although the sweepstakes hit home too late to influence some consumers' Christmas buying plans - at least for purchases as weighty as PCs - Compaq views it mainly as a brand building vehicle, said Joel Granoff, merchandising manager for Compaq's Consumer Products division. "It broadens our message and reinforces the appeal of multimedia PCs in the space occupied by video-game systems in prior-year sweepstakes, " he said. Keebler's main promo last fall involved Sega hardware and software. The 12,000-plus prizes this year include 50 Presario CDS 520 models valued at $1,699; 60 CyberMaxx virtual reality headsets from Victor Maxx Technologies valued at $699; 125 multimedia upgrade kits from Creative Labs worth $399 and 3,000 CD-ROM based PC games worth $70. Titles are Electronic Arts' Theme Park and Seawolf and LucasArts' TIE Fighter. Also included are Compaq-and Keebler-logoed Snack to Win T-shirts urging readers to "Play with your food, " and one-year subscriptions to Infotainment World's Electronic Entertainment magazine. The promo runs Nov. 6 to Dec. 3 supported by a 36-million-unit FSI drop on Nov. 13, a pair of full page ads in the magazine, and Actmedia in-store carts, monitors and radio. The promo mates two firms with "fresh, wholesome identities," while helping to convey more of a hip, leading-edge attitude for Keebler, Kobin said. "It's a perfect fit between Compaq's new agenda and Keebler's attempt to do things with a little edge." No actual computers will be staged in the supermarkets, but the POP will feature a large Presario rendering and tearpads with model data. October 1994 Creative Gallery Keebler Brings You the Shadow Agency: Kobin Enterprises Limited Client: Keebler Co. Communications Disciplines: POS materials, trade materials, FSIs, sales materials, sweepstakes, radio spots Creative Director: Cliff Sloan, The Sloan Group Overview: Keebler Co. tied in with Universal Pictures' summer release "The Shadow" to offer consumers and retailers a program that heightened product awareness and generated multiple purchases of salty snack products. The first phase of the program offered consumers free custom designed "Shadow" posters when they submitted two proofs of purchase. Retailers also received merchandise. Phase two involved a call-and-win sweepstakes for "Shadow" merchandise, including pinball machines and more than 10,000 other prizes. Consumers could call a toll-free telephone number to hear if they had won. Keebler supported the program with POS materials, on-pack violator stickers featuring the 800 number, danglers and FSIs. Radio stations gave away "Shadow" merchandise, including the movie soundtrack, watches, video games and T-shirts. Do you believe in magic? Keebler/Sprint "FONMAGIC sm helped make my sweepstakes a huge success. And made believers out of us." "With my ÔKeebler Brings You the Shadow' promotion I wanted increased consumer involvement and trial of my brand. I got it. Over a million callers to my FONMAGIC 800 number in 48 days. Every one excited. Involved. FONMAGIC is a terrific tool that helped provide more immediacy to the promotion. FONMAGIC, I'm a believer!" Michael Perrino has seen the future of consumer promotions. And it's FONMAGIC: enhanced telephone technology that's automated and interactive. FONMAGIC automatically lets your customers get and give promotion-specific information, simply by using an 800 number and touchtone phone. Traditional promotion vehicles can't deliver that. Which is why promotions that use FONMAGIC are more involving. And have a lot more impact. Imagine having the power to reinforce your key message, again and again. Vary that message by geography or product. Notify prize winners by specific location. Tailor coupon values to individual respondents. Capture research information. Build a database. Profile your callers. All through custom computer programming and prerecorded messages. FONMAGIC lets you do it all immediately - with easy-to-use technology your customers will have fun interacting with. Call Sprint TeleMedia, a leader in interactive telephone solutions, at 1-800-624-4287, to put FONMAGIC and our experienced team of promotion experts to work for you. We'll send you our free brochure, "How to Put More Magic Into Your Promotions." It will show you how FONMAGIC increased the impact of promotions for some of the world's top brands. And will make a believer out of you, too. February 27, 1995 Chachos Shanghai'd Promotions By Gerry Khermouch Looking to be heard above the din of bigger tortilla chip brands, Keebler Co. will renew techie ties of its holiday CD-ROM Snack to Win promotion with a promo for its Chacho's chips that offers a free multi-title demo from Activision. The offer, breaking via English and Spanish language FSIs next week and running though May 30, offers consumers a CD-ROM version of Activision's Shanghai: Great Moments game, along with a complete version of Sargon V: World Class Chess, for two UPC codes from 9.5-oz. and larger packs of the chips. Included in the offering is a coupon worth $5 off the purchase price of the complete Shanghai game, the first CD-ROM version of Activision's popular tile-matching game, being released concurrently with the Keebler promo. The demo includes four games and four sets of mah-jongg-like tiles themed to great moments in history, art and other subjects. The promo, devised by Keebler Salty Snacks agency Kobin Enterprises, N.Y., follows a fall link-up with Compaq Computer and other vendors to offer multimedia-related PC gear (Brandweek, Sept. 19). By adding a high-tech veneer to the promo, Keebler is hoping to create some excitement among younger and male consumers, as well as the female users who comprise a large part of the consumer base for Shanghai. Review Corporate Sponsorship programs... click below On-site/In market execution