Special Report: Packaged Foods

NEW YORK While overall network TV spending by food companies was flat last year, the good news is that marketers are not walking away from crucial network programming as a way to forge more visceral connections with their consumers.Total network investment amounted to $1.5 billion last year, down 1 percent versus 2005, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Meanwhile, online spending soared 28 percent to $193 million, according to TNS Media Intelligence."[Packaged goods] companies, led by Procter & Gamble, are trying to make their marketing dollars work harder. So they're turning to channels that provide some level of measurement, and the Internet provides several layers of metrics," says Lisa Phillips, senior analyst at marketing research firm eMarketing. Even as food and beverage companies lead all consumer packaged goods companies in online advertising, marketers including Campbell's Soup, Kraft and Gerber are still true believers in the power of network TV.Campbell's Soup funneled $37 million of its overall $58 million media outlay to network TV last year. This year, it will unveil a new Chunky soup campaign, via Young & Rubicam, New York, featuring NFL players and their moms—including Matt Hasselbeck of the Seattle Seahawks, Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers.The integrated print and TV campaign—featuring the tagline "It Fills You up Right"—breaks over NFL opening weekend in early September. Expect network buys on male-skewing shows like CBS' CSI and Survivor and Fox's 24 and American Idol, as well as NFL games. Its TV spots have helped Chunky, which competes against General Mills' Progresso, grow by double digits over the last decade.Colleen Milway, global media director for Campbell's, signals that network will remain a centerpiece of the brand's media buy. "Our spending in absolute dollars is increasing in TV, just not at as fast a rate as our alternative media spend," she explains.Other big spenders, including Frito-Lay, have scaled back on network. Frito-Lay cut its prime-time network outlay by 20.3 percent to $30.1 million last year, as it put more attention on Internet and viral.Last October, Frito-Lay introduced an Internet contest, "Crash the Super Bowl," inviting consumers to submit their own commercials for Doritos. The contest resulted in 1,000 entries and the marketer's first-time consumer-generated TV ad, which aired during the Super Bowl. For Frito-Lay, the campaign was the perfect marriage of Internet and primetime TV.Even as it radically trims its prime-time investment and explores alternative media, the company insists it will stick with network. "While Frito-Lay's brands have already begun connecting with consumers through newer mediums like the Internet, the company will continue to rely on traditional television advertising to reach consumers," says company rep Jared Dougherty.Investing $150 million in network overall last year, up 10 percent over 2005, Kraft Foods pitted its South Beach Diet against Slim-Fast in the weight-management category. Kraft's media mix of network, cable, print and Internet has paid off for the South Beach Diet brand, which has scored double- digit sales bumps since its launch in 2005. Last year, Kraft positioned South Beach Diet as a lifestyle brand in an integrated campaign, via FCB, Chicago, that focused on health, exercise and a balanced diet that includes fiber-rich carbs. Last year, the brand notched $260 million in sales, per the company. "The shifts in food and beverage marketers' media mix in 2006 mirror what is taking place in other industries," says eMarketing's Phillips. "And while the food industry's motto seems to be 'Eat, drink and go online,' television continues to be an important part of CPG marketing companies thanks to its continued wide reach."As Gerber, which dominates the baby food category, moves away from product-specific advertising toward a broader focus on mothers, the company is steering clear of print while turning to network TV, cable and Internet for its year-long "Anything For Baby" campaign, created by DraftFCB, Chicago, which broke last month."We want to celebrate moms and emotionally connect with them, showing how hard they work for their babies," explains Anna Mohl, vp, infant nutrition marketing at Gerber. "TV can mirror and capture those emotions to consumers."

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Special Report: Packaged Foods

Sonia Reyes

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