Hefty Hosts the Holidays

Cary, N.C. -- Looking to broaden its kitchen table appeal, Pactiv Corp.'s Hefty teamed up with a bevy of food brands on a holiday entertaining-themed shopper marketing program at Walmart and chain grocery stores. Select brands could "own the pan" by featuring a recipe on a callout label introduced on one of Hefty's EZ Foil or EZ Ovenwear products. Manufacturers including ConAgra Foods, Kraft Foods and Unilever promoted their brands in a recipe/coupon booklet that was inserted into the pans. The brands were also featured on the products' packaging and aisle displays.The idea behind the program, developed by Co-Options Consumer Access, was to leverage the Hefty brand's functionality at retail by creating a wider platform for entertaining. Shoppers, meanwhile, would gain added value in the form of tips, recipe ideas and promotional offers. "The Hefty consumer is all about convenience," says Co-Options president and CEO Brian Sockin. "Use of the EZ Foil products means less time is spent on cleanup and more time with family and friends. Very few brands could position themselves as a host for other food brands without competing with them."Content and messaging were customized by retailer channel. At Walmart, the focus was providing entertainment tips and meal solutions in a way that was consistent with the retailer's value message. At chain grocers (including Publix, Wegmans, ShopRite, Giant Eagle and Food Lion), the emphasis shifted to coupons and special offers. "Based on shopper insights, stores in different parts of the country might have focused on freshness and usage, while others might have had a strict added-value message," notes Sockin.Securing promotional support in ramping up for the holidays was key to driving Hefty's sales growth, according to Matthew P. Gonring, chief communications officer at Lake Forest, Ill.-based Pactiv Corp. "Our retailers like the idea of bundled and co-promoted products, especially when they have the common seasonal appeal," he says. "For Hefty EZ Foil, there is a high degree of cross-purchase opportunity in baking, cooking and cleaning items, too."Hefty's food partners, including Kraft's Stove Top brand, were drawn to the potential for coupon redemption (Co-Options anticipated about 1.5 times the typical redemption rate of FSIs), as well as the chance to be included in consumers' holiday entertaining plans. "Many consumers eat Stove Top as leftovers -- especially during the holiday season -- so the Hefty containers are the perfect storage for their extra stuffing," says Neha Dakwala-Shah, associate brand manager at Kraft. "This partnership gave us the opportunity to be part of a full meal solution for our consumers."Other brands coveted the added shelf exposure in a different part of the store. "Reaching out to consumers through baking hardware is new to us," says Tracey A. Altman, vice president of marketing at Wholly Guacamole, owned by Saginaw, Texas-based Fresherized Foods. "Knowing how many people use these containers and are preparing for a feast is a great opportunity for us to add our brand to their thinking process."Co-Options supported the program online with TasteofTheSeasons.com, a dedicated website featuring Hefty TV spots, recipe ideas, a sweepstakes entry and coupon download sections, as well as links to a Facebook page and Twitter updates. In addition, the company recently invested in CELL C's SoftWallet iPhone applications, which allow consumers to access Taste of the Seasons offers through their smartphones.While it was too early to gauge actual sales, Co-Options survey data suggested the program was driving a significant number of new users to purchase Hefty products. Per Co-Options, plans are well underway for summer and holiday 2011 versions of the program.

Hefty Hosts the Holidays

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