Hungry-Man's King-Sized Adventure

Marketer: Pinnacle Foods Corp.Campaign: Hungry-Man's King-Sized AdventureAgency: Kobin EnterprisesAward Category: National Consumer Promotion (Budget under $1 Million)Product Service Category: Frozen dinnersHungry-Man celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2003, a year that began with the brand being sold by Campbell Soup Co. and reintroduced to the marketplace by new owner Pinnacle Foods Corp.Marketing Overview Hungry-Man is the only frozen-food dinner to offer more than 1.5 pounds of food, a fact emphasized by the brand's tagline, "I know what I like, and I like a lot of it!" The King of Queens debuted in fall 1998 on CBS. In September 2003, producer Sony Pictures Television picked up the show to launch into network syndication, and the studio needed a promotional partner to help differentiate the syndicated programming from the network programming. Objectives Sony and Hungry-Man teamed to promote Hungry-Man's "King-Sized Adventure" to build product equity with a male target audience, increase retail excitement and stimulate sales. In turn, special packaging drove viewership to the newly syndicated show. Strategy & Tactics The day before the syndication premiere, Hungry-Man dropped a full-page, 17-million circulation FSI in 20 top markets. The FSIs were customized with the show's local market airing information.The promotion's main objective was achieved in the opening scene of a new King of Queens episode: The loveable Doug Heffernan (played by Kevin James), pulled a Hungry-Man dinner out of the freezer and convinced his wife that it was better than her cooking. His argument emphasized the 1.5 pounds of food contained in the XXL dinner, which drove home the brand's message of offering more of the food men love. This seamless integration of the Hungry-Man frozen dinner emotionally connected consumers to the brand.In supermarkets, 20 million Hungry-Man packages were transformed into a call-out for the syndicated launch of the show. The promotional packaging was in store before the product placement episode, and remained on-shelf through syndication until November. Graphics featured the cast in a front-panel burst, and with an accompanying promotional message on the back. The copy also included a tune-in message for the syndication launch and information about the "Win a King-Sized Adventure" sweepstakes, in which winners would be flown to the Sony studios to view a live taping of the show. Contestants filled out entry cards or (at supporting retailers) were automatically entered via their frequent- shopper cards when they purchased a Hungry-Man dinner.For an additional push, Hungry-Man salespeople were given store-specific sweepstakes trips to encourage trade participation. More than 2,000 grocery and mass-merchant locations advertised the promotion with point-of-sale static clings, bunker cards, ad slicks and wobblers. Participating retailers were Safeway, Giant Eagle, Pathmark, Hy-Vee, Roundy's and Penn Traffic.Results Hungry-Man proved to be a perfect fit with The King of Queens. The show outperformed 88% of all syndicated programs among men ages 25-34. The episode with the Hungry-Man product placement aired multiple times before and after the syndication launch, causing a huge spike at retail. The FSI drop tripled entry into the sweepstakes.Although it is extremely difficult for frozen foods to gain promotional display space, the promotion received an enormous amount of support from key accounts. Six top accounts held store-specific sweepstakes offering the same prize as the national sweepstakes (with Sony providing all the prizes). Both Hungry-Man and Sony received significant press coverage for the promotion in trade publications. The p.r. support was especially beneficial to Sony, as it emphasized the importance of the show's premiere for the local station partners and caused unprecedented excitement at the affiliate and local-market station level. Summary For the first time ever, Hungry-Man was able to deliver customized programs to local retailers, which got them excited and helped sell more product. Through the on-air integration and use of the Hungry-Man box as a promotional vehicle, consumers were able to emotionally connect with the brand. By pairing with a classic American TV show, Hungry-Man reminded consumers that it is a classic American brand.

Hungry-Man's King-Sized Adventure

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