Baking&Snack - March 2012 - 45

MARKETING STRATEGIES

Q &A

David Leavitt
Baking and snack food companies can make the best products ever invented, but without finding consumers to purchase them, they start off dead in the water. Having led sales

and marketing teams at firms such as Tyson Foods and Hostess Brands, David Leavitt worked in consumer strategy and marketing for more than 20 years. Now a Kansas City, MO-based management and marketing consultant to the consumer goods industry, he offers his advice on building food brands and prioritizing marketing efforts to adapt to an everchanging consumer landscape. You can find him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/dvdleavitt.

Reaching the Customer
Making the most of your product marketing strategy.
Lucy Sutton: What basic steps should bakeries and snack producers take to build their brands?
David Leavitt: First, you need to understand your positioning in the marketplace and what you are going to stand for. This is critical because everything you do going forward needs to reinforce this positioning: your products, promotions, advertising, channels served, etc. Make sure you understand the consumer or customer problem or problems you are trying to solve as well as the motivations or issues that exist. For example, does your positioning center around a more authentic taste or a unique flavor because your customers need or want it — and you understand why? Are you focused on health and wellness and are ready to support any claims you want to make? Once you understand your position in the marketplace, you can focus on brand building. You must master all of the basics, including brand design, packaging, pricing, product offering and channels of distribution. The biggest pitfall is trying to be everything to everyone or not being clear in what you are, which always results in not being anything to anyone. Take the time to work and rework your core until it is solid. www.bakingandsnack.com

What trends are you seeing in the marketplace, and how do you develop marketing strategies to leverage those trends?
Value has been, and will continue to be, the overriding trend for several years. Everyone recognizes that spending patterns and spending ability have dramatically changed during the past few years. The longer the economy stays like it is, the more permanent value will become as the overriding theme. There is a fundamental shift in how consumers value brands, and you need to know where you stand. I have used this quote several times: “Good is now better than what the best used to be, so for many, good is good enough.” What does this mean? Consumers continue to shift their buying patterns because many “value” brands now offer very good quality. This can be seen in the continued shifting of consumer dollars from everyday brands to private label and from casual sit-down restaurants to fastcasual and quick-serve channels. But let’s not get stuck only on value. There still are three key macro trends from the past decade that will remain critically important: health, convenience and indulgence. Everyone should already recognize

these by now. What is important is to understand within each what people are looking for (health equals whole grains, gluten free; convenience equals portability; indulgence equals decadent and global taste experiences).

What should baking and snack companies consider when creating an online presence?
First, what are you trying to do? Do you want to be an online retailer, or is your web presence geared more toward branding and supporting sales in your primary trade channels (i.e., grocery or restaurant). Let’s assume yours is a traditional consumer brand. It goes back to your positioning and branding. If this is a local brand only wanting to reinforce your spot in the community, that has one set of requirements. If instead you want to be the health and wellness expert centered around whole grains, then that has a different set of requirements. You also need to ask what level of personal engagement you want to offer. Do you want a static site where you push information out to the Web, or are you willing to be social and go deeper into a relationship March 2012 / Baking & Snack / 45

http://www.linkedin.com/in/dvdleavitt http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking&Snack - March 2012

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