Dive Brief:
- Kraft Heinz is capitalizing on the 250th anniversary of the U.S. with its largest portfolio campaign to date, according to a press release shared with Marketing Dive.
- “The United Tastes of America” is rolling out for Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer cookout season. New ads show outdoor gatherings like barbecues where Kraft Heinz supplies the hot dogs, ketchup, cheese for burgers, salad dressing and more.
- Creative is running across digital, social, out-of-home, online video and retail channels. Kraft Heinz, which is an official sponsor of the America250 program, is also introducing several limited-time offerings, such as star-shaped foods from Ore-Ida, Velveeta and Jet-Puffed Marshmallow.
Dive Insight:
Kraft Heinz has underscored the bigger role marketing is playing in its growth strategy after the company pumped the breaks on a planned split into two businesses earlier this year. “The United Tastes of America” shows that amped-up media investment coming to life in the U.S. as brands try to activate around the country’s semiquincentennial. Kraft Heinz joined America250, a bipartisan organization celebrating the occasion, as a sponsor in September.
Eighty-one percent of surveyed U.S. consumers plan to attend more social gatherings this summer than last, according to America250 and YouGov data cited in the Kraft Heinz announcement. Along with the semiquincentennial, events like the FIFA World Cup, which is being hosted in North America for the first time since the ‘90s, could provide additional opportunities for brands to drive engagement.
Central to the Kraft Heinz portfolio campaign is a national 30-second spot that flashes through different outdoor cookouts and the array of the company’s brands that can be found therein, including Oscar Mayer wiener dogs, Heinz ketchup and mustard, Kraft American cheese singles and Kraft mayonnaise. A series of 15-second ads also digs into brand pairings for specific meals, such as Heinz ketchup and Kraft Singles for burgers.
Agency Tracy-Locke is behind the creative for “The United Tastes of America.” Beyond showcasing its variety, the CPG giant is highlighting its own legacy through products that are well over a century old.
“For more than 150 years, our brands haven’t just been present for American history — we’ve helped feed it,” said Whitney Shaw, Kraft Heinz’s head of portfolio marketing in North America, in a press statement. “As the country approaches this milestone anniversary, we’re celebrating the foods that have brought people together for generations — and continue to do so today.”
Limited-time products are hitting shelves as part of the America250 push. Those include: Velveeta America Shapes, Ore-Ida Star Tater Tots and Jet-Puffed Jumbo Stars, the latter of which have glow-in-the-dark packaging to emulate the effect of fireworks. In addition, Kraft Singles, Kraft Real Mayo, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Cool Whip and Heinz ketchup and mustard will feature red, white and blue packaging in celebration of the occasion.
Kraft Heinz hiked marketing spend by 37% over the year-ago period in Q1 to support its turnaround efforts, which executives stated are making “steady progress.” Marketing is expected to be at least 5.5% of company revenue for the full year.
“In terms of where this money is going, we have been prioritizing our Win Big category, so there is a proportionate amount starting last year that went against sauces, cream cheese, mac and cheese [and] hydration,” said Kraft Heinz CFO Andre Maciel on an earnings call last week. “But the reality is we do have the opportunity to step up marketing across the whole portfolio.”
