MIMA Summit Recap: Aunt Jemima “Live from the Line:” How Social Video Brought an Underdog

Submitted by Anonymous on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 / 0 Comments

This is a recap of The 2012 MIMA Summit Presentation Aunt Jemima “Live from the Line:” How Social Video Brought an Underdog, by Marcy Massura of Weber Shandwick and Mitchell Reichgut.

Blog post by Lindsey Frey

Illustration by Derek Bressler

Waffling the CompetitionAunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast was being outflanked and outspent by much larger rivals. Lacking the budget to compete in traditional media, the brand created an innovative social platform that straddled the line between paid and earned media. The videos featured real employees, and they were shot on location at the Aunt Jemima plant in Tennessee.The Sticky Situation- Minor brand, licensed from Quaker- Limited awareness and recognition- Small market share (regional product distribution – only stores east of theMississippi)- Limited budgets- Limited time- Could not compete with Eggo on their terms- Budget did not exist for a full-fledged traditional ad campaign- Lacked differentiation or a unique selling proposition- Location involved live, noisy factory with access restrictionsThe Aunt Jemima team had some key realizations: Who wants to watch a video by a brand? Nobody does. They had to create a reason, and it needed to provide value.Conclusions? Connect consumers with the brand on a more personal level, and target them by providing the content where they already are want and with incentive to view it (social games).Results – Leggo’d Eggo- Increased market share- Measurable increases in sales and coupon redemption- Significant marketshare gain from Eggo- ~$2MM budget- 138MM media impressions- 150,000 coupon downloads- 10.4MM views- Established a Facbeook presence and earned 238,000 followers- 100% positive/neutral earned messagingCooking Up an IdeaThe team’s approach to developing the video content was simple: connectconsumers with the people that make the product every day at the plant, and educate them about Aunt Jemima’s commitment to be a more wholesome, honest product. Hearing the brand’s core values first-hand from its employees would more relatably translate transparency and authenticity.Once people could see how the products were actually made – with real ingredients, by real people and flipped on a hot griddle just like the pancakes mom makes athome – they would have a higher intent to purchase.The online video strategy that developed leveraged the brand’s strengths and evened playing field with Eggo:- Authentic product- Wholesome story- True underdog status- Passionate, charismatic peopleThe video concept that developed revolved around genuine, heartfelt messages from the people who make Aunt Jemima products every day. Video length would vary between 30-second spots, with expanded versions as long as a 1:20.Talent focus was non-union, real plant workers, not actors. The three workers selected for the videos had volunteered for the opportunity and did so well in the videos, that Aunt Jemima has since brought them to live events as spokespeople for the brand. The personal enthusiasm and joy they have displayed for the brand shines through in the videos. Much of the results and impressions are attributed by the marketing team to the passion they expressed.“Good content leads over any great strategy idea,” said Marcy Massura, digital strategist for Weber Shandwick. “Finding the right, passionate talent was the number one priority.”In order to overcome the location challenges, extensive planning, pre-interviews with talent and tours of the factory were key to establishing initial challenges and finding solutions ahead of time.“It was very important to set expectations in the beginning,” said Mitchell Reichgut, CEO of Jun Group, which worked as Weber Shandwick’s partner for the video project. “This is a budget-protecting measure. Hiring the right director also proved to be critical because he could tell everyone very frankly and very nicely, ‘Here are the limitations we have to work around.’”Distribution Challenges- Generate millions of opt-in views of long-form content- Target moms (with an African-American skew)- Place the videos in brand-safe, relevant environments- Limit the scope to certain areas of the countrySolutionsThe team developed a distribution strategy around video placements in leading social games, such as Mall World, It Girl and Happy Aquarium. Users would opt in to watch the video in exchange for virtual goods in the games. With approximately 290 million people regularly admitting to playing social games, and 55 percent of them women, the Aunt Jemima team had a strong audience targeting capability throughthis strategy.Results of targeting via social games:99% of users completed the video77% of audience was female83% of total users were 25+ (in age bracket desired)Key takeaways from the presenters:- Define clear success metrics in advance- Select specific earned media metrics that matter- Find a partner that addresses your biz goals- Always insist on site-specific transparency and reporting- Provide users with tools and incentive to engage