Cereal sales are down because Americans tend to eat their
breakfasts on the go these days. So
what's a cereal company to do? How about
opening a cafe in Times Square?
That's exactly what Kellogg did last year. And while I visited with my family for a
photo opp. We did not eat a $7.50 bowl
of cereal.
Kellogg closed the cafe in August. But that's because they are moving to a
larger location. So I guess other people
did spend $9.50 for the "Life in Color" sundae featuring Froot Loops.
(Taylor, 2017)
But since that's a small scale effort, the company
continues to seek other ways to connect. To that end, they are continuing their
"What gets you started" Olympics campaign, which they began last
summer at the Rio Olympics.
They have announced the names of the "Team
Kellogg" athletes, and created this video to kick things off. Starting in December, the selected athletes
will begin to appear on Kellogg boxes and consumers are being encouraged to
follow them on social media. (Lukovitz, 2017)
Clearly the two efforts are trying to connect with different target
segments. Who is the target market for
each? (Gender, age range, plus one - but
more is better) What persuasive
techniques is each effort using? What
personality types/core values are they focusing on? Do you think these campaigns will be
successful?
Taylor,
K. (2017, August 8) Kellogg is closing
the 'cereal cafe' in New York City that charges $7 per bowl to open an even
bigger one - here's what to expect. businessinsider.com. retrieved november 1, 2017, from
Lukovitz,
K. (2017, October 31) Kellogg Continues
'What Gets You Started?' For Winter Games.
mediapost.com. Retrieved November 1, 2017 , from
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/309491/kellogg-continues-what-gets-you-started-for-win.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=105892&hashid=ybq2buULrntyGS6NfbELk0afrrI 
17 comments:
Hi class!
I actually visited Kellogg’s café in Times Square this summer with the little girl I babysit. The school she attends threw their end-of-the-year party at the café. It was overrated, to say the least. Their air conditioning was broken, and their staff were incredibly rude. The likelihood of me ever returning is slim to none. All that said, it appears that their target market are children. More specifically, I would say young girls, between the ages of seven and fourteen, who like sweets and come from a household income of $75k+.
With regard to company’s Olympics’ campaign, it seems that they are targeting boys, between the ages of eleven and twenty-one, who aspire to one day be in the Olympics.
All that said, do I think either of these campaigns will be successful? Not necessarily. I think the café has a better shot of succeeding than the Olympics’ campaign, but neither jump out to me. It will be interesting to see how the two turn out.
Best,
Grace
Hi,
I think opening the store at Time Square is trying to attract tourists since Time Square is one of the most popular places in the city. The campaign is more narrow compared to the cafe; I think the target population would be teenage boys and girls, between 12-18, who likes doing sports, have had some athletic backgrounds. One of the techniques it is using might be liking. All other famous athletes are eating Kellogg cereals, for the others who want to be like them, want to kick off their days by eating cereals.
I don't think those two strategies will be successful. First, I don't feel related personally. Second, opening the cafe really won't grab people's long-term interest, we will probably just stop there and take some pictures to post. For the Olympics campaign, my idea would be I don't have to start my day with cereal necessarily. The ad doesn't give a reason to ensure that decision.
Best,
Erin
I believe I see Social Proof at play in Kellogg's technique to drum up interest in the brand. They are hoping that the personalities of the athletes will get affluent Millennial females who like sports to begin sharing and liking content and ultimately rekindle the cereal eating habit at large. Their secondary campaign targets the Kellogg's traditional base of male and female Gen X'ers who have also migrated away from the brand. Kellogg's is using the Liking technique to hearken back to former campaigns which have always had Olympic medalists on Kellogg's cereal boxes. I don't think either will be particularly successful as people are indeed pressed for time in the mornings and are more apt to get prepared meals or make a smoothie and start their commutes to work.
Hello everyone,
It is clear that Kellogg is trying to use two different approaches to attract two different target markets.
First, for the opening of physical stores:
It may because of the the culture differences, I have a hard time identifying the target market of Kellogg’s champaign since only a few Chinese eat cereals for breakfast. Nevertheless, I definitely disagree with the idea that it is going to target on baby boomers. I did google this store and see reviews of it. According to what I read online, the store is decorated in an “old-school” style. Their decoration kinds of remind me of the sugar factories. As a result, I would say that the target market of this campaign is Gen Z, girls.
I don’t think people would pay that much to just take a bowl of cereal. I mean, it would work better if it is going to be a pop-up store, just Magnum did last year in Soho.
Campaign 2: cooperation with Olympics athletes
This campaign tries to connect its customers through emotions. Its target markets are males between 20-30. For the plus one, I want to say that people who have a defined target. I think the second campaign would work better than the first one.
The target market for Kellogg’s Café would be millenials, aged 18-25, who are social and heavily involved in social media platforms such as Instagram. The cereal café seems to me like a “photo-op” which is very important for many millenials to post something unique. The $7.50 is not for the cereal but for the photo which millenials are willing to pay for. I do not feel that this marketing will make people rush out to the stores to buy more Kellogg’s.
The target market for “Team Kellogg” would be a bit older; age 25-40, healthy and social. The Olympics are fun for everyone world wide and chance for people to bond with each other. In the days of the Olympics we are introduced to new super humans we never heard of before doing amazing things. I say the target audience of “Team Kellogg” is healthy because these people eat breakfast- I picture that the person leads a healthy life; wakes up and has breakfast, reads the Kellogg’s box out of curiosity and follows the Olympians on Instagram. Suddenly this person has stumbled upon insider information of the athletes, which they will us to discuss with co-workers and friends. I think this is a great marketing plan and possibly a way to get people following Olympians all year round and not just every 4 years. I do not think, however, that this will make more people buy Kellogg’s that don’t already. On the other hand, I have grown up seeing athletes on Wheaties boxes and feel nostalgia every time I see it.
Ann Messinger
Who would have thought that we have our own cereal restaurant right here in NYC? That amazes me that it works, and people buy cereal for such a ridiculous price. Then again, after seeing some of the pictures of the cereal bowls that they create, I must say that might taste good. I believe that they are probably targeting Females, ages 15-25 with a family income of over $75,000.00 (it is Manhattan). These target market is also for New Yorkers only, since it’s the one and only of its kind. I could see them targeting students as well. Who are in a rush to class in the morning walking to class and wanting to start the day off right with some breakfast. I don’t really see this marketing campaign work out as gaining a new target market for Kellogg. It just doesn’t sound interesting enough for someone to want to pay almost 10 dollars for a bowl of cereal.
I do believe however, that the What gets you Started campaign will work. As it focuses on both Male and Female Athletes/hobbyist ages 6-25. These are winter sports. Anyone who knows anything about winter sports knows that its very draining (especially if you don’t eat before you get on the mountain). So, having professional athletes show you that they eat Kellogg’s before they train, shows that it must be “good enough for me” effect. These people probably also have a core value of wanting to be challenged. Since they are engaged in wanting to compete in a tough task such as achieving an Olympic medal!
The target market of the cereal café seems to be young customers with a taste for gourmet quality aged 18-24 who enjoy engaging experience of innovation and customization. The personality types would be "S's" who are more easily influenced by the attractiveness of products, prefer to take things at face values and follow the crowd. They are also relationship-oriented because they might seek for social experience at a café. Therefore, the persuasive techniques would be liking and social proof. Considering the feasibility of the café idea, I would say the idea is elevated at a high point, like “serving up gourmet breakfast-inspired treats,” “an experience of cereal excitement and fun.” Also, the brand position is instilled with high anticipation as “Kellogg's hopes to change how people think about cereal and elevate cereal to a new culinary level.” Even though Kellogg has a point on its strategy in attracting new market segment as “the unique experience, innovation, and chance to be part of something larger is what motivates people to go to restaurants,” however, the execution of the idea seems not on par with the “big idea.” First of all, customer experience starts from the entry of the café, so every element matters such as the layout of the café, the performance of the staff. But according to the article, Kellogg's NYC is “old-school” like and the café design is mediocre. I love the idea of the combination of the “old” and “new,” but I don’t think Kellogg's NYC is doing a good enough job on the “new” element. Especially if it tries to attract young consumers, the café does not exude energy and excitement. The explanation for the “old-school” design is that it allows “the experience and the cereal to speak for themselves.” However, the point is, the most important element, the product, is not speaking well. Kellogg tries to be innovative, but the taste does not seem so appealing and surprising to customers, at least not to that price point. The cost-performance ratio is not high enough to let customers be satisfied with its value.
I think the target audiences are Gen z who follow a rigorous routine and who enjoy winter sports. The income level is affluent based on the type sports. I don't think it will work because in general cereal companies "sweet spot" has been the minority of color with low income. My thoughts on why cereal companies are seeing drops in revenues are because awareness of the danger of eating cereals that have no nutritional value and high in calories. People increasingly want healthier choices for breakfast, and they want foods they can carry on the run.
In my opinion, the first campaign is trying to attract both male and female age 35 to 45, and they are probably tourists in NYC. I think they are using consensus since they open their store at time square and many people will try everything at times square. The second campaign is trying to attract both male and female age 18 to 26, most of them probably like working out or watching sports, and I think they are using liking to sale their products. At last, I don't think the first method will work since $9.50 for a bowl of cereal is kind of crazy and cereal is the worst breakfast ever. However,the second one may work since a lot of people like to follow a fad, and the stories of the sports men are pretty interesting.
The fact that Kellogg’s’ closed their café to move to another location seems to indicate that they must be doing something right. A cereal café I think is pretty creative, but like you mentioned above I would not pay $7.50 for a bowl of cereal. A location in times square would is sure to attract not only tourist but I’m sure people form the city as well because at the end of the day it’s something different, unlike coffee shops that you see everywhere. I would say Kellogg’s is targeting girls around the ages of 10-17, who are into sports and aspire to possibly one day be an Olympian. By using athletes to try and target an audience they are using the liking technique. Many younger kids look up to these athletes because they will one day want to be like them, so in the mean time they try to mimic everything they do from their playing style to maybe even what they eat.
At the end of the day I don’t know how successful these campaigns will be. I suspect it will show a slim increase in sales of cereal, but quite honestly it will eventually die out.
Who would have thought that we have our own cereal restaurant right here in NYC? That amazes me that it works, and people buy cereal for such a ridiculous price. Then again, after seeing some of the pictures of the cereal bowls that they create, I must say that might taste good. I believe that they are probably targeting Females, ages 15-25 with a family income of over $75,000.00 (it is Manhattan). These target market is also for New Yorkers only, since it’s the one and only of its kind. I could see them targeting students as well. Who are in a rush to class in the morning walking to class and wanting to start the day off right with some breakfast. I don’t really see this marketing campaign work out as gaining a new target market for Kellogg. It just doesn’t sound interesting enough for someone to want to pay almost 10 dollars for a bowl of cereal.
I do believe however, that the What gets you Started campaign will work. As it focuses on both Male and Female Athletes/hobbyist ages 6-25. These are winter sports. Anyone who knows anything about winter sports knows that its very draining (especially if you don’t eat before you get on the mountain). So, having professional athletes show you that they eat Kellogg’s before they train, shows that it must be “good enough for me” effect. These people probably also have a core value of wanting to be challenged. Since they are engaged in wanting to compete in a tough task such as achieving an Olympic medal!
Kellogg’s café in Times Square is overpriced in my personal opinion. However, I have paid for oatmeal around campus when I am really hungry and I do not want to have something really heavy and I am in a rush. Which makes me think that I would want to try the Kelloggs experience maybe once (or few times). I believe that the store in Times Square is competing more with the ready-to-eat or snack category.
I think Kellogg’s is overall struggling to compete with other natural cereal brands. However, I do think that the social and digital media presence has brought new and stronger engagement efforts. An article in Forbes Magazine mentioned the importance of Kellogg’s strategy and intentions by saying that “having a stronger brand, driving a stronger point of view, a more powerful identity and have at the center an umbrella to talk about our portfolio more holistically, to talk about the power of breakfast, to talk about the value of cereal—it sort of became a much bigger platform to capture our thoughts about how we wanted to build a bigger relationship with them.” (Rooney,1). Kelloggs is doing a huge effort to “refresh” and connect in a deeper level with their consumers. I believe that showing how an athlete starts their daily life, just like anyone does, is something special. It makes some individuals feel closer to becoming one. It is funny in a way to think that Athletes start the day just like you do, with breakfast. I think it is stating to be successful by connecting with moms because they deliver this positive connotation and realm of possibility to help your kid be an athlete.
The Olympics’ campaign could prove to be successful because in some level they want to be associated with the Olympic status. In the video I felt like they wanted to target X gen- moms who have are married and have kids. Who have a household income of 75+
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferrooney/2012/05/10/kelloggs-embarks-on-major-brand-overhaul/#28b01f8243e5
Being born in 1996, I am not in the generation that associates Kellogg's with the Olympics. I wouldn't pay $7-9 for one bowl of cereal when the whole box is the same amount. In london there is a cafe called "ceral killer" cafe and it is a place where you can walk in and choose from tons of brands. I think this concept works much better. In reference to the ads, I think having athletes on the boxes again will either really work or really not. It's nostalgic like the Wheaties box, but maybe people are over it. It is probably for parents who are doing the shopping for their kids. I enjoyed the video a lot and it's full of emotion. I think its looking at young men/women who are involved in a competitive sport. They are shopping for themselves rather than the other tactic which is for parents.
Both marketing efforts by Kellog remind me of a desperation from the company. I believe Kellogg has to rebrand or incorporate a better visual and personal representation to the masses. For example, they are an old company so highlighting on the fact that they've bene America's oldest brand could be a good tagline.
The Pop-Up seems like it will do better than the video in my opinion. It seems as if they are targeting a younger generation, Gen Z'ers and Milleaneals between the ages of 10-25 who enjoy marketing experiences. Families are another target and particularly those making 75K+ because as you mentioned - not every family is willing to pay $9+ for a cereal bowl.
The Video had good intent but it wasn't executed well. It was first and foremost too long and I had to skip through it because it felt like it was never going to end. They were targeting mainly men between the ages of 15-30 who watch the Olympics or are into sports and look for simple nutrition for performance.
The video doesn't match with the brand and the Pop-up will give short term success.
Hopefully Kellogg understands it needs to rebrand itself and perhaps use it's internal data to drive more wise decisions for it's business!
Hi everyone,
I think Kellogg tries to expand its sale by targeting different markets. The first method, opening a physical store, is targeting tourists and people who are shopping. The Olympic campaign tries to target athletes or young people who like sports, Gen Z.
I think it's hard for Kellogg to succeed through the two campaigns. People's demands are changing. I will not buy a $8 cereal cup at the store since it doesn't worth that much. Comparing these two campaigns, I think the second is better. The target market of the first one is vague. Even for those heavy users, it's impossible to go in the store and buy a cereal bowl everyday.
The definition of Kellogg's products is different in both campaigns. In the first one, cereal is more likely snacks. In the second one, cereal is breakfast. Now, cereal sales down, and people tend to buy prepared meals. I think Kellogg can partner with companies that produce prepared meals.
Shixiong Yang
For the first Kellogg want to focus on different market target within their existing customers. Gender is not limited specifically but I think they are more focus on how they could develop with existing product. Cereal industry is no longer to be special, because it is already widespread in the US society and well known. I just popped out that the “Chobani” store in the Soho. When I first saw the store, I thought does the store really works? But now I realized that it is not only purpose for selling but also advertisement for the tourist.
I’m not sure what Kellogg will make a decision for the new spot for Kellogg cafe, but I would like to recommend around the Soho area. Because I think it will be interesting to the tourist who look around the soho area because it’s a new concept of their company.
In addition, Kellogg need to adjust their price of cereal because the price of the bowl of cereal is almost same as the sandwich. If they down the price a little bit and advertise the Kellogg cafe, it will bring more innovative idea for their company.
I do think the idea of a cereal cafe is a fairly innovative way to re-market their brand. I have seen it work for a few brands throughout the city such as the Milk Bar, which has their ice milk ice cream and cornflakes, or the Kith cereal bar. Although I personally think $7.50 is far too expensive for a bowl of cereal, I do think they will have a market here in Manhattan who is willing to pay or coerce their parents into paying. The age range is probably girls from the ages of 13-18 who are obsessed with technology and social media and would purchase such a thing solely to instagram it. Although it may be effective for that niche audience, I do not think it will be widespread enough to be successful. I think although our generation is obsessed with nostalgia, the olympic campaign may not stick enough to compel us to purchase their product. I vividly remember having wheaties boxes with Mia Hamm or Michael Jordan but I still don't feel inclined to spend. The target for this campaign is young women around 11-18 who are passionate about sports. I think the liking technique can be effective and this campaign may have better results than the first.
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