In case you missed it, Progressive partnered with Whole Foods to offer turkey insurance for Thanksgiving. It was probably a great idea given how many first timers were cooking this year. Anyone who bought their turkey at Whole Foods by November 22 was eligible to participate. And the first 1000 turkey fails received a $35 gift card. Very cute. And all the major news outlets covered the story. (Tyko, 2020)
It appears that many novice cooks also turned to the Internet for advice. Allrecipes.com had its largest number of site visits ever on both Thanksgiving Eve (12.8 million, up 14.9% vs. year ago) and Thanksgiving Day (14.3 million, up 26.7% vs. year ago).
The statistics from the site also showed that gatherings were smaller, with recipes for turkey breast up 96% versus year ago and whole chicken recipes up 150% versus year ago.
And, if you were looking for proof that these were new cooks, note that recipes that included the word "basic" were up 27% and those with "beginner" in their titles were up 83%. (Guaglione, 2020)
Did you hear about the Progressive/Whole Foods turkey insurance? Do you think the campaign was successful? Did you participate?
What about looking online for cooking advice and ideas? Did you visit Allrecipes.com? A different cooking site? Or maybe you watched Binging with Babish on YouTube?
What do you think about "beginner" vs. "basic?" Did you look for either term in your searches? Why do you think views were up more for "beginner" than "basic?"
Tyko, K. (2020, November 10) Insure your turkey for holiday fails? Whole Foods and Progressive offering 'Thanksgiving Turkey Protection Plan' usatoday.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2020/11/10/thanksgiving-turkey-whole-foods-progressive-insurance-protection-plan/6239911002/
Guaglione, S. (2020, November 30) Allrecipes.com Hits Nearly 60M Visits During Thanksgiving Week. mediapost.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from
9 comments:
I did hear about the Progressive & Whole Foods partnership. I read about it first and saw a few T.V. ads as well, and I actually reported on it for my company in a weekly news email I deliver weekly. It was an unlikely partnership which is why I think it garnered so much press. I don't know of anyone who actually participated in it, however. And as a Whole Foods shopper myself who is also a competent chef, I think those that shop at the higher end grocery store are also talented in the kitchen. Perhaps Progressive should have partnered with a Walmart or Kroger instead...
As far as search terms, ‘beginner’ in my mind connotes more of a new, inexperienced cook who wants to do a recipe justice. ‘Basic’ on the other hand is more of a millennial term, meaning something that’s pretty simple and straightforward, not necessarily a showstopper.
Every morning at about 7 o’clock, I turn on the television, skip every channel and settle for NBC News. During a special segment one morning, I heard the idea of Turkey insurance and thought to myself that insurance for a turkey is ludicrous. I even wondered and asked myself, why would someone need insurance on a turkey, but also thought, could this even be possible? A part of me thought if this was real but obviously, this was credible as an NBC news anchor was covering the story but then I thought “boy humans are so careless and destructive”.
Careless, because this now burned turkey was a living and breathing thing at some point, but our only thought is to satisfy the holiday. On the other hand, here we are, using turkey as sustenance for a Thanksgiving dinner, but being graceless about how we prepare it. Unquestionably, mistakes in the kitchen are often made but having dinner isn’t always such carefree anticipation for every household. Some families in America highly depend on food assistance and now that the world finds itself battling COVID-19, “lines at food banks are stretched to hundreds of cars, some carrying people who had never sought food assistance” (LeBlanc, 2020). That said, for me, this campaign isn’t so successful, and I most likely would have not participated in such coverage.
As for online cooking ideas, I follow two Food Network hosts that help me with cooking ideas. Ina Garten the host of Barefoot Contessa is my absolute favorite. In my opinion, she is an exemplary host and comes up with the best recipes that don’t involve too much time or attention. Also, although Paula Deen is another cooking show host that makes me feel like cooking is easy. I don’t always follow her recipes to the exact measurement, but I do pick up some ideas and get the job done with a minimal amount of ingredients. In addition to cooking show hosts, I follow about four cooking show hosts that cook traditional Puerto Rican food, which is always delicious and a nice reminder of family traditions.
References:
Leblanc, A. (2020, September 02). How Hunger Persists in a Rich Country Like America. Retrieved December 05, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/02/magazine/food-security-united-states.html?searchResultPosition=1
Jonathan Antoshka
I haven’t heard about or participated in the Progressive/Whole Foods turkey insurance, but I think this campaign is a fun and successful campaign that can promote the brand of both Progressive and Whole Foods.
I think that looking online for cooking advice and ideas is the major approach for most young novice cooks, including me. However, I wouldn’t limit myself to a specific website or social media when looking for recipes. What I usually do is that I will check out several different recipes for the same dish to compare, and then try to pick the best one to follow.
I think both “beginner” or “basic” would be attractive to the novice cooks when they are searching. When I do searching, I wouldn’t use these terms because I’m no longer a novice cooks since college. The most important qualities I look for when searching for recipes are the convenience and time consumption. If the recipe is too complex and time consuming, I would probably skip to the next one. I guess “beginner” would lead to a higher views because people might associate “basic” with a basic recipe that is less delicious.
By Wangqi Wu
From my personal experiences, I highly recommend a beginner or “muggle” cooking site that could rescue me from preparing an ordinary dinner. Indeed, “beginner-friendly”, “baisc”, “10-minute cook”, “easy to cook” hashtags are commonly delivered to me by social media algorithms, i.e., Instagram, Youtube, or Red. There are articles discussing why social media helps improve people’s cooking skills. Back home at 6pm, people who aim to get cozy in home while preparing a restaurant-style meal are especially targeted for these posts. With the rise of recipe videos, consumers feel more confident in the kitchen as they are shown a step-by-step process presented to them in a simplistic manner. It also helps answer “why views were up more than “beginner” than “basic”. From the consumers’ stand point, beginner is referred to what skill level they position. But they would also expect to produce a splendid dinner even as a beginner. In another words, “beginner” title brings in resonance, but the “basic” title lacks complimentary attitudes for the outcome that a consumer produces.
The Whole Foods turkey insurance is a brilliant idea that spurs the desire of cooking and improves virtual interaction between the supermarket and consumers. It also considerately considers the fact that coronavirus restrictions are forcing households to host smaller gatherings, sometimes featuring inexperienced family cooks. According to University of Illinois’s research, 88% of Americans surveyed by the National Turkey Federation eat turkey on Thanksgiving. 46 million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving, 22 million on Christmas and 19 million turkeys on Easter. The first 1000 turkeys are packaged with insurance can successfully call up consumers to make a try in a competitive environment. And the portion of turkey getting insured is relatively small to the general turkey market, which makes this campaign more cost-efficient. Potentially, it can even be seen as a tacit agreement made among Progressive, wholefoods and websites like Allrecipes.com. Individuals who get challenged with their cooking skills as shopping an insurance-guaranteed turkey, will very likely look up online for affable cooking tips. “Insured turkey” will further become a hashtag included in the social media bloggers who desire to targeting beginner cookers.
This campaign also inspires me about angles of accessing consumer insights. From a business’s POV, we intuitively try to pitch our products as beneficial to consumers who may not hold an exact living patterns as we expect. Successful innovations or campaigns should endear itself to the people, by examining big data of consumers’ living patterns, analyzing what are so much wanted by a consumer, or a second of resonance.
Reference:
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/turkey/turkey_facts.cfm#:~:text=88%25%20of%20Americans%20surveyed%20by,19%20million%20turkeys%20on%20Easter.
http://gclfoodingredients.com/cooking-improved-by-social-media/
I did hear about Whole Foods turkey insurance. I think it’s a really smart idea, especially during this pandemic. However, I don’t get a chance to participate. We know that there are fewer gatherings this year and some people have to cook Thanksgiving dinner by themselves. It’s definitely not an easy job to cook a turkey for those new cooks. I always search online when I looking for some cooking advice. I would look for different websites instead of sticking with one single website. I want to compare them and figure out the one that suits me the best. It’s interesting to know that there are more people searching for “beginner” than “basic”. In my opinion, “beginner” indicates you know nothing about something, but “basic” means at least you know something about it. I believe many people cook a turkey for its first time this year, that’s why there are more people searching for “beginner”.
Zhengbiao Ji
I believe this is an amazing marketing idea! Although I haven't heard about the turkey insurance and didn't cook a turkey for this year, I would have participated in the insurance campaign. It sounds fun and if I have participated, that is something I would tell my friends or family.
Many people could not go back to their family's home or gathering due to the COVID-19, so they forced to cook themselves. Cooking a turkey is a time-consuming process and it is not something people cook often, so even someone who cooks occasionally needs some help from others. I cook often and every time I try a new dish, I look up a recipe on the Internet. It is definitely the most convenient way of finding a good recipe. I don't have to buy recipe books like my mom did, and have access to 100+ recipes. Especially for someone who doesn't cook often, the Internet communities and cooking websites help to understand the procedures.
When I look up recipes, I usually include "simple," "quick," and "easy." I usually cook just for myself so the meal doesn't have to add 10 spices or take 3 hours.
Masa
As for me, I didn’t hear about the Progressive/Whole Foods turkey insurance. However, I feel that this was an amazing campaign especially when it comes to promoting both Progressive and Whole Foods brands. I have never looked for recipes online, but from time to time, when browsing through various TV channels and I happen to come across a cooking show, I am always eager to learn how to cook as the program shows. If I was to look for recipes especially on complex dishes that I can’t make out of my ‘innovation’, I would look them from YouTube as I can learn easily from the videos.
Beginner or basic searches were crucial especially to Allrecipes.com as they were able to measure the number of individuals who knows how to cook. This shows that they can use such data to reach out to novice cooks and sell out their recipes. Many people don’t know how to prepare dishes professionally and that might have been a good reason why the basic or beginner views were up.
I am a big user of online cooking recipes. Even though it is something that I might have cooked before sometimes I just turn to the online cooking recipes to see what I can do differently and make my cooking better. People no longer rely on cookbooks so much as before. I think online cooking is a niche or a new trend, especially for younger people 18-34 years. Cooking is not just seen as a process of having a tasty meal before you, but as an adventurous, entertaining activity that people take that helps them to feel achieved. I think when some people search for basic and others beginner there is actually a significant difference in what they are searching for. When an individual is searching for “basic” they are looking for an easy, simple ingredients recipe that will probably not take them a lot of time to follow. On the other hand, one who is searching for “beginner” is someone who is willing to invest in the cooking process. Someone who is willing to improve their skills. They are not just looking for an ordinary cooking experience but to learn a thing or two even though it might be a bit detailed.
I think the partnership between Whole Foods and Progressive was a good idea considering that many people are not that confident in the kitchen for them to get “turkey insurance” it gave them the confidence of being in the kitchen this Thanksgiving. They in a way offered a quick fix that online cooking platforms offer. I think they were targeting a unique group, the first-timers and so this was a great idea.
Xiaoyu Zheng
When I first heard about the campaign on TV, I said, let me try my luck. Mine didn’t fail since I followed a traditional turkey cooking recipe. My friends were on the internet searching for recipes so they could get into the competition. To me, this was a great campaign that brought people’s attention to Progressive/Whole Foods brands. I am surprised to find that Allrecipes.com got such high traffic as users were searching for recipes. An online platform can have the best coking recipes but if you don’t know how to cook, it becomes a problem. I believe that since most people are novices on cooking good food, they really had to look online for something that they could use so they could get in the trend of turkey cooking for Thanksgiving.
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