Creative Brief
Goldfish Snack Crackers
Daniel Ennis

Key Concept
Goldfish are a snack that parents should be providing their kids because Goldfish are made with natural flavors and real cheese – and they’re fun to eat.

Problem that advertising must solve
With the hundreds of items on the snack aisle, parents are looking to purchase the snack that’s best for their kids. A Mintel report shows that 53% of consumers are looking for natural or healthy ingredients in a snack. Since the snack aisle is so cluttered, parents are looking for something to differentiate the best snack from the others, and the same Mintel report also says that “familiarity with flavor” is nearly twice as likely to be cited as “new or different,” suggesting a strong level of product loyalty, and a barrier to initial trial of new products.

Advertising objective
This campaign will focus on the aspects of Goldfish that make it stick out, such as natural flavors (no artificial preservatives and 0g Trans Fat) and the fact that it’s baked with real cheddar cheese. However, the objective is also to make parents realize that this is a “fun” snack for kids to be eating that will entertain their kids as they eat the crackers. By having the target market to think of Goldfish in a fun way outside of the supermarket, the snack’s awareness will be raised from awareness and knowledge to acceptance of the product. This will make supermarket shoppers that are looking for a snack more likely to purchase Goldfish over another product because the objective is to make consumers realize that Goldfish is the best snack that they can buy. This will be executed through a series of “snack battle” themed ads where Goldfish will be able to go head-to-head online against other snacks to be compared with regards to product benefits and attributes. Print, TV, and Banner ads will relate to this online microsite so that it isn’t dependent on the interaction, but the interaction would take the normal level of awareness to the next level.

Creative Strategy

Target market: The target market for this campaign is women that are ages 25-54 that are professional women. These aren’t your regular stay-at-home moms. They’ve gotten college degrees, and they’ve worked hard for what they’ve gotten in their life. The target market would be in the $75,000-$149,000 income range, married and primarily white. These moms are the new generation of moms that are working a full time job, while at the same time being expected to do the grocery shopping and feed their children, so these moms need a snack that they can feed their kids that will keep them happy while they’re snacking, and keep them healthy so the parents don’t have to worry.

Principal Competition: Primary competition is other snacks that are close in price range or use on the snack aisle, such as Planters Peanuts, Tostitos Tortilla Chips, and Rold Gold Pretzels.

Planters Peanuts
Planters markets themselves as being socially conscious in being sustainable in nut farming globally. In doing so, they’ve invested in in the African Cashew Initiative. Planters also use a charismatic character to stand for the peanut: Mr. Peanut. This emphasizes the “fun” aspect that snack foods have, so these peanuts are also wholesome, fun, and “naturally remarkable.” The Mr. Peanut character is constantly being amended to appeal to younger adults, with a fun and often comedic script in commercials and other ads. Consumers of nuts and dried fruit in general are interested in healthy snacking, but are more mature and part of the Baby Boomer generation. The majority of consumers of nuts are 47-65 , which is much older than the Goldfish target market, which is a positive aspect of this campaign because it focuses on a healthier eating regimen at a younger age.

Tostitos Tortilla Chips
Consumers of tortilla chips are a snack that have been typically popular for consumers as snack items, but there have been a few factors that have limited the growth of tortilla chips as of late, and therefore may be an opportunity for Goldfish. One factor is the price of corn in the market, which has people reevaluating the cost of snack food. While this may not directly benefit Goldfish, the inexpensive price of Goldfish may incite consumers to switch from Tostitos to Goldfish in the supermarket snack aisle. Since the number of households that have children is decreasing, and tortilla chips are a common snack for parents to offer their kids with less guilt, it has caused snack manufacturers to consider repositioning tortilla chips towards adults , which alleviates some of the pressure off of Goldfish as a snack because then there are fewer competitors in the market of snacks targeted at parents that want their children to have natural ingredients in the snack food. Tortilla chips also may have the benefit of being “guilt-free” but they lack the taste that Goldfish has in order to be sold on their own without a condiment, such as salsa or dip.

Rold Gold Pretzels
Rold Gold is the largest selling brand in the segment, and form the basis of a healthier alternative to potato chips for consumers. Sales have declined in 2011 due to a lack of innovation in recent years, especially with the salt content in pretzels and health risks brought to consumers attention in recent years. For this reason, older consumers opt out more often , but if Goldfish ads make it notable to use natural ingredients, it could alleviate Goldfish from the spotlight of being unhealthy. 

Key Consumer Benefit: With Goldfish snack crackers, kids will have fun while they eat, and parents will want to feed their kids more Goldfish because they’re wholesome and made with natural, real ingredients that take the parents’ worry out of snacking too much.

Reason(s) why: Goldfish is a snack with healthy ingredients with a resonating advertising campaign that creates a familiarity in consumers so that when they decide to go into the store to buy snacks, they choose Goldfish because they think that Goldfish is more wholesome and fun than other snack choices.

Tone: The campaign is light-hearted and fun so that it appeals to kids and parents alike.

Mandatories and Policy Limitations
None

Mintel – Nuts and Dried Fruit Brands and Marketing Strategies
http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/
show&/display/id=543035/display/id=561708

Mintel – Nuts and Dried Fruit – Market Drivers
http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/
show&/display/id=543035/display/id=561692

Mintel – Chips, Pretzels, and Corn Snacks – Market Drivers
http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/
show&/display/id=590143/display/id=608136#hit1

Mintel – Chips, Pretzels and Corn Snacks – Segment Performance
http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/
show&/display/id=590143/display/id=608141