Orville Redenbacher Promo Pops Online

By adding a Web component into a marketing partnership with the ABC hit series “Lost,” ConAgra Foods received three times the response it had expected.

“What we learned is that we can use the online medium to make our dollars go further,” Kevin Doohan, ConAgra’s director of Web marketing, explained during a session at The Conference Board’s marketing conference in November. “In the past, we would have run the promotion similarly but had not nearly as robust an online component. For limited incremental investment, we got maximum incremental benefit.”

For an August-September promotion and sweepstakes, ConAgra’s Orville Redenbacher brand of microwave popcorn sponsored a “Lost” minisite on ABC.com where consumers could enter an on-package code for deals, exclusive content, and a chance to win a trip to Hawaii. Point-of-purchase messages, an on-pack promotion, and TV commercials drove consumers to the minisite. In addition to entering the contest to win the trip to Hawaii, participants could download a $10 rebate offer for a “Lost” DVD.

But additional content on the site gave fans of the show reason to be engaged and keep returning. They could view exclusive video clips; download “Lost” desktop images, photos, and buddy icons, learn about the upcoming season of the show — and opt in for e-mail from Orville Redenbacher.

“Users were actively engaged on the site,” Doohan explained. “Without the online component, the brand would not have received any of these benefits. Leveraging online was a great way to extend Orville’s engagement beyond the 30-second spot.”

Jeff Zabin, director of FairIsaac, a customer data solution provider, said during the session that the promo was additional proof that consumers are ready and willing to interact online with brands for consumer packaged goods (CPG). Zabin cited a September 2004 Jupiter Research/Ipsos-Insight Consumer Survey that shows 41% of men and 68% of women have visited a CPG Website.

Zabin, who co-presented the session, also cited a 2005 Gartner survey that showed 65% of b-to-c relationships involve three or more channels. This means that there is no such thing as “branding on the net,” he said, because customers don’t come in online and offline versions. In other words, marketing channels need to be viewed holistically.

Zabin also pointed to a 2004 Forrester Research study indicating that consumers are ready to interact online with CPG brands. According to the survey

• 93% are willing to provide consumer feedback
• 90% want to receive promotions via e-mail (think coupons)
• 76% would like to receive e-mail from CPG brands
• 66% want to establish dialogue with a CPG manufacturer
• 40% of U.S. Internet users changed their opinions of brands due to information they gathered online.