The Gillette Co. put itself on the cutting edge in 1998 and earned accolades in the process by walking away with top honors at the American Marketing Association’s annual Edison Best New Products Awards, held last month in New York City.
Chicago-based AMA hosts the ceremony each year to honor 30 top marketers in such product categories as food, high-tech, financial services, cosmetics, and automobiles.
A panel of 4,000 senior marketing and advertising executives across the U.S. judge the new products on the basis of marketplace and technological innovation, success, market structure, and impact on society.
Boston-based Gillette earned the 1999 Grand Edison New Product Marketer of the Year Award for its launch of the Mach3, the world’s first triple-blade razor.
The product’s rollout was supported by a $300 million worldwide marketing program that featured a Gillette Mach3 Test Flight Sweepstakes offering consumers a chance to win a free Mach3 beforeit was available in stores. The company set up a Mach3 Web site offering product and purchase information, along with sweepstakes entry forms. TV and radio ads and in-store and newspaper promotions supported. P-O-P was displayed in food, drug, convenience, and mass merchandise stores.
Other Gold Edison award winners included the following promotion-minded launches:
Sara Lee Cheesecake Bites (Sara Lee Corp., Chicago) – These chocolate-covered, ready-to-eat frozen cheesecake bits – no thawing required – were first introduced in the Chicago and San Francisco markets in May 1998. A nationwide launch followed soon after, driven by FSIs and both in-store and event product sampling. Print and TV advertising supported the campaign, and Primo Angeli Inc. of San Francisco designed colorful new packaging. The snacks had great appeal to convenience-minded consumers.
Whipper Snapple (Snapple Natural Beverage Co., Chicago) – Snapple introduced the first shelf product to blend juices and dairy in a popular drink (in a 4-6 percent dairy, 15-20 percent fruit juice ratio). Flavors included Orange Dream, Peach Mango, and Strawberry Banana. The Whipper Snapple campaign debuted with new double-logo panels on the packaging to help it stand out both in the cold box and on-shelf. There was also heavy in-store merchandising and a massive sampling program, supported by radio and TV spots. The beverages were a monster hit with teens.
GladWare (First Brands Company, Danbury, CT) – First Brands introduced a line of dishwasher-safe, tight-seal food containers centered on a price-value strategy (five container packages sell for $2) that attacked expensive products made by Tupperware and Rubbermaid. The company used free inserts of snacks and sweets recipes, outdoor grilling tips, and advice on fixing school lunches for kids to promote. The theme, “The container you’ll love to use, but can afford to lose,” proved quite quotable.
Kraft Interactive Kitchen (Kraft Foods Inc., Northfield, IL) – Kraft developed an online program to help service the 75 brands that don’t fall under its flagship name, like Jell-O, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, and Post Cereals.
The Web site offered a cookbook and a recipe box customized for users to store favorites and add more; a shopping list customized to generate lists of necessary ingredients by grocery aisle; a party planner offering food tips for specific types of parties; e-mail recipes; a Busy Mom’s Exchange chat room; and zip code locators detailing local events, promotions, and charities. The site currently has 500,000 visitors viewing more than four million pages per month.
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