Case 3-2
Heinz Is Looking for Attention
From upside-down bottles and wacky-colored ketchups to unusual store displays and customer-
created television commercials, H. J. Heinz
[http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/company/304112?u=tlearn_trl] is definitely looking for
attention. Although Heinz sells 650 million bottles of ketchup each year, the company is
anything but complacent about keeping its brands and products in the public eye. One way it
does this is by using special in-store displays. To catch the eye of tailgaters browsing in Sam’s
Club and other warehouse stores, the company has created cardboard displays shaped like the
back of a pickup truck and filled them with grab-and-go picnic packs of Heinz ketchup, mustard,
and relish.
When Heinz introduces new products and packaging, it gains more shelf space, attracts
attention, and highlights each item’s appeal to the senses. Its E-Z-Squirt Ketchup, in vivid, child-
friendly colors like green, purple, and blue, was a standout on store shelves. Its organic ketchup
comes in an upside-down squeeze bottle with a green lid that sets the product apart while linking
it to the category of natural and organic foods. Heinz is also developing a sweeter variety of
tomato for future ketchup products.
However, what appeals to consumers’ taste buds in one country may not appeal in those in
another country. “Consumer tastes are still very local,” observes a Heinz executive, “[which is
the reason why] we still like our recipes to be very locally tweaked, even in ketchup.” Chefs,
scientists, designers, engineers, and marketers work together to create and taste-test new
ketchups and other food products at the Heinz Global Innovation and Quality Center outside
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The result is untraditional new flavors keyed to specific markets, such
as the chili ketchup and sweet onion ketchup recently launched in U.K. stores. The center also
hosts a “supermarket” where marketers can observe how consumers behave as they walk down
aisles filled with products by Heinz and competing firms.
With so many food products vying for attention in advertising media and on supermarket
shelves, getting consumers to notice a ketchup ad—let alone act on it—is another key challenge.
Heinz communicates through numerous messages running in print and broadcast media as well
as online; it also uses in-store and in-restaurant communications to reinforce brand image and
loyalty. Heinz has also sponsored Top This TV
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh2FBhPGcHg] contests in which consumers submit
homemade 30-second commercials featuring Heinz ketchup, which are then posted on YouTube
for viewing and voting. The top prize is $57,000 (a play on “Heinz 57 varieties”) and a spot on
national TV for the winning commercial.
To encourage participation and wave the brand banner, Heinz promotes these contests on its
ketchup labels, on TV, in print, and online. Hundreds of consumers uploaded entries to the first
two contests; many of these commercials, including those created by the finalists, are still
available on YouTube and on Heinz’s topthistv.com website. Media coverage and word-of-
mouth buzz spread the contest message quickly and kept people talking about the homemade
commercials even after the voting was over and the winners had been announced.
Heinz also mounted a contest to gain community attention and involve U.S. students and
teachers with the brand and its communications. The Ketchup Creativity contest invited students
in grades 1 through 12 to submit artwork for Heinz single-serve packets. From more than 15,000
entries, the judges chose 12 winners to have their artwork displayed on millions of Heinz
ketchup packets. Each winner received a $750 scholarship; each winner’s school received $750
worth of Heinz ketchup and $750 worth of art supplies. Student-created artwork made the
winning ketchup packets stand out and added to the visual appeal of a product that rarely gets the
spotlight to itself.
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Case Questions
1. Using the concepts discussed in this chapter, explain how Heinz has been successful in
generating exposure and capturing attention. What other ideas would you suggest Heinz try
to foster exposure, attention, and perception?
2. In terms of exposure, attention, and perception, what are some of the potential disadvantages
of Heinz’s Top This TV contests?
3. Do you think that Heinz will gain long-term benefits from holding a contest for students that
focused on the visual appeal of designing single-serve ketchup packets? Explain your
answer.