Day Four: Company Visit Five (Kraft)

Some of us were recovering from our first night out on the town in Istanbul, but everybody made the 8:00 A.M. shuttle to Kraft. Ironically, it is the only company that actually put its name on the outside of the building. Not sure if it is a security risk or what, but I haven't seen an American company put its name on any buildings.

Here is Jessie, Brian, Andi, Joe, and Jon in front of some Kraft advertising. I was disappointed they didn't have Kraft Mac and Cheese for us, but Tang, Patos Critos, and Milka hit the spot.

While we liked the chocolate at Nestle, I think Kraft won us over in the food category, but not in a category you would expect. Kraft doesn't really compete in the U.S. in the salty snack category, but that is the primary driver of Kraft Turkey. They have two products--Patos (essentially Doritos, but Doritos actually competes in Turkey) and Patos Critos (Buggles, which should be much more popular in the U.S.). I think we went through about 10 bags during the morning.



When you think of potato chips in the U.S., you think of eating them for lunch or grabbing them from a gas station on a long drive (Cheetos Corrine?). However, in Turkey, potato chips are typically consumed when watching television in the evenings. Chips are meant to be shared with friends and family. Turks snack, but on fruits and nuts, not chips. So introducing salty snacks is a bit of a challenge. First thing they did was combine both products under the Patos brand name. Seems pretty simple, but when you think of how much you have to change--packaging, advertising, displays, sales material--it is pretty difficult. The other thought was that they could work together as opposed to being competing products. The question though is who will consume the product.

So where did Kraft go? College kids. They created an entire campaign for Patos Critos based on the fun of consuming the 3D chips. They rolled out a significant sampling program at 20 universities across the country. They sponsored concerts and sporting events. The results were phenomenal. They grew market share from 2% to 8% in six months and even grew the Patos brand by 3%.

Kraft also did a good of explaining Turkish advertising to us. While the country is 97% Muslim and more conservative than the U.S., TV advertising is more risque and requires comedy to make an impact. Literally every commercial on TV has some comedic aspect. Here is the current Patos Critos ad running in Turkey. Yes, they did that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu4MYyAx1oA



Funny thing is that Kraft corporate initally said no. They thought it would not play well because it was too controversial. However, the ad agency and the Turkey management team petitioned headquarters and were able to run this ad, which was moderately scaled down from its initial cut. This ad even won an award for innovation within Kraft Europe. Here is another new ad for a Patos Critos line extension.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL-leznbnoE&feature=related


Patos Critos saved Sennai as I don't think he had eaten for three days. Turkish food was not up his alley. Seriously, who doesn't like fish served with its head and tail still on? Jessie?