Agency: The Marketing Arm
Client: Frito-Lay
Lay’s core potato chip business, along with potato chip sales in general, had been slipping in a health-conscious environment, and Lay’s had become a symbol for junk food. At the same time, threats from private label and regional competitors were intensifying. To overcome these challenges, Lay’s wanted to change consumers’ perceptions of the brand as junk food.
The Marketing Arm introduced the Lay’s Local campaign, emphasizing that Lay’s potato chips are grown and made in local communities across America. Desire for freshness and taste, among other things, had increased local food sales by 20% over the year. The Lay’s Local campaign was designed to leverage this trend and change the target’s perceptions by strengthening their emotional connection with the brand.
The campaign was based around in-store displays, including farm stand displays, farm truck displays, bridgewraps, pre-packed displays and shelf strips, danglers and clings. Along with POS, regional teams partnered with retail initiatives to make efforts bigger through custom retail media and advertising equaling more than 65 regional customer ad pieces. Cross-section couponing with offers like “Buy Two Bags of Lay’s, Get $2 off Local Produce,” further customized the message, gaining more facings and floor space in new areas of stores. In addition, an insert that historically featured only a generic price point and bag shot was now featuring in-store displays, local farm messaging and a hot price point.
Lay’s partnered with Save Mart and Lucky stores to be featured on Bringing It Home, a 30-minute television show focused on cooking with local ingredients. The summer grilling and burger-themed segments depicted the entire Lay’s chip making process from farm to factory and featured Frito-Lay North America executive chefs preparing recipes with produce and other farm-fresh products.
In 2009, the Lay’s Local campaign made Lay’s the strongest performing brand in the Frito-Lay portfolio and helped Frito-Lay earn the title of Fastest Growing CPG Company in the U.S. in Candy and Snack Today (Feb, 16, 2010).
Most importantly, the campaign succeeded in changing consumer perceptions, generating a 127% increase in net sales, reversing a 15-month trend of Frito-Lay North America display losses.
