May 2, 2017

Is Rice Krispies really intended for only kids and moms?

Makers of breakfast foods have long been known for innovation. New cereal and frozen foods hit the shelves regularly.

But it would seem that not everyone’s invited to the table.

Pick up any cereal box and you’ll often discover a world that speaks only to moms. Despite all the newfound innovations in the grocery store, marketers remain convinced that the family dynamic hasn’t changed – that dads don’t take care of children, don’t tend to the home, or even spend their morning ritual with the family.

The Rice Krispies Twitter page reinforces this outdated stereotype with a Twitter bio (right) that excludes dads from the outset. The exclusion is particularly surprising for a brand that’s well accepted and loved by families everywhere — families which include dads.

Its approach is surprisingly consistent with a few of its iconic shelf mates. It wasn’t until 2015 that Cheerios changed its webpage touting itself as “Mom’s Choice.” Kix defers to mom in both slogan and message on every box. Even the back of Frosted Mini-Wheats exhorts kids to specifically ask mom for more. And El Monterey has long used the hashtag #momwins throughout its social media.

Our tweets on the Rice Krispies bio recently caught the attention of Kellogg’s, but the communication fell flat when subsequent tweets weren’t returned. We’re still waiting for what could be a quick fix and thus restore balance to the cereal shelves.

Of course, this particular cereal stretches far beyond the bowl. The oft-duplicated rice puffs are a virtual kitchen staple, useful in many recipes around the kitchen. Its Twitter page frequently touts its popular endearing spinoff, the Rice Krispies treat. Even its venerable mascots Snap, Crackle and Pop resonate with everyone.

Given its prowess in our daily lives, let’s hope Rice Krispies can turn things around soon and become close with dads again.

Like super close.

Like white on rice.

July 6, 2015

Soggy cereal

What exactly does this Twitter bio say about dads? And if you are a dad, what is it saying to you?

In our estimation, it’s saying that you don’t count, the company isn’t talking to you, and it doesn’t want your business.

What’s strange about MOM Brands is that it adopted its exclusionary name in 2012. No, that’s not 1912, but 2012 – as in, three years ago!

Jif adopted its discriminatory slogan decades ago, and same for Kix’s mom-centric box, while Similac has been ignoring fathers nearly since its beginning.

But 2012? It’s hard to imagine a company looking so old-fashioned in today’s equality-hungry, politically correct world that strives to include everyone and even blur the lines between, say, toys and clothes. Alas, MOM Brands has found a way to make even cereal buying sexist, because dads apparently do not know best.

What’s equally bizarre about MOM Brands is how they proclaim to have made the name change to reflect “the company we are now. We’ve been family-owned since 1919…” and “We’re really proud of the fact that we’ve saved families over one billion dollars since 2007.”

But don’t families include dads, too?

Apparently not, according to MOM Brands, or it might recognize them by name – or at least on Twitter.

It’s hard to stomach this say-one-thing, do-another corp-speak, especially since MOM Brands seems like a rather progressive group. We admire its innovative packaging that’s helping to keep its cost (and customers’) down. Its variety and tastes are every bit good as the next cereal brand.

But that name. And that Twitter bio.

Both are enough to make dads reach for something else. Chances are, they already have, but it won’t be easy: marketers of the cereal industry seem insistent that only moms have the ability to put breakfast food on the table, and/or mom’s place is in the kitchen.

Alas, cereal makers are stuck in time (see #7).

It’s quite the reversal from the days when pa would gather and hunt for what the family needed.

MOM Brands says it’s taking the saying “’mom knows best’ to the next level,” and perhaps that’s a good thing.

Maybe, just maybe, that “next level” might include dads in the future.

April 28, 2014

If everybody else gets to write a list, we can too

Why bother?

Why would any company waste time marketing to dads?

Marketing to dads matters. Let us count the ways, and since lists seem to make the Internet go ‘round, here’s ours:

It’s not about who uses the card, but about everything before the credit card is swiped – Anybody can put a Star Wars t-shirt in a shopping cart, but more went into that decision than you think. What, or who, influenced it? Maybe it’s dad’s love of the movie franchise that rubbed off on their kids. Maybe it was a commercial the family saw while watching a hockey game together. Maybe it is dad’s influence on a certain store the family frequents. Maybe dad researched everything about the product online for the mom. Maybe dad simply looks good in the shirt. Any marketer can sit all day long in a store and prove that it was mom after mom who swiped that credit card in Target, but a wise researcher will investigate the whole story.
No matter how small the slice is on the pie chart, it’s still a slice, and it still tastes like pie – I heard a weathercaster once say, “Even though there’s a 70% chance of rain today, remember that there’s a 30% chance it won’t.” So, let’s say for example, that moms handle 70% of the purchasing. Is a company really doing to ignore that potential 30% of dads who buy stuff? Cereal makers do all the time, and if I was their CEO, I’d start looking for a new marketing team, and fast.
Isn’t equality a goal? – When you alienate someone and make them feel left out, you’re bound to really turn them off. What’s wrong with marketing to both mom and dad at the same time? Nothing! You’ll still have the mom in your good graces, and the dad will feel like he was included, too. The good baby websites, I’ve found, are the ones that use the word “parent” and have photos of the newborn baby with both mom and dad. Isn’t that a cool thing to see?
Loyalty is king – If you become friends with someone at work or school, that’s nice. If that friend invites you to their home, your friendship suddenly deepens, and you’ve formed a bond that makes you feel even more connected. You’ve become loyal to them. The same connection happens with retailers, and it means far more than customer satisfaction. Dads are loyal people. As author and speaker Jeffrey Gitomer once said, “Customer satisfaction is worthless. Customer loyalty is priceless.”
The Internet still is a game changer – Unless you’ve been living under a rock for say, the past 25 years, you’ve heard of the Internet. It’s a marvelous tool used to gather information fast from all around the globe. As far as I know, dads have used it to gather information, read and write reviews, and purchase things. Lots of things. Take the “zo” out of Amazon and you have “A man.”
Look no further than sports – If you don’t follow sports, check out the power of the NFL, NASCAR, or any other sports league, and you’ll find it dominated by dads who have an allegiance to athletes and their games like no other. It’s a gazillion dollar industry that continues to grow and expand with time.
Dads eat and buy cereal – I think June Cleaver gets a bum rap. Everyone likes to make her the poster child for old-fashioned, outdated behavior. Leave it to Beaver was a good show with wholesome characters, simply a product of its times. Cereal is notorious for neglecting dads. Kix is a product of its times too, but even a Beaver sequel in the ‘80s didn’t keep using the same formula – it updated for the times. Read our December 17, 2013 entry if you want to learn more about Kix’s useless and archaic orange box. It really isn’t the 1950s anymore, Kix, so hop on board the 2014 bus with the rest of us. If I was Doc Brown and I had some plutonium, I’d so throw you into a DeLorean and send you “Back to the”…well, you know where.
Credit card companies know better – Credit card companies know that their pocket-sized flat payment tools are used by dads, too. That’s why they have dudes in their ads. I’d even go as far to say that credit cards were inherently designed for dads: they’re lightweight and flat since dads don’t like to carry things; they have cool pictures on them; they’re durable; they’re largely free to get (dads like free things); even acquiring one is easy to do. Leave it to Jedi Master tough guy Mace Windu to set the record straight: men do indeed use credit cards as he asks the question to which he already knows the answer, “What’s in your wallet?” Dads carry wallets. Moms carry purses. Closed, the case is.
Dad, meet Internet; Internet, meet Dad – Dads and computers met a long time ago, and they realize how to use them. Even if dads don’t always make the final purchase, they’re surely reading about the product beforehand. They’re commenting on it. They’re reviewing it. And did you see that Amazon is starting an online grocery store? Frankly, dads are probably purchasing things more and more off the Internet, because every good marketer claims knows that dads don’t like to shop in stores, right? So, watch it marketers, because the slightest misstep and you’ll have more than one dadmarketing site broadcasting it to the world.
Step up right here and behold, the spectacle! – The way dads get dissed everywhere, it seems like marketers make them out to be some kind of mythical creature that doesn’t exist. In that vein, I have channeled my inner Dr. Seuss:

Dads move, dads think, they eat, they blink.

Dads stand, dads sit, they throw, they hit.

Dads run, dads fly, they drive, they buy.

Dads can do lots of things, you see.

So don’t deny their authority.

April 17, 2014

I don’t cheer for Cheerios

The phrase “to those whom much has been given, more is required,” is best known for its origin in the Bible.

I think it applies to cereal, too — specifically, Cheerios — and we’ll get to that connection in a minute.

But let’s think about Cheerios first. It’s one of the strongest brands around. Its no-nonsense black serif font on the plain yellow box is iconic. The circular shape is basic, pure and often imitated. Its ingredients include whole grain oats and just one gram of sugar. Nearly every off- and store-brand has made a knock-off version and given it a similar name. The taste is simple and unchanged virtually since the beginning, unless you count the explosion of its flavored offspring, such as Reduced-Fat-Yogurt-Berry-Blast-Cinnamon-Coated-Sprinkle Cheerios (seriously, do we need this much variety?).

I would argue that Cheerios has been in every American home at least one point in time since its inception, and I doubt many brand names can proclaim that. We eat it. We make snack mixes with it. We feed it to babies. We feed it to birds. We make crafts with it. We give it to kids in church to keep them quiet. We string it on Christmas trees. We love it. We trust it. Its wholesome. It sticks on noses (try doing that with Kix). It’s certified by the American Heart Association! It’s genius!

It’s just plain…perfect!

Or is it?

Their marketing folks nearly had me at hello, but as I went further into their website, discovered that it’s Mom’s Choice. And that’s when I started thinking about the phrase, “to those whom much has been given, more is required.”

You see, we’ve made Cheerios a part of our lives and trusted it for years, and I always thought it was a decently mutual relationship: General Mills kept making it, we kept eating it and everyone was happy. But then they started saying that it’s the cereal which mom’s choose, and dads instantly became alienated and left out. More should be required of one of the top cereals around. They’re supposed to be an example for everyone else. Do you ever see the NFL say, “It’s the sports league more dads watch with their boys than any other”?

Cheerios, I thought you were better than this. We’ve all given you so much, and more should be required.

I have the last box I’ll ever buy in my cupboard, and I’m not even going to eat it.

But the birds will.