The Shreddies “Diamond or Square” debate continues as Post Cereals, a division of Kraft Foods, begins teasing the next phase of its Diamond Shreddies marketing campaign online.
Ogilvy & Mather, which handles Shreddies’ advertising business, created a video message from the so-called “President of Shreddies” and posted it at DiamondShreddies.com/sneakpeek. He answers a real letter from a consumer about the tongue-in-cheek presentation of the cereal’s new diamond shape—actually the original square shape turned 45 degrees.
“ ‘I’d like to know how much money your firm actually paid someone to produce Diamond Shreddies? A square on its side? How stupid can you be?’ ” the president reads. “Thanks for your question. We don’t disclose our advertising budgets, but let me assure you that a square on its side is still merely a square.” To demonstrate, he turns a Shreddie 90 degrees.
The site also asks consumers to vote for either the square or diamond shape. This will culminate in the launch of the campaign’s next phase on Sept. 22, the details of which Post is keeping secret.
“I can tell you that it’s in support of the Diamond Shreddies combo pack currently in stores, which has 50% square and 50% diamond shapes,” said Mangala Dsa, senior product manager, kids cereals and Shreddies at Post Cereals. “It’s also a call to action for consumers to go to DiamondShreddies.com and vote for square versus diamond.”
Nancy Vonk, co-creative director at Ogilvy & Mather, said the next phase will not be a mass-media effort, but will see the President character doing more with customer feedback.
A contest, created by public relations firm Strategic Objectives, will also launch on Sept. 22. Advertised through Canoe.ca, it offers a grand prize that includes a one-night stay in a luxury hotel, a spa package and a Shreddies breakfast.
Post launched the Diamond campaign nationally in January to reinvigorate the product’s stalled brand. The launch phase included footage of real focus groups where unsuspecting consumers were asked their opinion on the cereal’s “new” shape.
Testers produced surprisingly earnest responses, setting the tone for the campaign, which relies heavily on consumer feedback to fuel the two sides of the fake debate.
“The consumer feedback has been great,” Dsa said. “We’ve seen so much chatter on the Internet, as well as a positive result on our baseline sales.”
According to the company’s research, Shreddies’ baseline sales increased 18% the first month of the campaign, and brand recognition scored 52% higher than its competitors.
The campaign has won a Grand Clio, a Bronze Pencil at the One Show, and was a finalist in Cannes in the Integrated category.
