Marketing initiative is the company’s first since a February product recall
Kraft Canada has launched a national English- and French-language marketing campaign for its single-serve coffee system Tassimo, the first since a major product recall earlier this year.
Tassimo is a leading brand in the fast-growing “on-demand” or “single-serve” coffee segment, which accounted for an estimated 25% of the $667 million spent by Canadians on roast and ground coffee in 2011.
Kraft has sold approximately 900,000 Tassimo brewers in Canada since they debuted five years ago but faced a North American recall in February of approximately 1.7 million units after reports that they sprayed hot water, resulting in some users sustaining second-degree burns.
Rena Nickerson, senior brand manager for Tassimo in Toronto says there was “strong participation” in the recall, which impacted Bosch-brand Tassimo brewing machines and Gevalia and Nabob espresso T Discs.
Nickerson says that internal research conducted by Kraft showed Tassimo’s image was not adversely impacted by the event. Less than 5% of Tassimo’s retail outlets – a group that includes major specialty department stores, electronics stores and mass-merchandise stores – feel more negative to the brand than they did prior to the recall.
“The advertising is important to reassure consumers about the brand, but the truth is it’s not really different from other advertising we would have done,” said Nickerson. “We’ve always been about quality – we’re just saying it very loudly right now.”
The campaign’s TV, newspaper and online elements highlight Tassimo’s unique barcode technology, which tells the machine to adjust everything from water temperature, water amount and brew time.
A 30-second English- and French-language TV spot “Powder” features a man representing powdered milk attempting to infiltrate a Tassimo “barcode.” After being informed that Tassimo doesn’t use powdered milk in any of its beverages, the man responds “That’s cool, because I’m not powdered.” One of the people in the barcode promptly apologizes and slaps him on the back, causing him to dissolve into a pile of dust.
The spot uses Tassimo’s “The barcode brews it better” positioning first introduced in late 2010.
Nickerson said the creative – developed by Ogilvy & Mather Toronto – tested “very well” with consumers. The media buy by MediaVest uses both primetime and fringe TV, although Nickerson said it is “heavily weighted” to the former with an emphasis on top 20 programming. The buy is targeted at adults 25 – 54.
The TV spots are being complemented by a series of online videos created by digital agency Trapeze that feature the slogan “behind every barcode, there’s a story.” The one-minute videos at Tassimo.ca/Stories showcase partner brands such as Gevalia and Carte Noire, explaining how they adapted their premium products for use by Tassimo.
English and French pre-roll videos are driving consumers to the website.
Tassimo also partners with Maxwell House, Nabob, Cadbury and Twinings, and recently announced a new partnership with Second Cup that will see the coffee chain’s Paradiso, Paradiso Dark and Espresso Forte latte products join the Tassimo line beginning this fall.
The Toronto-based Coffee Association of Canada (CAC) has called single-serve machines the biggest innovation in coffee brewing since the launch of drip machines 30 years ago. It predicts that the migration of single-serve coffee from the office to the at-home market will encourage consumers to spend more money on the coffee they purchase at grocery stores.
