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Frito-Lay: 2014 Supplier Leadership Award winner for New Media Marketing(Supermarket News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) In 2012-2013, Frito-Lay held its first “Do Us A Flavor” contest in the U.S. to invite consumers to pick a new flavor of chips. Judges narrowed down nearly 4 million flavor idea submissions to three finalists, with more than a million consumer votes deciding the winner. For the second contest in 2014, Frito-Lay wanted to go even bigger. In addition to allowing submissions for different kinds of chips — Original, Kettle-Cooked or Wavy — and increasing the number of finalists to four, Frito-Lay pushed into new social channels, leading to dramatic increases in consumer participation. “The engagement for this year’s contest has exceeded all expectations,” said Tina Mahal, senior director, Lay’s. “We received more than 14 million submissions, more than three times the number of submissions we received the first time we offered the contest in the U.S. And we’ve received millions of votes as fans determine which finalist flavor will win the $1 million grand prize.” During the initial phase of the contest at the beginning of this year, consumers could submit flavor ideas for the first time by Twitter and YouTube, as well as via Facebook, text message or the Do Us A Flavor website. “And we created a visual jingle called the ‘Yummy Song’ which served as a centerpiece of inspiration during the submissions phase, offering fans shareable content to pass along to others, and demonstrating — in a really fun way — that flavor ideas are all around us,” said Mahal. Supplier Leadership AwardsSee all 12 winners in 2014, plus links to their stories On the day the contest launched, comedian Wayne Brady selected a small number of submissions and recorded short sketches and songs for YouTube riffing on the flavor ideas. Frito-Lay used Lay’s social media channels to inspire submissions with posts that played off of trending topics and food themes, or replaced food items with potato chips. “We also created short online videos — we called ‘instajingles’ — that included real food items dancing to the tune of a clever song to celebrate occasions related to delicious food flavors, such as the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras,” said Mahal. For some submissions, Lay’s created custom ‘instajingles’ and images to engage with consumers. A panel of judges chose the four finalists: Lay’s Cappuccino, Lay’s Cheddar Bacon Mac & Cheese, Lay’s Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger and Lay’s Wavy Mango Salsa. Once the chips hit stores, consumers could vote on their favorites via the contest website, text message, Twitter and — for the first time — Instagram and Vine. On social media, votes included the hashtags #SaveCappuccino, #SaveBaconMac, #SaveWasabi or #SaveMango. Frito-Lay also asked fans to submit reviews of the flavors, which the company aggregated on the contest website. Lay’s used some of the fan reviews to create short videos that it then shared on social media. While the four flavors were sold in stores nationwide, Lay’s worked with more than 20 retailers on customized, regional campaigns. These retailers encouraged fans to vote on their own websites and social media channels, and in some cases offered special promotions for Lay’s products. Frito-Lay plans to announce the winner in late October. “At the end of the day, we are looking for a way to connect with our fans. The Lay’s ‘Do Us A Flavor’ contest has been a huge success because we have done just that. We have been able to maintain a dialogue with our consumers and increase consumer engagement year over year,” said Mahal. CONNECT WITH SN ON TWITTER Follow @SN_News for updates throughout the day. The contest shows how different divisions within Frito-Lay and its parent company PepsiCo share winning ideas. “As we bring the highest quality and best-tasting products to market, we are always on the lookout for great ideas executed in one part of our company that we can lift-and-shift to other places and leverage our global scale. Do Us A Flavor has been implemented in numerous countries around the world, and stands as a perfect example of extending our creativity for global success,” said Mahal. Suggested CategoriesMore from Supermarketnews Latest News Top 75 Retailers & Wholesalers Top 50 Small Chains & Independents Top 25 Global Retailers Power 50 SN Photo Galleries Videos Industry Voices SN Viewpoints Total Access Event Coverage © 2014 Penton Media |