Lessons

Ultimately, I believe that a food company does not want to be held entirely responsible for its consumers. It is important for a consumer to trust your company, but in analyzing these examples, I've found what I believe to be several key lessons for companies in transitioning responsibility from the corporation to the consumer.

1. Give consumers options and resources.
Taco Bell did a wonderful job at this objective. By providing an alternative, low-fat menu, along with exercise tips and outside links, the consumer cannot paint the company as entirely self-serving.

2. Educate your consumers.
The Corn Refiners Association campaign for high fructose corn syrup was all about education and encouraged consumers to dispel the myths and gossip, instead discovering the true facts about their product. By not talking down to their consumer, but instead, empowering them and giving them access to information, as a consumer, I feel like many of the association's cards were on the table, and I am more willing to trust them.

3. Don't tell them what to do.
In the case of San Francisco mandating "Meatless Mondays," mandating a specific form of health is a sure way to stir up controversy. If there had been some kind of incentive to participate, I believe that would have been a better option; however, by only using negative reinforcement, a person's liberty (or at least confidence ordering a burger) is taken away.

Ultimately, responsibility comes down to the individual. You can either jump off the bridge along with your friends and endure the consequences, or instead, take what information food companies have provided us, do a little research if needed, and make a personal decision for yourself.

Taco Bell...healthy?

Long-known for their chalupas and gorditas, Taco Bell is jumping on the healthy-living bandwagon as well, hoping to earn some consumer goodwill. The company is attempting this feat through a branded diet and partnership with an online training company and coach.

On the heels of Subway's widely-successful "Subway Diet," endorsed by Jared, Taco Bell has started its own a brand-specific diet. However, instead of sandwiches piled high with veggies, you can now allegedly lose weight with the help of a drive-thru Mexican restaurant. Enter Taco Bell's "Drive-Thru Diet." Filled with items off the restaurant's 7-item "Fresco" menu, the Drive-Thru diet uses Christine as a spokesperson, a woman who lost 54 pounds eating items solely off this Fresco menu.


Also, Taco Bell has attempted to become more responsible for their offerings with the "Balanced Lifestyle" section of their website. This area has links to Coach John Calipari's website, as well as a link to eFit4Me.com. By connecting their brand to others known for physical fitness, Taco Bell is providing options for their customers, taking responsibility for them. However, once they have provided those options, they give the responsibility right back to the customer.

It was Taco Bell's corporate responsibility to provide healthy options and the opportunity for their customers to make healthy choices. However, because they have done so with the Fresco menu and physical fitness promotions, it is now up to the consumer to make the healthy choice.

Sugar Cereals

Marketing to kids is a sticky ethical issue. Cereal companies especially receive many complaints, as their boxes are covered in games and many use cartoon characters as spokespeople. Both Post and General Mills use similar strategies in marketing their cereals.

First, the Post Pebbles line of cereals includes Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles, which have been around for decades, but has just grown to include Cupcake Pebbles and Marshmallow Pebbles. (source) With cupcakes featuring sprinkles and marshmallows, they are still counting on kids to have a sweet tooth.



The Flintstones characters are the cartoons used to sell this line of cereal, and kids can play an interactive game online, called Bedrock Dance Academy.

General Mills uses a similar strategy, with Trix the Rabbit, Lucky the Elf and Chef Wendall. The company also operates a very popular arcade game website for children, Millsberry.com.

When these companies market to kids, they are selling fun. But, if you look at the nutrition facts of the cereals (Pebbles nutrition), they are essentially selling sugar. And because most children do not understand the essentials of good nutrition, they are a prime target. They have no base nutrition knowledge, so really, they can have very little consumer responsibility.

However, this is where the the parent argument comes in. A parent should have the nutrition education to decide whether or not to purchase a sugar cereal for their child. But, if you've ever been down a grocery store aisle as a kid, it is definitely the most fun aisle. The colors, the characters...it's the best part of the entire trip. Imagine being the parent who has to put the Kashi cereal in the cart while your 7-year old is staring at Fred and Wilma Flintstone, eyes wide, or God-forbid, throwing a tantrum.

In conclusion, in the case of sugar cereals, responsibility does lie with the consumer, but many times that consumer is at the mercy of an embarrassing and tiring grocery store tantrum, and that sugar cereal makes it down the check-out conveyor belt.

Meatless Monday

A movement called "Meat Free Monday" was begun in 2003, and has recently taken off due to the endorsement of Sir Paul McCartney.

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This movement encourages people to enjoy a single day per week without meat, which will help the environment, as the meat industry is responsible for more than 18% of the world's greenhouse gas emission. Also, many chefs and nutrition experts have jumped on board as well, since the average American consumers 8 oz. of meat per day, 45% more than recommended by the USDA. (source)

Recently, San Francisco has declared Mondays meat-free, with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors urging citizens to forgo meat once per week. Based on these studies performed by Meat Free Monday, this could have a positive impact for both citizen health and the environment.

However, if I were living in San Francisco, I know I wouldn't want my government telling me what I should or should not eat. Yes, I would love to receive information on being healthier, but I'd like to order a burger (extra lean, even) on a Monday and not receive dirty looks from my fellow diners because I'm being "unhealthy" or "hurting the environment." Consumer responsibility should trump corporate or government responsibility on an issue so broad as meat consumption.

Alex Bogusky, Consumer Advocate

Alex Bogusky, recently retired from CP+B, had everyone wondering what his next step was. He's brilliant...he can't be finished! Well, Bogusky has recently come out of hiding and stepped into his next role...consumer advocate. This is the man behind the Domino's and Burger King brands, hawkers of massive pizzas and burgers. However, he has since changed his tune, saying:

"Our expectations as consumers, in what we deserve for the dollar we hand over, are way too low. All our dollars — both tax dollars and consumption dollars — should never go to waste. But today, our consumption dollars often blindly pay for products and services that appear to be cheap, but come with hidden costs." (source)

Bogusky's new endeavor is FearLess, a group consultancy and design shop he has begun with several other colleagues. The group's statement puts prime responsibility on the corporation, rather than the consumer, but recognizes that advocating for your customer can have great results for your business. After all, when your customer feels like you are fighting for them, you earn their trust.

"Smart companies are realizing that being an advocate for your customer in your category is good for the brand and good for business. And the companies that are founded on this idea and/or are transforming themselves are also enjoying great business results. We help big companies and titans of industry uncover the consumer advocate hiding inside the layers of corporate BS. In fact, there is nothing we enjoy more." (source)

A Sweet Surprise, pt. 2

Diving further into the Corn Refiners Association's campaign, it has now come to light that the group is petitioning the FDA to officially change the name "high fructose corn syrup" to the much easier on the ears "corn syrup." The group believes that once people are able to easily understand the ingredient when they first hear the name, sales (which have still been low) will increase. This was the case with both "canola oil" and "dried plums," which had been "low euric acid rapeseed oil" (which just sounds scary) and the ever connotative "prunes."

This would be a very smart marketing move on their part, because HFCS is gaining a negative reputation similar to trans-fats, with companies shedding the ingredient as quickly as they can, so starting fresh with a new name could be well worth it. However, as Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University says, "The public is skeptical, so the move will be met with criticism." (source)

The group should be careful, however, that it does not seem as if they are trying to deceivingly parade out an old ingredient under a new name, without adequate explanation. If this name change is approved by the FDA, the Corn Refiners Association should put together an entire campaign to announce the name change, and make it a major event. The campaign should focus on education--that the new name better reflects what the ingredient actually is, because it has the same nutritional quality as sugar. Also, the phrase "corn sugar" better reflects the natural quality of the ingredient, whereas HFCS has a more chemical-sounding name.

In conclusion on high fructose corn syrup, the TV campaign they have been running about myths and hearsay about the ingredient has been effective, because it highlights consumer choice. In future campaigns, especially if the name changes to "corn sugar," the association should continue to education the consumer and encourage them to find out more on their own, as this encourages trust.

A Sweet Surprise

On the heels of backlash against High Fructose Corn Syrup, especially from the diabetes community, the Corn Refiners Association put out a campaign addressing the relative safety of high fructose corn syrup, touting that it is natural, just like sugar and safe in moderation.



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This "Sweet Surprise" campaign highlights the fact that people have heard all the talk about high fructose corn syrup, but many don't even know why it is supposedly bad to consume. By giving facts about the sweetener and prompting consumers to visit the association's website, they are encouraging consumers to "get the facts" and take their food choices into their own hands, rather than relying on outside hearsay or gossip.