Next up in our Brand Marketing Spotlight Series — a staple brand at any BBQ, Oscar Mayer.
In this series, GLM will continue to highlight a well-known brand and dive into how they achieved their level of success from a marketing standpoint and offer tips on how to utilize their methodology for your own strategy! Here are three ways to increase your brand awareness,
community, and bottom line:
In 1873, at the age of 14, Oscar F. Mayer settled in the U.S. after moving from Bavaria, and it didn’t take him long to secure his first job as a butcher’s boy. After gaining experience in the meatpacking industry, in true entrepreneur fashion, Oscar opened his first shop in 1883 which
was successful from day one. In 1919, his company began expanding, and in 1929, the red and yellow branding was introduced. As the brand continued to grow, so did its marketing efforts.
AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING
“Automotive” or “car” branding is when a brand uses cars for advertising purposes. OM (Oscar Mayer) took its brand awareness to the next level when it launched the Weinermobile in 1936 during the Great Depression to lift people’s spirits. It has been around ever since. Over time, the Weinermobile received updated designs and the fleet expanded to its current number of six.
During the “Keep It Oscar” rebrand in 2021 which we’ll dive into further in this analysis, the Weinermobile was renamed the Frankmobile.
Just like the Planters’ Nutmobile, the Frankmobile and its Frankfurters (or Hotdoggers) can be tracked! Interested in becoming part of the small team? Apply here.
In July of this year, Oscar Mayer announced that the city of Akron, Ohio has teamed up with the Frankmobile to appear at a handful of wedding ceremonies between July and September – complete with hotdogs, of course.
Other cities have followed suit in promoting the Frankmobile’s visit. Why is that? Simple. Having an iconic and beloved art installation on wheels such as the Frankmobile will encourage people to engage as a community. It benefits the City to coordinate such exciting public events just as much as it benefits Oscar Mayer to continue spreading brand awareness and fostering consumer loyalty.
Separately, fans can submit a request form for a chance of a Frankmobile appearance at their event. The company suggests submitting requests 3-12 months in advance.
Implementing any type of mobile into your advertising campaign is a costly path to explore, but should your budget work for a project of this scale, it can be a game changer.
MULTI-CHANNEL ADVERTISING
Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, as they say!
Every company’s bottom line is to increase their chances of brand awareness and ultimately, sales. The best shot to do that is by publishing content across multiple media channels.
OM understood that from the beginning. Since its inception, the brand rotates campaigns utilizing print, tv, website, social media, automotive, retail adverts, graphic design cross-sector collabs, and more.
The brand’s most recent campaign has been a string of “Council of Franks” commercials that feature a literal council of people named Frank sampling the latest beef hotdogs. It’s light, it’s fun, and it’s wholesome – the kind of content people want to see.
Don’t be afraid to explore more than one marketing avenue. Doing this will expand your reach and increase engagement. Start small and expand efforts with your budget always in mind. Study how much the campaign was received by your target audience and make adjustments going
forward.
Utilizing multiple channels also calls for multiple strategies. Hitting copy and paste simply won’t resonate. Your approach for each campaign will have to be customized and tailored to the demographic that uses said platform – while keeping the underlying brand message streamlined (consistency is key). This can be very challenging for a small business to execute and that’s why outsourcing to an agency like GLM Custom is worth the investment.
BROADENING TARGET AUDIENCE
Circling back to that “Keep it Oscar” rebrand we mentioned — OM pivoted from its signature hot dog recipe to introduce its reformulated 100% Beef Franks (hence the new mobile name).
With the heightened awareness of the dangers that processed foods present, big food brands have had to adjust. OM aims to regain and target new consumers by updating its recipe to this “natural” meat.
Now that the recipe was refined, OM needed a grand marketing effort to introduce its new line of products and tap into its heavyweight reputation as a giant in the industry – that’s where the PR agency Johannes Leonardo came in.
“When Oscar Mayer came to us to launch its first masterbrand campaign in decades, we went back to the past to figure out how to move forward into the future. By looking at their most iconic work, like the Wienermobile and ‘My Bologna Has A First Name,’ we discovered that the brand’s best advertising didn’t look or sound or act like advertising at all. It was created first and foremost to make people smile in simple, unexpected ways. The work was always done with tongue firmly in cheek, never taking the brand too seriously. With this in mind, the Keep It Oscar campaign was born,” the team explained.
The approach puts custom pop art, murals, and graphics at the forefront of its marketing strategy with the goal of keeping things fun and representative of what connects with younger generations of consumers today.
There’s something to be said about knowing when to analyze where your brand stands in the current market and adapting.
Whether you’re one year in or a heritage brand, it’s vital to understand the climate and culture of today’s consumers and not be afraid to modify your strategy.
For more than four decades, GLM has continued to support, guide and continually improve the standard for our clients. Our hands-on customer care approach and impeccable reputation have allowed us to maintain relationships that span decades.
Give us a call today to see how we can help you – (844) GLM-2456.