Get your (public relations) show on the road

While promoting Ringling Brothers Circus, publicist Lee Solters gave this classic definition of publicity: “When the circus comes to town and you paint a sign about it, that’s advertising. Put the sign on the back of the elephant and march through town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flowerbed, that’s publicity. And if you get the mayor to comment about it, that’s public relations.”

While food industry press coverage isn’t the circus we observe in mass media, trade editors get a freakish amount of press releases and story pitches everyday. It is important to know what they consider to be legitimate news and what they might dismiss as a hoax to ensure the success of your public relations efforts.

For example, you should resist the urge to send out a press release announcing you’ve changed the color of your company logo from magenta to mango. Who cares? Better defined: How does that benefit the reader? Trade editors use this benchmark question to sift through the mounds of press releases, case studies and feature stories that land in their inbox every day so they’re left with newsworthy content.

Whether or not you have a public relations professional on staff or you work with a public relations firm, you should ask this question to determine if you should announce your news to the industry as a whole or save it for the company picnic.

Adfinity Marketing Group provides other marketing strategies besides product naming tips. Find out more at www.adfinitymarketing.com. Worldwide thinking. No limits.

May Editorial Preview

Food Processing
Reviving old brands
B&M baked beans, Underwood deviled ham, Accent. They’re not as highly marketed as they once were, but they’re still making good money for B&G Foods. Ditto for Duncan Hines cake mixes, Armor canned meats and Log Cabin syrup at Pinnacle Foods, which just sold for $2 billion. We’ll look at how these and other companies are maintaining brands from yesteryear and what you can do to breathe new life into your older brands.

May is packed with great editorial:
• Product Development: Encapsulation systems
• Ingredients: Other sources of starch
• Plant Ops: New technologies for sanitation
• Trends in flexible packaging
• Product Round-Ups: Ingredients—Fats & oils and Equipment—Conveying

Toops' Scoops

Seeking CMOs
As tough as companies are on CEO’s, they are even harder on chief marketing officers, reports The New York Post. When a company faces severe cutbacks, stiff competition or sluggish sales, the CMO is usually the first to go, according to Jane Stevenson, head of Heidrick & Struggles, a global search firm. They’re not looking for an advertising person anymore,” says Stevenson, who’s seen a 40 percent jump in CMO searches. “They are looking for a strategist.” And she adds the pressure of keeping up with changing consumer tastes and constant innovation has companies clamoring for CMOs who can spot future trends rather than analyzing the past. Last year, the average CMO lasted 23.2 months on the job, down from 23.5 in 2005 and 23.6 in 2004. And it’s expected to get even shorter, according to executive-search firm Spencer Stuart. Along with their growing and complicated list of tasks, CMOs are increasingly being called upon to save companies in need of a quick fix.

Kraft restructures
Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods Inc. lists cost cutting, product revitalization, revamping sales capabilities and restructuring growth as its highest priorities, according to a four-part plan, reports the Chicago Tribune. The turnaround plan calls for a $300 million to $400 million investment on marketing and R&D. "This is a pivotal time in Kraft's history, and while there are things we have to fix, our organization is energized about pursuing a number of trajectory-changing initiatives," said Kraft's CEO Irene Rosenfeld. "I am confident that our new strategies will return Kraft to predictable and consistent growth." Plans are afoot to introduce more prepackaged meals (salads and microwaveable sandwiches) to its lineup, going from providing components of meals to a complete solution. Kraft expects to give restaurants and delis a run for the money by "reframing" its food categories — positioning its frozen-pizza business to compete with local pizzerias and testing its Fresh Creations salads to compete with takeout salads from delis — and is also is considering launching a health-conscious brand. Analysts were not impressed.

Organic extravaganza
In case you didn’t receive an invitation to the Governors Ball following the 78th Academy Awards, here’s what you missed. For the 12th consecutive year, Chef Wolfgang Puck and his team of chefs and pastry chefs lavished 1,600 guests with an extraordinary menu. For the first time, the menu was entirely 100% organic, as Puck believes that "eating well can also be delicious!" What was on Puck's grocery list? 500 bottles of Laurent Perrier Champagne, 500 pounds of Organic Valrhona Chocolate, and 600 spiny lobsters among other things, reports Yumsugar (no, we weren’t there either). Some of the exotic appetizer options included: Lobster Tempura with Vanilla Bean and Pineapple; Spicy Tuna Tartare in a Sesame Miso Cone; Dungeness Crab Cake with Marinated Tomatoes and Basil Aioli; Smoked Salmon Pizza with Farm-Raised Osetra Caviar and Dill Crème Fraiche; Smoked Salmon Oscars with French Farm-Raised Osetra Caviar; Mini Gold-Wrapped Baked Potato with French Farm-Raised Osetra Caviar and Crème Fraiche; Roasted Pumpkin Squash Ravioli with White Truffles from Alba, Italy; Potato Gnocchi Gratin with Gorgonzola; Chopped Chino Farms Vegetable Salad with Spiny Lobster and French Farm-Raised Osetra Caviar; Miso Glazed Black Cod with Sticky Rice and Cucumbers; and Celery Root-Apple Soup with Black Truffles. Options at the buffet included: Grilled Snake River Farms “Kobe” Beef with Bordelaise Sauce; Wasabi Potato Puree; Roasted Organic “Smart” Chicken Breast; Risotto with Black Truffles from Perigord, France; Spiny Lobster Shanghai Style with Crispy Spinach; and Striped Bass “En Croute” with Sauce Choron. Dessert was a sweet extravaganza with selections including: Meyer Lemon Bars, Valrhona Organic Chocolate Fudge, Hazelnut Marjolaine, McGrath Farm Strawberry Baked Alaska, Fuji Apfelstrudel and Medjool Date Toffee Cake. Eat your heart out.

Skinny is …
General Mills has had a hard time profiting from the supposed shift in consumer attitudes toward better nutrition. Its plan to convert all of its cereals to whole grain proved a flop and prompted further market share losses to leader Kellogg, says Neuberger Berman analyst Bill Leach … As part of its program of expanded nutrition labeling, Coca-Cola North America will include caffeine content on all of its beverages containing the ingredient, starting with cans of Coca-Cola Classic in May and expanding to other brands and packages during the remainder of the year. Coke also will launch Diet Coke Plus, vitamin-enriched Diet Coke, a zero-calorie drink supplemented with niacin, B vitamins, magnesium and zinc, later this year, reports The Wall Street Journal. Not to be outdone, PepsiCo will also list caffeine content and will roll out Diet Pepsi Max, which contains ginseng and more caffeine than traditional Diet Pepsi or Diet Mountain Dew, in June, reports The New York Times … Campbell Soup Co.’s product lineup this fall will include nearly 40 new or reformulated soups, including 14 using sea salt to reduce sodium, five Chunky Fully Loaded varieties with more meat, and the company’s first organic soups, reports the Philadelphia Enquirer. Sales of the original 32 lower-sodium soups launched last year are projected to reach $300 million to $350 million in the current fiscal year, according to the company … U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish will have a much prettier face in 2007, thanks to a new advertising partnership sponsored by The Catfish Institute (TCI), Jackson, Miss., and Food Network Chef Cat Cora. A native Mississippian, Cat will be featured alongside some of her favorite catfish recipes in a national print advertising campaign beginning in March. The year-long campaign will be featured in magazines such as Gourmet, Fine Cooking, Cooking with Paula Deen, Flavor and the Menu, Food Arts, and Chef … Arlington, Va.-based The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) will hold its 2007 Convention and Tabletop Trade Show in conjunction with the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute's PACK EXPO Las Vegas show, being held October 15-17, 2007. The IBWA Convention and Show will be held October 15-19 at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel, directly adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center … Nontraditional marketing is not having an easy time in Boston. Just weeks after promotional displays for the Cartoon Network were mistaken as explosive devices, a scavenger hunt for Dr. Pepper was called off, because city officials were afraid treasure seekers would overrun the 347-year-old Granary Burying Ground in search of a hidden coin, reports The Boston Globe … A study last year in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that almost 90 percent of consumers surveyed "had at least some trouble understanding current food labels." In order to help decipher food labels for nutritional content, the FDA introduces Labelman, a cartoon character on its Web site to help.

Congratulations

Cargill named Gregory Page, president and COO, as its next chief executive. He succeeds Warren Staley, who retires June 1 … Joel W. Johnson retired as chairman of Hormel Foods Corp. after a decade of service. Jeffrey Ettinger, currently president and chief executive, took over as chairman and will continue to serve as company president and CEO … Kellogg Co. promoted President and COO David Mackay to chief executive, replacing Jim Jenness, who continues to serve as chairman and a director at the cereal maker … Welch's President and CEO Daniel P. Dillon retires as head of the grower-owned producer of grape juice and jelly … Margaret R. Nollen joined H.J. Heinz as vice president, investor relations, replacing Jack Runkel, who was appointed vice president business services … Kraft Foods Inc. tapped former Grey Worldwide executive Carole Irgang as senior vice-president-global integrated marketing and communications, responsible for Kraft's roughly $1-billion media and advertising budget … Dr. Alling Yancy was named vice president of food safety and production programs at the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association … Greene, N.Y.-based The Raymond Corp. celebrates its 85th anniversary as a leader in the materials handling industry. From the company’s invention of the first hydraulic hand pallet truck in 1934 to current research in fuel cells and RFID-enabled lift trucks, Raymond has pioneered leading-edge innovations that improve materials handling productivity, reliability and efficiency … Wixon Inc., St. Francis, Wis., celebrated its 100th anniversary in February.

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