Dive Brief:
- Kraft Mayo is giving away kits to help consumers overcome an "irrational fear" of mayonnaise, a condition the condiment brand describes as "mayophobia." Parent company Kraft Heinz is running a social media contest for a chance to win one of the limited-edition Overcoming Mayophobia Kits, per an announcement.
- Each kit has a blindfold, a nose clip, a marker to write another description for mayonnaise such as "sauce" on a jar and a selection of Kraft Mayo in gradual sizes ranging from a two-ounce packet to a one-gallon container. Kraft Mayo will pick 100 winners among the entries, per the contest rules.
- Kraft Mayo is asking Instagram and Twitter users to enter the contest by tagging @realkraftmayo and using the #mayophobia and #sweepstakes hashtags in a post by April 8. The brand created a microsite with a 90-second video showing a mock expert who provides a four-step program on how to overcome mayophobia.
Dive Insight:
Kraft Mayo's social media contest has the feel of an April Fools' Day prank, but the sweepstakes to win an Overcoming Mayophobia Kit is legitimate. The campaign includes a parody commercial that mimics direct-response spots featuring medical experts who urge viewers to buy supplements or other health products. The off-beat campaign could appeal to consumers who have grown fatigued with traditional advertising by keying into the extreme reactions that some people to have mayo, including reports that Millennials hate it. Despite a few vehement antagonists, mayo is still the most popular condiment in the U.S. The campaign also sees Kraft Heinz focusing on its core mayonnaise product following efforts over the past couple of years to introduce combination condiment flavors, such as Heinz Mayochup and others.
By running a contest on Instagram and Twitter, Kraft Heinz can raise awareness for Kraft Mayo, boost its social media following and gather more first-party about consumers as people share their contest entries with friends and followers. First-party data has become a bigger priority for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands that sell through retailers that are in a better position to collect and own the data about their customers. First-party data can help to improve the targeting of brands' marketing efforts, especially when they lose access to third-party cookies and device identifiers to track the online activities of consumers.
The Kraft Mayo campaign is among Kraft Heinz's latest off-beat efforts to support its condiment brands. Last month, its Heinz ketchup brand challenged fans to an online endurance test that could see them win a product package tailored to family burger night. The "Hold for Heinz" sweepstakes asked website visitors to wait 57 minutes to enter for a chance to nab one of 157 new burger kits. Before that, Kraft Heinz Canada ran a multichannel campaign that asked people to submit drawings of ketchup for a chance to see their artwork on a custom bottle label. The campaign was inspired by a global experiment in which dozens of consumers were assigned to "draw ketchup," with many of them drawing a Heinz bottle from memory.
The Kraft Mayo campaign comes as Kraft Heinz seeks to maintain sales momentum as many consumers gradually resume their pre-pandemic activities like going back into the office or eating at restaurants after getting vaccinated against COVID-19. With many people working from home or attending virtual classes since the onset of the health crisis, Kraft Heinz was among the CPG companies that experienced strong growth as people stocked their pantries and cooked more meals at home. Its net sales increased 4.8% to $26.2 billion last year, beating estimates, and helping to reverse a longer-term decline in the value of its brands as more consumers shunned processed foods. Marketing has had a bigger role in Kraft Heinz's strategy as it looks to sustain its recent revenue growth.
