Dive Brief:

• Kraft Mac & Cheese is running a campaign to position its classic blue box dinner as a breakfast item during quarantine, including a new 30-second video ad and limited-edition packaging, the company revealed via press release.
• The campaign targets busy parents, 56% of which serve their kids Mac & Cheese for breakfast more often during pandemic lockdowns than previous months, per a Kraft study of 1,000 parents conducted this quarter. People can enter to win a free breakfast box by tweeting the hashtags #KMCforBreakfast and #Sweepstakes on Twitter or by visiting a microsite through Aug. 7. For every tweet, Kraft will donate 10 boxes to hunger relief charity Feed the Children, up to 1 million boxes.
• The prize pack includes the limited-edition box, a placemat for kids to color, a magnet with breakfast topping suggestions and a mug in which to serve the meal.

Dive Insight:

Kraft is marketing its signature pasta product as a breakfast option after finding that parents are serving the meal in the mornings at higher rates during the pandemic. By creating a campaign to promote this option and position Mac & Cheese as a key breakfast solution for busy parents, the company could drive sales and help to normalize the behavior for parents who may not have considered it before.

With limited-edition packaging that features the word "breakfast," Kraft is nodding to this key demographic and acknowledging parents' busy lives juggling working remotely while homeschooling and caring for children. The company is incentivizing people to participate on social media to win a free box, which may boost awareness. For those that enter on the microsite, Kraft can collect their contact information for future marketing campaigns that target parents.

The new effort also has a cause marketing element in donating food to hungry children at a time when many consumers expect deep-pocketed brands like Kraft to give back to the community.

Kraft has experienced sales momentum as people have stocked up on groceries and are eating out less due to the global health crisis. The company reported strong Q2 earnings, and Kraft Mac & Cheese is among those in the CPG's portfolio that has attracted both new buyers and repeat purchases during the pandemic. Kraft recently revealed that 75% of new buyers since the pandemic started are still buying its products, suggesting longer-term loyalty the company can leverage even after the pandemic. Kraft reinforced in its Q2 earnings call that marketing will play a key role in maintaining that momentum.