Listening to the radio this weekend, I heard a commercial saying that Frito-Lay was adding 20 percent more product at no extra cost to bags of Fritos, Tostitos and its other snacks for a limited time. Interesting, I thought, but what happens when the promotion is over and Frito-Lay goes back to offering less to shoppers who are being conditioned to get more?
This is one of many efforts highlighted by Stuart Elliott in a Sunday New York Times article that showcased how food marketers from Kraft to French’s are asserting their value amid mounting competition from private labels.
To a greater or lesser extent, brands should always be asserting their price-worthiness. In a climate like this, however, when value messaging is necessarily more overt, brands have to find a value voice that’s consistent with who and what they’ve always been. How brands speak to consumers during hard times must align with their distinct position in the marketplace. Maintaining that distinction will make it easier for them to hold on to recession-weary consumers even after short-term promotions like Frito-Lay’s come to an end.
Photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik
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