Who Cares Advertising

Well, I can't speak for sliced steak, but I am "America's Only Blogging Dog!"

And, if it is one thing I know is that America LOVES her puppy stories, especially when they are written by a puppy. http://www.dogwalkblog.com

I care about that stuff about as much as I care that Company X is the official mover/orange juice/candy bar/widget of the Boston Red Sox. When I see messages like that, I suspect I experience the same feelings that journalists do when hearing that a company is a "leading provider" of some sort of robust, scalable, next generation, etc. service/technology. I miss the English language.

Hmmm... Steak-Umms...

"When you need a steak sandwich... NOW!"

"And your mom said you'd never survive on your own..."

"Steak you can cook on that hot plate... that you don't have in your room..."

"A steak Dad can cook inside..."

"No lighter fluid, no charcoal, no shooting flames... no visit to the emergency room... Safe Steak"

Corned Beef... I've got no ideas. Well, I do, but they're all snarky and about salted beef...

I guess they could replace it with America's Only Sliced Product That Resembles Steak. Is there another one? If you don't actually have a USP, then you have to invent one. Like my client who is not the best, fastest, cheapest, or most accurate or even has the best customer service. I'm straining to find what they are the best at - kind of like the famous backhanded compliment "You don't sweat much for a fat girl." It's a challenge.

I just learned that Steak-umm is "thinly sliced, portion-controlled frozen sandwich steaks." That's what I wanted to know.

Never had this product.

I think they're reaching for the whole nation as a trust agent when the neighbor hasn't suggested a brand.

What do I want to see ON the packaging?

A big bold web address:
"See what everyone is saying at: www.HowIUseThisCrap.com"

ooops, didn't mean to hyperlink that to the worst search FAIL ever. Sorry All.

Ugh! I hate this type of haughty self-promotion. I mean, I'm all for pumping up a good product that's worth the hype, but these types of on-package advertisements really turn me off. It's like the "BETA" seal that started appearing online everywhere. I want to avoid it like the plague, even though I love doing beta-testing.

Also, who makes the call that it's #1, or the Favorite Brand? Where are they getting this data and who's backing it up? Did they really do a poll on sliced steak? What are the stats? Who was the control group?

These fliers are meaningless. As the Disraeli said, "There are three types of lies. Lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Has anybody here read Cialdini's "Psychology of Influence"? Both messages on the packaging evoke "Social Proof", one of the major influencers of decision making.

Just because these packages don't hold up to aesthetic scrutiny, doesn't mean they aren't effective in influencing snap-decisions by consumers who are equally likely to grab some other brand of food.

So no, these claims are not superfluous, in all likelihood they are both cheap and effective.

If I was looking to try Steak-umm or Corned Beef for the first time, I would probably choose the self-proclaimed #1 product over its competitors.

how about a helpful hint for product application - in this case, a recipe? i would be more inclined to purchase a product if i had an idea about something i could do with it. they should take every good opportunity possible to provide value - even if it's just a teaser on the front to flip the box for ideas about alternatives to cheese steaks, for example.

If the manufacturer really wants to allocate space on their product to advocate their product, I would want some tangible facts about why their product is "#1" or "America's Favorite". Like preferred 2-1 over such and such product or made with grade A beef. It could be anything really, just something tangible or note some award. Working for an ad agency I am very wary of claims like this one, but many people don't work for an ad agency so I could be in the minority here with my opinion.

How about:

"We spent millions of dollars on advertising and marketing just to make our brand the most popular. Doesn't mean we're #1 quality-wise - in fact, fresh food from your local farm is better and you're supporting your local economy."

Mind you, they'd probably need bigger cans for that ;-)

@mercutiom damn.. I forgot to mention that my comment was still in Beta... please make suggestions for its improvement :)

@Carolyn S. so much inspiration packed into so few words. "The Most Dense Comment" I'm going to steal the "fat girl" quote; I have a feeling it will be useful at some point during the upcoming "Family-Packed Holiday"

Actually, my favorite campaign of all times using this type of thing is the Cingular "Least number of dropped calls"

We put that into context with a soccer tournament at TourneyCentral
http://www.tourneycentral.com/the-fewest-bad-th...

I want to know what goes WITH the product. I can't tell you how many times I've wandered aimlessly through the market looking for something that compliments the product that I'm holding. My culinary IQ isn't very high. Tell me that red-skinned mashed potatoes compliment your corned beef. Say, "A perfect compliment to..."

I'd like to see what benefits i get from buying it. what made it number one, if it is. If those benefits made you number maybe reminding us of that rather than the fact that your number one would be good too.

99 times out of 100, the addition of claims like these is a client demand, not necessarily an ad agency recommendation. smart agencies aren't necessarily suggesting these factoids be emblazoned on their packaging. smart agencies will take a client request and deliver a tasteful (no pun intended) solution. you can't expect a company with a website like this to know any better -- http://www.steakumm.com/

Au contraire. No second-rate canned meat by-products for THIS commenter. I want only the BEST canned corn beef out there. But I AM interested in WHO, exactly, was involved in the voting.

If I were not a natural canned corn beef lover (and let's be honest, who isn't), I might want SOME rationalization for my buying decision. Since they probably don't have much in the way of health claims ("voted least likely to cause coronary thrombosis"), they're trying desperately to market to that impulse buyer. Good luck!

What they NEED to do is get on the Spam bandwagon. They already lost round #2 to bac(o)n. They need to get creative for round #3!

In all seriousness, you're right in a way--if they're still trying to market their brand on the grocery shelf, they've already lost. But exactly HOW do you market canned meat (by-)products in the social media world? Are there some good case studies?

"Steak-umm. It won't kill you yet!"

Real estate agents are well versed in "I'm #1" advertising. I'd venture to guess that real estate has more terms that describe "I'm #1" than any other industry, and agents are not shy about using them. Frankly, I hate it.

On the flip side, though, I can see why people do it. As one of the previous commentators said, if I go into a store, looking for a slice-meat product, and I have no idea what I'm really looking for, I just might choose the one that says, "#1."

You will find similar answers from folks if you ask a non-sports fan to choose their favorite team. People will usually choose the most popular team at the moment. Everyone loves a spot on the bandwagon. So, in a way, the "I'm #1" advertising works to some degree.

Now, this doesn't mean that it will continue to be effective in the future, and it doesn't mean that we shouldn't always be striving for better ways of doing things; but, for right now, no reason to stop doing what works.

Just because I don't care about it and YOU don't care about it, doesn't mean NO ONE cares about it.

What's interesting is that these are old school American food staples. They are #1 because of their brand, not inspite of it. IMHO, they dont benefit from the additive, but gain more from their preservative nature: by being Americana. Maybe in another genre status matters more?

Agreed. Rip those useless words out. They are never true, never reinforce any of the researched terminology and brand concepts developed by the companies, and in most cases strip the message immediately of its credibility. could work in some cases alongside real brand identifiers.

Try: "America's most salty canned corned beef"
"#1 Cholesterol Building Meat in a Can"

I'd just keep it simple. This is what I am. Put the nutrition label on it and all the other required stuff as well as possible. Then, show the "best" picture that you can to help those people that really like it anyway (and those looking for it to try it) find it and buy it. Simple enough.

Using the store's club card that's on your keychain, why can't consumers vote on what's number one?

In every aisle there are scanners. Swipe your club card, swipe the barcode of a product you wish to rate, follow the rating system on the touchpad screen.

If you want to buy a product you haven't tried before, swipe the club card and the product bar code and choose the option to show how it rates in the store and nationwide.

Brand is about a relationship so it wouldn't surprise me if someone made a purchase decision because of a label indicating social proof. After all, David Ogilvy convinced wrote compelling and successful copy to convince people to drink beef broth on ice because "all men enjoyed that summer refreshment."

The adage "if it's so good, it wouldn't need marketing" is total bunk. Great products need great marketing or they become non-products from lack of sales. It's just how it is. Once in a while a product strikes that perfect note and everyone sings for it.

Actually I bought Orea because the packaging says "Americas favorite cookie". As a European that is new to the states I wanted to taste something that America likes... So, it worked with me ;)

I don't look at name brands and packaging any more. I used to. Now, I focus on ingredients and price per unit.

Why are ingredients on the back? Shouldn't they be on the front of packaging, like one's social networks?

This is a long-time pet peeve of mine in marketing. I've written about it before and referred to it as The World's Greatest Marketing Tip...Ever! (don't you love hyperbole?) and Cotton Candy Marketing (all fluff, no stuff).

Where it really gets to me is in the tech industry. How many startups can you think of that bill themselves as "a leading provider of ______"? C'mon! How many companies can actually be "leading"??? If any ad agency or marketing copywriter I'm working with ever presents me with something that includes "a leading...", I will fire them on the spot.

If you're looking at a row of items that you want to try but have never had before then knowing which one was voted #1 might be a good idea - unless of course it's a baseless claim. Does anyone believe advertising claims anymore anyway? If I'm trying something for the 1st time I tend to go more with what works for the people I trust.

These statements provide the social proof that increases product acceptance. If I am trying to convince someone to buy my packaged meat product over another companies, I want you to know that we are accepted and favored in houses all over the place. Think user-generated recommendations of the offline variety (of the 19th century version).

The better question is--have they tested the effectiveness of the packaging with and without these elements? I would venture to think that it remains on the package because it reasonably adds to sales.

Ah how followers gravitate to what they are told is popular. Works, sorry. Not for you, me, Scott or many here, but...for most (scratch that) many, it works.

When it comes to meat in a can, I don't really want to know what's in it.

Whatever happened to the tradition of just sticking a half naked lady next to a product to make it sell, no matter how irrelevant?

I wanted to mention Cialdini's book "Psychology of Influence" but I notice it was already mentioned so instead I just agree with Aaron White - this is "social proof" in action.

Whether we like it or not, it works - scientifically proven.

=)

By the way, if someone hasn't read Cialdini's book - do it! It is absolutely brilliant - a must read!

Both of those products are gross - I would never eat meat from a can or frozen meat in a box.

Seriously, there is no making me purchase those products...ever.

All I want is stating-the-obvious honesty.

"What's inside looks NOTHING like this picture!"

I have a theory that if you were to take a very fatty food and, on the packaging, whack a nice big sticker claiming "ONLY 80% FAT" or similar, people would buy it thinking, "oh, this is only 80% fat".

I don't think the actual message is even noticed anymore. As consumers we are so used to having these little labels being positive reasons for buying the product that their very presence, even without digesting (excuse the pun) the message, will give the product a positive image.

It's all in our sub-conscious - a result of the way we've been marketed to for years.

I don't take too much interest in the "#1" or "Favourite" part.
I am interested, thought, in who comes up with the 'serving suggestion' on the packet. I find it amusing that placing some flaked tuna on a lettuce leaf with a whole tomato on the side is thought of as a serving suggestion. I'm sure if I served flaked tuna like that I would get deafening silence from my baffled guests.
I love it!

Wait a minute - they sell corned beef in CANS now?!? Well THERE goes the neighbourhood...

I'd like to see an honest pictur on the package. I'm fed up of being disappointed it isn't like the picture even though I should know better - I guess I live in hope :-)

so I guess when you have a book that's the #1 NYT bestseller, you don't want that there.

I think we are all (whether we like to admit it or not) influenced by this type of thing, humans are natural herders which goes a fair way to explainig the rise and rise of social networks. I note with interest that this blog (which I think is excellent by the way) has a nice "Ranked #6" by AdAge logo in a fairly prominent position - this isn't so very different a marketing proposition. Beware the gods of hubris.

Umm, I didn't even see the 'Favorite' or the '#1' until you mentioned it! I was stuck on looking at the (gross)photos of the meat as I have never heard of or seen 'sliced steak' before! I'm sure we do have corned beef in cans 'down under', but I don't know anyone who would eat it, and what do you do with 'sliced steak'?? I guess I just have to look at the pictures again!

The challenge of all consumer advertising is to "divine" just how low a common denominator to use in "branding" the product. Or, how do you make the product the least offensive on the shelf, thus, the most appealing? I am reminded of the old Benton & Bowles slogan, "It's not creative unless it sells." The proof of whether a claim is worthy to be on the package is borne out by whether it contributes to unit sales.
Sadly, too much of this information is not measured so nobody really knows. Suffice it to say, if putting your kids on your product packaging hurts sales, the kids will return to anonymity, their anticipated 529 gains vapor. But if their images sell, they will become famous (thus reducing college costs to the family).

Hmm. If they *really* put all the details of what is *in* those products, nobody or close to nobody will buy them.

Who is the audience? Different packaging for different audiences.

I wouldn't be caught dead buying either of these. But some unidentified members of my family when given a shopping list, will buy the thing that attracts their attention, or is cheapest or easist to find.I agree with the other comments, that obviously calling something The Best or #1 attracts certain kinds of people, or they wouldn't do it.
Personally i liked the idea of recipes, and a full easy to read list of ingredients, oh and that it helps make the world green some how to...

Got to agree with Aaron White. These words are on the packaging because they work. Grocery is a cut-throat marketing environment and the margins are razor thin. Packages that don't sell don't last.

In general, grocery shoppers are making quick decisions about competing products, not examining packaging for aesthetic or content superiority. If a big #1 helps a product sell, then it stays. If not, it goes.

#1? Says who.

It's like how 2 out of 3 doctors recommended it. They only asked three. So you put two cans of corned beef in front of someone and say "which one is better?" Obviously the one that’s picked will be number one.

With that being said, I am more likely to purchase a product that I am familiar with and not the one that is "#1". If it's a product I'm not familiar with I will ask for suggestions.

I'm probably less likely to purchase a product that is listed as the #1, because I know they aren't telling the truth.

Oh, Mike T, don't forget "cutting edge" and "state of the art" -- two others high on the list of words that make journalists cringe.

Overblown advertising claims definitely influence me, but in a contrarian way. That could be because I'm a contrarian. "You're No. 1? Well, I'm not buying you then, because I want to give the No. 2 canned corned beef a chance."

What also turns me off: Bogus nutritonal claims on food. 25 percent less sodium when it's still 50 percent of the RDA in a half-cup. 100 percent wheat bread that's nothing more than plain old white bread spiked with molasses to color it.

What turns me toward a manufacturer in a grocery store: All things being equal nutritionally, price point.

Admittedly, contrarian and nutrition-conscious cheapskates are a tiny segment of anyone's market. And I know over-blown claims of No. 1 and hyped nutritional information work, because I've seen them work even on educated people.

What does work on me: Mood advertising. I was really drawn to the Chex Mix television commercials last winter, because they took me back to a time when life was safer and simpler. Admittedly, that's hard to do on a can or box, but perhaps a more retro feel on products would appeal to people who even unconsciously seek security in these uncertain days.

Right on Chris. You cannot be what I call a "social Media fairy" and twit from one social media site to another and get anything of real substance accomplished. There has to be a few "anchor sites" that work for you, and then automate the rest. Social media Marketing is about getting your message out effectively-NOT about being a flitter on 200 sites. Hire someone to do that if you think that is what you need. Rocking Hot Post!

I'd have to agree with Aaron White and Mark Logan (and my previous comments) again.

For someone who already has a preference for another brand, stating you're #1 probably won't work, but for someone who hasn't, it's a mental shortcut. And it is there because it works.

I don't know how it is in the US, but in Sweden you can't state you are number one unless you really are.

I strongly recommmend Cialdinis book - Psychology of Influence for anyone interested in this. It is very good and shows evidence of several of these mental shortcuts.

Social "proof" strikes again.

If I were going to select a canned meat product, I'd deliberately go for the most expensive one there in the hopes it was the least likely to be dog meat.

As for what I'd like to see on packaging in general: nutritional info, proximity to where it's being sold, info about organic contents, philanthropic afiliations, recipes, definitely cooking instructions (culinarily challenged here).

They both work equally well. I mean, look at who the consumer is. "Yea, I'm going to the store to get me some steak. Steak in a can is the best."

On the other hand, I sometimes like eating "Potted Meat" with pseudo-ritz (off-brand) crackers, go figure.

Steak-umm:
- Real Steak, Real Quick
- New Hangover Helper Recipe
- 100% Mad Cow Free
- #1 Student Choice, Dorm Room Microwave Friendly
- Stays Fresh for Years
- Salty Meat, Just Add Cheese
- Don't Kill Your Cows, We Already Did
- As Seen On TV
- 70% Fat Free
- Less Cholesterol Than You Think
- Animal Tested, Mother Approved

There's a difference between advertising in general and product packaging. These messages will be effective in swaying the person who has decided to buy sliced steak or corned beef in a can -- but doesn't know which one to buy. Think about the experience of standing there looking at the shelf: Do you want the generic brand that simply says, "Sliced Steak 16 oz." -- or the one that your peers (Americans) have bought more than any other? Do you want the top-selling brand of canned beef (Libby's), or some other brand (I wish I knew one)?
These are reassurances from "the crowd" that might get you the first time, but only a quality product (brand experience) will bring you back the next time.
They're not all that different than the AdAge Power Ranking, as Simon noted (although today it says #8... uh oh, you're slipping!), or even the very prominent displays of Following/Followers/Updates that you see on Twitter.
They're context.
I started reading Chris because of the Power ranking, but I keep reading him because he (and the community) are worth the time.

Chris:

This is a bit naive. People may say what they like or don't like about advertising, packaging or anything else, but then they behave quite differently. We say we don't want to be fat but we keep eating cheeseburgers and not exercising. We say we want new thinking in politics but we keep voting for the same type of person (and I include Ivy league mainstream Democrat Obama in that group).

CPG companies test their packaging. And we find that small (sometimes silly) differences in claims or graphics can have a big impact.

I have no position on the packaging examples in your post.

But I do find the notion that asking people to simply report what they think would motivate them to be a bit naive.

I think for many shoppers, especially those who aren't dedicated label/ingredient readers, that these "number one" or "favorite" labels work subconsciously. They don't see it and think that this is a reason for buying it, but on a subconscious level it affects their buying decision and can result in them purchasing the product.

How about #1 selection of lips and a$$holes, and anything else that you sweep of the floor.

Others knows as: Vienna Sausage, Scrapple, Creton, etc.

Sales of Spam (the gelatinous canned pork/sugar product) are w-a-a-a-a-y up. Read about it at http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/11/spam...
If you have time, follow the link to the NY Times article that this page cites. Interesting story about the popularity of canned meat.

This all part and parcel of the legacy world we live in. So many systems put in place decades ago are totally irrelevant to our lives, choices, needs today, but yet they persist.

Social proof... and in this case, if you're the sales leader in a commodity market like this, that's about the absolute best thing you can say.

If you're *not* the sales leader and make that specific claim, the FTC will come pay you a visit. :-)

I'm a visual person. I didn't even notice the #1 on the pkg till I read your post. A photo speaks a thousand words for me. The steak-umms photo made me hungry, and I wondered if I had any in the freezer; but the corned beef made me want to gag. People don't read anymore... take better pics!

@Angie no words on your comment, just a photo.
http://rufus.posterous.com/high-paw

Seriously, man. You hit the nail on the head. I'm sure you've developed that brain filter that doesn't even see these words and phrases anymore? Like the learned ability to view Web pages without even digesting the banner ads. Oops, did I say that?