Food for thought. Canned goods manufacturer Veg*All scored 8.5 million media impressions last year by cooking up a ready-made feature for newspaper food editors. To promote its "Lucky Seven" Instant Win Game (which will award $7,000 each to seven lucky shoppers this month), the veggie brand developed a broadsheet-sized story - layout and all - focusing on the theme, "Seven Minute Meals." Papers that picked up the dish included The Arizona Republic, Sacramento Observer and Florida Times Union.
Here's how it worked: Veg*All supplied photography and recipes to Green Bay, Wis.-based Goltz Seering Agency, which in turn generated the concept and copy for a $2,500 fee. Design and distribution were then handled by Family Features - a Shawnee Mission, Kan., firm specializing in food and lifestyle editorials for community and suburban newspapers. Cost of film and distribution: $25,000. Total cost per media impression: less than one cent per reader. The tactic can be effective and cost-efficient, provided you don't expect your brand name to be plastered in the headline, says Janet Schlies, PR manager at Golz Seering. "It can't be overly biased or editors will say no thanks. Sometimes the brand name will only appear in the recipes, or in the photo caption," she says. "But if you do it right, you can have great control over the message." (Goltz Seering, 920/435-9800; Family Features, 913/888-3800)