Chances are a constant source of conversation at your shop involves some variation on how to spur innovation and creativity. Once you know how to do that, finding the next big idea in communications and marketing should be a snap.
Recently we saw that Mondelez International was debuting a snack called Véa, whose messaging campaign “embraced [the company’s] fearless marketing mantra to employ unconventional approaches, ask bold questions and come up with innovative solutions,” according to Jason Levine, the brand’s N. America VP for biscuit marketing. We decided to dig deeper and ask Levine how a company of 100,000+ employees can innovate and move nimbly, spurring unconventional thinking and bold moves.
Create a Start-Up Structure
It’s fine to encourage staff to act like they’re working for a start-up, but how do you do it step by step? What Mondelez did was “identify a select, cross-functional team internally, with key players from around the globe, and encourage it to engage like a start-up,” Levine says.
VP, Biscuit Marketing,
N America,
Mondelez International
Forming a cross-functional unit was not enough, though. “We abandoned some of our typical internal processes,” he adds. “Sometimes our traditional processes can slow things down. By acting like a start-up and creating a nimble team, we worked to avoid some of the typical roadblocks.”
The cross-functional team was encouraged to emphasize “speed, rapid iteration and fresh thinking,” Levine adds.
How long was the journey for Véa to go from idea to market? “It took our team fewer than 18 months to take an idea about a potential product and bring it to shelf,” he says.
User Generated
Another unusual aspect for Mondelez International was “the Véa campaign concept originated straight from our target market,” which was millennials. “The origins of the campaign are not only rooted in consumer insights, but as the campaign is being released, we will be using real-time…metrics to help us understand what’s resonating with our specific, like-minded groups of consumers. We’ll then optimize the content to reach them in a real, meaningful way.”
To obtain the insights of millennials, the company conducted focus groups “in a number of markets and at various stages throughout the project.” It also used internal consultation groups. “They helped us evaluate every element of the launch, from tasting the recipes to the packaging and especially the communication campaign.”
Google Partnership
Levine adds, “We also partnered with Google on a consumer panel to get quick, quantitative feedback. The snack recipes were refined with input from consumers.”
The initial approach might not be the final one. “While we’ve done a lot of testing…we aren’t finished…[we] will continue to make the consumer central to the journey, leveraging feedback, metrics and insights that will inform the content for the plan, media decisions and future innovation.”
One of the insights the company gained from its research was the importance to millennials of exploring cultures through food. In addition, millennials value authenticity. The importance of authenticity merges with millennials’ desire to understand what they’re eating.
Millennials “increasingly are interested in well-being, and as such, are choosing snacks with real ingredients…avoiding artificial colors or flavors,” Levine says. Using “real ingredients that you can see and taste” as well as “globally inspired recipes” is how the brand translates authenticity into Véa, he says. “Authentic flavors…shine through” in the product.
Influencers
The brand is partnering with social influencers to engage with the Véa audience, Levine says. “Influencers play a role in our social content and within our media partnerships.” The Véa brand will deploy select micro-influencers, he says, featuring them in upcoming social content that will emphasize the theme of authenticity. “Social influencers…[will] engage with the Véa audience” in a number of ways, emphasizing the theme of authenticity, he says.
“Key digital partners Mic and Insider are launching video series that encourage users to explore the hidden world around them and share moments of authentic discovery.” The influencers “were selected to resonate with our target market of millennials and align with the brand’s spirit of exploration and discovery.”
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Takeaways
1. Urging staff to act like they’re in a start-up may not be enough to spur creative thinking.
2. Creating a small, cross-functional team can result in a nimble marketing unit.
3. Tapping into customer sentiment can result in increased authenticity.