In October 1999, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave its blessing
for soy products to be marketed as a "cholesterol-reducing food." Suddenly,
consumers who'd previously turned their noses up at tofu began to reconsider
the merits of soy. To capitalize on this newfound opportunity, Boulder, Colo.-based
White Wave, Inc., maker of Silkr soy beverage, took a flying leap from its traditional
turf - the organic foods niche market - into supermarket heaven. Silkr was introduced
to mainstream consumers as the first refrigerated soy drink available in traditional
grocery store dairy cases, shrewdly packaged in milk-like cartons.
As traditional food and dairy giants entered the soy category in search of new profits, White Wave's challenge was to maintain its dominant market share. Research from groups
such as SPINS, Soyatech, A.C. Nielsen and Arthur D. Little predicted the market for soy products would grow 15% to 20% over five years, as food giants such as Suiza, Heinz and
General Mills were fast entering the picture.
White Wave hired Carmichael Lynch Spong (CLS) to develop a PR campaign that would support its courtship of mainstream consumers. The agency's mission was to help integrate soy
drinks into the average American diet, and, in the process, to render Silkr as the preferred brand choice.
Selling Soy
Immediately following the FDA's announcement, the agency team began pitching soy segments to TV newscasts, with recipes and nutrition tips provided by well-known chefs and
trusted medical experts. Each plug drove home the key messages that soy drinks taste great, are easy to use, and offer a host of health benefits (as a cholesterol reducer and as a
dairy substitute for people who are lactose intolerant).
At the same time, the team bolstered awareness of the virtues of soy-based beverages among important community influencers such as doctors, nutritionists, dieticians, chefs and
health reporters. More than 800 such influencers received print copies of New Soy Times, a newsletter featuring fast facts about soy products, tips for incorporating them into a
healthy diet, recipes and Silkr product information.
CLS published two issues of the newsletter in 2000, timed for distribution at major food industry trade shows, including the Food Marketing Industry show (Chicago) and the
Natural Foods Expo (Anaheim and Baltimore). Trade shows provided the perfect venue for on-site taste tests, and for the launch of additional media outreach activities. Roughly 500
health, food and business reporters received media kit lunch boxes during the shows. Each contained cereal, raisins, utensils, copies of the New Soy Times newsletter, and a half-
pint of vanilla Silkr with an ice pack.
Meanwhile, consumer product samples hit local markets in force - at grocery stores, health fairs and charity races. Sampler events were bolstered by endorsements from trusted
local health experts (identified with help from retailer Whole Foods) who served as product spokespersons. White Wave's tour de force in this event arena came during Oprah's
inspirational "Live Your Best Life" 2000 tour in which Silkr appeared as the beverage of choice on every breakfast table during the four-market campaign.
Finally, CLS revamped White Wave's Web site (http://www.whitewave.com) and the Silkr product packaging to include soy facts, health tips
and fun anecdotes reinforcing the brand's contemporary, irreverent personality.
Sweet, Silky Taste of Success
In 2000 alone, Silkr garnered 180 million print impressions, with ink in hot spots such as Fortune, Forbes, SELF, Bon Appetit, AP, BusinessWeek and USA Today. On the broadcast
side, product information reached 24 million viewers through outlets such as CNN-fn's "Business as Usual," ABC's "Good Morning America" and a slew of local market stations. Silkr
was a product that lent itself to taste tests and the media latched onto this idea heartily. ABC's John Stossel pitted soy drinks against milk in a man-on-the-street experiment
for "20/20," and Silkr outperformed Hershey's chocolate milk in a Good Housekeeping taste test.
Silkr sales jumped from $30 million in 1999 to $81 million in 2000. Since its initial foray into mainstream grocery stores, Silkr market share has held steady at 86%, although
its distribution has increased exponentially. Before 2000, 80% of Silkr sales came from distribution through some 1,000 natural foods stores. Today, the soy drink can be found in
25,000 (9 out of 10) grocery stores and natural foods stores, drawing 80% of sales from mainstream supermarkets.
White Wave's original sales goal for 2001 was $100 million, but the product is currently on course to top $150 million. Last year, the soy foods category grew 21.1% to $2.77
billion.
(Contacts: Elizabeth Neid, Carmichael Lynch Spong, 303/393-9009; White Wave, 303/443-3470)
Campaign Stats
Campaign Theme: "Outrunning the Giants to Take Silkr Mainstream."
Program Timeframe: October 1999 to present.
Budget: $500,000 per year (includes media relations, Web site development,
issues management, trade show support and out-of-pocket costs).
Key Players at CLS: Elizabeth Neid, partner; Doug Spong, managing partner;
Kevin DiLorenzo, senior partner; Jay Lemke, senior counselor; Stephanie Hock,
senior associate; Vicky Melen, senior associate.
Key Players at White Wave: Steve Demos, president and founder; James
Terman, VP, pictures + words; Mary Adams, director of marketing.
Kudos: Advertising Age recently named Silk's move into the mainstream
among its Top 100 marketing campaigns for 2000. And White Wave, for the first
time, has been listed in the "Inc. 500" list of fastest growing, privately held
companies (No. 351).
Media Impressions, Nov. 1, '00 - Oct. 31, '01: 346 total placements;
94 million circulation; 250 million print gross impressions; 4.2 million broadcast
audience reach.
Next Big Thing: The team is now working on major outreach efforts targeting
Latino and African-American populations, which tend to have a higher propensity
toward lactose intolerance.