Sometimes identifying and marketing to a previously untapped niche can mean incredible success. Kellogg’s is likely hoping that this will be the case with their new advertising campaign targeting young men, an audience that has been virtually ignored by high fibre cereal and breakfast food manufacturers up until now. The new campaign, called ‘Wake Up to Breakfast’, encourages young men to make healthy choices for breakfast and to make this meal a part of every morning.
A variety of media are being used by Kellogg’s to market to these young men, including television, online, and print advertisements. There also are special promotions on product packaging as well as a return of the popular free cereal promotion that was so popular last year. Consumers who collect three codes from specially marked boxes of cereal can enter them on the company website and receive a voucher for a free box. The company gave away 230,000 boxes last year in a similar promotion. Because young men tend to be financially overextended, this may encourage them to choose Kellogg’s.
The advertisements vary, but the most common so far is a television ad featuring a cartoon of the founder of Kellogg’s. While the television ads have been popular across a variety of age and gender groups, the online campaign is specifically intended to appeal to young men. Studies have shown that men between the ages of 16 and 24 generally stop eating breakfast. Kellogg’s hopes to entice them back to a favourite childhood brand with cereals that are branded to appeal to a slightly older palate and lifestyle.
As part of this campaign, Kellogg’s will also purchase the rights to advertise their brand and logo design exclusively on MSN for an as of yet unnamed period of time. This will happen sometime near National Breakfast Week, which takes place in September.
Part of the reason that young men stop eating breakfast is a lack of age appropriate options. Most are too old for a mum to prepare a breakfast for them but too young to get the same treatment from a wife or live-in girlfriend. This leaves young men to fend for themselves, with limited cooking skills and a general lack of interest in the morning meal. While there are several easy to prepare options, such as Kellogg’s cereal, few brands have made an effort to market specifically to this age group. In fact, it is still uncertain what makes a breakfast cereal successful with this niche. They are too old for childish cartoon characters and colourful shapes, but too young to care more about health than taste. In order to find success, Kellogg’s will need to convince young men that they are a delicious and yet grown-up choice.
If you are looking for untapped niches, you are on the right track for success. However, this marketing strategy must be handled with care. With no precedent for marketing to a given group, the help of experts in branding and logo design becomes more important, even crucial.