So much attention about moi! The Muppets get the Hannnah Montana treatment

Miss Miss Piggy? I sure do. But guess what-- The New York Times reported yesterday (Fuzzy Renaissance, September 21, 2008) that not only is Miss Piggy coming out of cold storage, she and the rest of her Muppet Pals are getting the "Hanna Montana treatment, being blasted into every pop-culture nook and cranny that the company owns or can dream up."

For starters there are the specials on Disney Channel in which Muppets interact with High School Musical and Jonas Brothers stars. Then there are the viral videos on YouTube and the NBC Christmas special. And don't miss the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Muppets float or "Nightline" political interviews. And of course there's plenty of merchandise: Muppet clothing at Urban Outfitters and Limited Too stores; Muppet-theme stuffed animals and tote bags at Macy’s; and a Muppet boutique at the New York flagship of F. A. O. Schwarz.

"We think there is a Muppet gene in everybody,” Lylle Breier, a Disney executive who is the new general manager of Muppets Studio told the Times. Still, she has a few challenges. Ms. Breier also said that recent focus groups indicated that some children could not even identify Kermit and Miss Piggy, much less ancillary characters like Fozzie Bear and Gonzo the Great.

It's really too bad. Since Jim Henson's death in 1990, his children have taken over the reigns to the family business but the Muppet characters have stagnated under changing ownership. Disney aquired the "Classic Muppets" in 2004; Children's Television Workshop owns the "Sesame Street" Muppets.

The article reports that while "Disney estimated three years ago that the Muppets would be generating about $300 million a year in merchandising sales by now, retail analysts say the total for 2008 will be closer to $50 million."

Dick Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios (and Ms. Breier’s boss) told the Times: “Developing the kind of high-quality entertainment we have planned for the global relaunch of the Muppets takes time,” he said. “We want to be very, very careful that whatever we do is in the spirit of the Muppets and that we are enhancing the brand."

I couldn't agree more. While it certainly appears that Disney will leveraging every ounce of marketing muscle to bring the Muppets back to center stage, what isn't so clear is how they'll keep the Muppet magic intact in doing so. Time will tell. Kermit and Miss Piggy were originally created to entertain adults with clever and irreverant humor; Disney's strategy appears to be one where they simultaneously attract nostalgic older generations as well as the 6-12 year-old tween market. I wonder what Jim Henson would think about all of this. Or, more appropriately, what would Miss Piggy do?

Love your veggies (and get $15K for doing so)

Marketing to kids can sometimes be controversial, especially when it involves stuff that Americans tend to consume a lot of: junk food, violent video games or toys from China. This is why I was so pleased to come across the Love Your Veggies™ campaign. This is no grass-roots, mom-in-the kitchen kind of promotion (can't you tell already by the trademarked slogan?) If you go to the Love Your Veggies™ grant site you will learn:

"The Love Your Veggies™ grant program is sponsored by the makers of Hidden Valley® Salad Dressings in partnership with the School Nutrition Foundation and supported by Produce for Better Health Foundation. The campaign aims to increase access to – and consumption of – fresh fruits and vegetables in elementary schools across the country at a time when schools are required by federal mandate to strengthen nutrition and exercise programs as part of local wellness policies. "

Ah, it makes me salivate for carrot sticks just reading about how great this program is for our kids and our schools. Between now and November 7, 2008, elementary schools can apply for a $15,000 grant to be used towards fresh produce, kitchen equipment, program staffing, nutrition education supplies or food safety training. Details on how to apply are listed here.

But here's the bigger question: How will this translate into sales for Hidden Valley salad dressings? I've yet to witness a child in a supermarket whining for any type of condiment or salad dressing, let alone a specific brand of salad dressing, but maybe I just haven't been paying close enough attention.

This is a case of what we marketers call "long-term investment" marketing. The entire campaign came about after a 2006 study by the University of California Expanded Food and Nutrition Program found that children consumed 23 percent more vegetables when paired with "a moderate amount of ranch dressing." I'd have to see what "moderate" means but my guess is that the benefits of eating 23 percent more vegetables outweighs the extra fat and calories of the dressing. Just a guess though.

The folks at Hidden Valley Ranch are smart marketers. They recognized an urgent need in the marketplace (healthier food in schools), took a product not currently marketed to children (ranch dressing), backed it up with a clever study, obtained some credible partners (School Nutrition Foundation and Produce for Better Health Foundation) and voila-- they've got a promotion that they'll be reaping benefits from for years to come. Everyone already knows (especially the soft drink and junk food companies) that if you can market to kids in schools, you're likely to have them hooked for life.

It's also worth noting that this promotion likely didn't make much of a dent in Hidden Valley Ranch's marketing budget (or for Clorox-- the parent company for Hidden Valley salad dressings, Glad sandwich bags, Kingsford charcoal and Fresh Scoop cat litter). They're only offering ten $15,000 grants.

Messy branding, messy diapers

Yesterday was my 16 month-old son's first day at preschool. I am grateful to have him enrolled in a great program where he'll be learning new skills and interacting with a fun group of kids and talented staff. They really know what they're doing, I kept telling myself after tears were shed at the morning dropoff and I started feeling guilty about leaving him. He's in good hands, I thought.

So imagine my surprise when I dropped his pants that afternoon and discovered that the good hands of his preschool teacher had arranged a backward-facing wedgie. My daughter and I nearly fell out of our chairs. While it was certainly reminiscent of SNL's "Huggies Thong" sketch, I still have to ask, how hard is it to change a diaper? Apparently, not so easy. Wiki How lists a full page of step-by-step diapering tips, as do most parenting advice websites. Now, when I was using cloth diapers with my firstborn, such tips were incredibly useful. But disposables? C'mon. Cartoon characters go in the front and the velcro tabs are in the back-- just hook 'em around to the front and you're done. How can someone with a college degree not be able to figure this out? Except that since yesterday's incident (and there have been others, including extended family members who I have previously labeled as being completely clueless due to their lack of diapering skills) I now think it's a branding problem. Take a close look at these photos of my son's lower half. Notice anything (other than his gorgeous little body?) Cartoon characters are everywhere on the front and back (or back and front.) Overzealous licensing deals are creating product usibility problems. In other words, too much cartoon crap on the outside of the diaper leads to.... uncontained crap. We don't need to see Elmo and friends on the front and back of every diaper. It's too confusing. Millions of us have already been trained that cartoon characters go on the front. Period. Now, I hail the brands like Seventh Generation that are cartoon- and chemical-free, I just wish they were less expensive and survived through the night. Pampers, Huggies, Luvs: hear me out on this. Please limit the characters to the front only. Either that or come up with some clever hello/goodbye or number 1/number 2 metaphors to use instead. That would give us parents more of a chuckle than a backwards-facing overflowing diaper.

CosmoGirl's concierge service almost works

In a partnership with NearbyNow, a service that allows consumers to search local store inventory and place items on hold for same-day pick up, CosmoGirl's new concierge service allows readers to shop products they see online or in the magazine and either "find local" or "buy online." It's a great feature (one that is certainly not limited to the teen audience) and appeals to the "gotta have it now" impulses common to some of us shoppers. I mean, when you see a pair of Converse All Star Light sneakers, you don't want them tomorrow, you want them now! Which is why I was slightly disappointed to click on the "find local" button and discover that my only two options were about 40 miles away in either Lakewood, WA or Puyallup, WA. Excuse me, but I live in the city of Seattle, and I should not have to 40 miles to the closest Famous Footwear retailer to get a very popular brand of shoes. Ditto for the shop online option, which took me to just one online retailer, also Famous Footwear.

So, the partnerships have a ways to go, but the functionality is great and I can see how this type of shopping might very well become the wave of the future. Which brings me to my next point: Hearst, the publisher of CosmoGirl, is smart to start with a teen publication in testing out this new technology. They can build a business case, test out new features and build long-term brand awareness relatively risk free-- and that's the beauty of being in the kids business.

On the way to Kindergarten: Office Depot

I just got back from vacation and one of the pieces of mail I was particularly excited to open was the Kindergarten welcome letter from my daughter’s elementary school. I hadn’t done much shopping for her yet and wanted to do it together so she felt proud and part of the process. We skimmed through the letter quickly so we could get to the important stuff: KINDERGARTEN SUPPLIES, listed on page 2. Listed on page 2 is an understatement. The list honestly took up the entire page. Here it is:

“[Name of school] will supply each student with scissors and paper. In addition, your child should bring:

• Roomy backpack big enough to hold a folder, projects, papers, lunch and a jacket.
• A dozen pencils, regular size #2
• A dozen (or more!) glue sticks, any brand, to be shared by all
• One bottle of white glue
• One box of washable markers to be shared
• One box of 16 crayons to be shared
• One package of 3 x 5 note cards
• One ream of white copy paper (8 ½ x 11)
• One box of Kleenex (or more!)
• One box of antibacterial or baby wipes (or more!)
• Liquid hand soap dispensers or refills (one or more)
• One box of band aids

Office Depot offers our school a generous rebate on year-round purchases so please remember to mention [name of school] to the cashier.

Now… it’s been a long time since I’ve attended Kindergarten and my daughter is my oldest child, so at the risk of sounding completely out of it, I still have to remark that this list came as somewhat of a shock. I do like the part about “the school will supply each student with scissors and paper” though. That’s a nice, generous touch.

Still, eager to do some shopping (remember, I was already in a shopping mood), we grabbed the little one and headed down to Office Depot to take care of the list. On the drive down I kept thinking that I never would considered Office Depot for my incoming Kindergartner had I not been so easily lured by the “generous rebate” copy on the school’s welcome letter. Apparently everyone else in the school district was too, because the parking lot was packed on a rainy Monday afternoon.

The store was somewhat prepared for us. The front entry had a display listing all of the area schools’ supply lists (in case you left yours at home – a very nice touch) and, although it took us a bit of time to locate the “back to school” section (in the back of the store) we did find almost everything on the list. Including hand soap, tissues, and baby wipes! Who knew you could get baby wipes at Office Depot. (I’m still not sure what’s going to happen with those wipes but I guess I’ll find out at parents’ night.)

The downside: the back to school section was crowded with parents and kids of various ages (including my one year-old who always makes shopping trips more difficult) and the rows were too narrow for a shopping cart. The visual merchandising could have been a lot better too, organized by grade level or with fun signs pointing out cool stuff. I was hoping for more of a traditional back to school shopping spree a la Target or other superstore where Back to School is made to feel like a special event and recognized as the important rite of passage that it is. Office Depot has also missed out on a lot of obvious licensed merchandise opportunities. Most of the school supplies we saw were really generic and “too boring” according to my daughter. Still, I was able to buy some Cars branded glue sticks (the last one in stock) and my daughter whined for a particularly ugly Hannah Montana backpack, but that was really it. (By the way, I am adamantly opposed to any licensed merchandise that doesn’t further the brand’s core values but that’s a topic for another blog post).

All in all, I give Office Depot huge points for partnering with local schools and offering non-traditional merchandise so we could satisfy our supply lists in one trip. We filled the cart and spent $40. The salespeople were exceedingly helpful too. I’ll definitely be back next time we need to stock up, but I won’t expect the trip to satisfy any rite of passage urges for me or my daughter.

Still feeling the “urge” to do something special for my daughter, I eagerly opened a marketing e-mail from Hanna Andersson about their back-to-school specials, and promptly drove down there and spent $70 on an adorable striped backpack, matching wallet and pencil case. And I got her a new outfit. We were both hugely satisfied. How’s that for retail therapy?