Social Listening: Kodiak Cakes

"Your Pancake mix is the reason that my boyfriend fell in love with me and now we live happily ever after..." -New York [Facebook; Kodiak Cakes]

   

    For a long time, I used to not be a big breakfast guy.  I tend to eat on the healthier side of the food spectrum these days (which could take a while to cook depending on your diet/lifestyle), and I'm sure any parent can tell you about all the missed meals on a hectic morning with little ones!  So as such, I would opt out of breakfast, and instead, my mornings consisted of brewing coffee while using the time in between to consume what I could before starting my work/school day.    

 

    One morning, my wife had thrown in some  "Kodiak Cakes - Power Waffles" in the toaster while my hot mud was brewing for the day.  She served them to me with a lovely smile, and ever since they've been a staple in my life for a quick and healthy breakfast!  These bad boys aren't your average sugar-packed waffles, they're whole wheat and packed with protein/vitamins/minerals.  Their mission statement checks out, as one of their continuous consumers, they've definitely made my family's mornings incredibly simpler and healthier.

    To sum up simply who these "breakfast gurus" are, Kodiak Cakes™ is a company that's all about promoting whole wheat and protein-enriched foods to get you through that tough task of your day.  From what I know and read about them, they seem to cater almost exclusively to breakfast-type foods, with a few spinoffs (i.e. brownie mix).  This is what I think sets them apart from the healthy food market (not the brownies), the emphasis on their breakfast audience.  Before I even knew about them, I never even heard about any other company that had healthy alternatives for some of the renowned childhood favorites like pancakes or waffles.  Normally for anyone looking to improve their health, you would completely make these items and other "sugar-based" foods for breakfast obsolete.  Kodiak Cakes™ did something pretty awesome by bringing not only healthier breakfast products to the market, but also transforming established products and making new and improved versions.  Don't let the bold "chocolate chip" print fool you, in comparison to some of the identical and unhealthier products out there, the nutritional differences are like day and night.

    To see what the buzz around Kodiak Cakes™ was, I did a little snooping around some of their social media starting with my favorite: their Facebook page.  Aside from the lady who found love through their pancakes, there are more than 100,000 people who have liked and/or followed their page.  With more than 1000 reviews, they sit on a rating of 4.7/5 overall from their consumers.  

     "Love everything I have tried. Ordered from the website and had my order the next day!" - Amy

    "Customer for life. I love the pancakes, brownies, and blue berry muffins. Excited to try more. Literally eat the pancakes every day for breakfast. Delicious." - Chris

    The reviews from facebook really do Kodiak some justice off the get-go.  Although they've been around since the '80s, their emphasis on the protein scene didn't kick off until about 2014, making them pretty new in my opinion.  With comments that vary from their taste, amount of protein, and comparisons to their unhealthier cousins, consumers have made the connection that their products are just what they're promising. 

    As for the negative 0.3 stars, there have been some negative remarks about the product.  The thing is, there were comments made such as "plastic pieces found in my batter" or "found a metal pin" on their Facebook page.  Although these things should be taken seriously and given the benefit of the doubt (which Kodiak does / handles amazingly and professionally), a foreign material doesn't really impact the product itself.  Consumers are still buying the product for what it is, and based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews, most of these negative reviews are probably getting brushed over.  Regardless, Kodiak responds the same day to most of their consumers that leave reviews, and for the controversial stuff, they go as far as launching investigations the same day as well.  Definitely using good social media practice as it stands.  Kudos to Kodiak! 

    Kodiak Cakes™ has a blog page right on their company website, pretty cool right?  I figured I'd write about the blog page titled "Kodiak Campfire" as it's filled with tons of good reads that emphasize the aspect of who they are as a brand.  Authors tend to be aesthetic to their brand in nature, whether they're fitness-influenced, licensed dieticians, or outdoor enthusiasts.  Along with informative blogs, they have some vlogs featuring extreme outdoor activities and wilderness exploring to push their adventure mantra out there as appealing to consumers.  Unfortunately, while they leave no room for personal comments on the site, you can share these blogs straight to your social media account with some "widgets" through their site.

    From a marketing perspective, their blog screams storytelling.  Wake up in a tent in the middle of Antarctica and try some of our blueberry muffins!  Definitely not a real example, but a lot of their blogs/vlogs are related to my exaggeration.  I believe they purposefully made their blog non-commentable for the sole purpose of the focus on these articles and videos without distraction to what is being advertised through/by their products.  Nevertheless, they are pushing the updated agenda of social media through their posts, and that's putting consumers in their favor because of it.

    Speaking of storytelling, here's a cute youtube video that tends to be on the comedic side.  A little drawn out for my taste, but it's a funny short story about kiddos rallying together and upgrading their delivery service of Kodiak products.  Since health products tend to be the main emphasis through most of their webpage advertisements, I feel that this video catering to the audience with children is a way to cover the specific base for Kodiak without cutting too much opportunity cost from their main brand image surrounding the adult consumers.  Utilizing the media format of a quick commercial instead of slapping it on their main webpage was a great move. 

    When it comes to their customers, Kodiak cares.  I couldn't think of a more effective way to handle communication with their online community as a brand manager than how they've been shown to respond so far.  Immediate responses, appreciative remarks, and concerning tones to the opposition, they're definitely doing things the correct way and the right way.

    What did I learn from digging into the company that makes my waffles?  In a larger context, almost every product that you buy or invest in has a community around it.  It's also pretty easy to see what everyone else thinks about these things with something as simple as checking out their Facebook page, company website, or other social media platforms.  It's definitely useful to discover the opinions and reviews that others have harnessed from products to get an overall picture of what consumers really think about a company's product.  In closing, I think we should be digging more into the things we buy, whether we love them or not.

         

"Triptocurrency" Sweepstakes! (Corona & Expedia)

     I couldn’t’ help but do a “double-take” and make sure nobody was looking when I clicked the link...  I did not want my wife and kids to see what I was seeing.  In the fraction of a second after one powerful click of my mouse, there they were in all their glory.  Ice.Cold.Corona beers. CoronaTripTo.com.  Given the warm and dry climate of summer, I found myself hexed by the sweepstakes advertisement.  That could be me!  Just a handful of survey questions would be all it takes for a complete get-away full of ocean views and Corona’s lathered in condensation.

In the article titled “Corona offers a spin on crypto craze to get people back to the beach”, Corona promotes cryptocurrency labeled “Triptocurrency” that can be used to fund trips through Expedia.  Consumers can enter the sweepstakes to win the digital currency valued at $2500 to fund flights, hotels, or combination packages through the online travel platform.  Known as the Tripto program, big names such as Snoop Dog and Zoe Saldana are investing and promoting the partnership through social media.

"You can't choose everything in life, but you can still choose to find the fine in life," - Snoop Dogg.  

Branded on every single bottle of Corona is the saying “La Vida Más Fina”, translated as "the Fine Life."  Already a renowned brand around the U.S., Corona seems to represent a lifestyle of fulfillment through imagery and brand ambassadors that really hones in on the culture of living in the moment.  Imported through Mexico, the La Vida Más Fina campaign from Corona does a fantastic job of harmonizing summer culture and vacation “vibes” through their Latin slogan.

Immediately after finding yourself on the sweepstakes website CoronaTripTo.com, you’re placed in a beautiful beachside view with a couple cold ones and not a worry in mind.  With the Tripto sweepstakes, you’re not bound to head to the beach, but Corona definitely does insist on the propaganda implemented.  Corona in collaboration with Expedia use the vivid summer season portrayed in the advertisement to their advantage as a potential sales strategy suggesting a summer trip and their products. 

The big challenge Corona and Expedia are tackling is the coronavirus epidemic.  Through surveys, Corona deduced that “six in 10 surveyed consumers have had a leisure trip canceled over the past year” and about “56% of Gen Zers want to take a beach vacation”, targeting the younger crowd.  Traveling isn’t really the business model for Corona, but partnering with Expedia puts them in a huge advantage over their competitors.

What I find most remarkable about Corona’s approach through the advertisement is the collaboration Expedia.  “Marketers are also looking to partnerships with brands outside of their industries as data-sharing needs change and first- and second-party data grow more valuable.”  With the Tripto sweepstakes, rather than Expedia just promoting on their own, they were able to capitalize on the aftermath/contraction of the world epidemic and branch out their targeted audience to those of Expedia.

The Tripto sweepstakes campaign is definitely a win-win for Corona, as well as for Expedia.  As the world begins to reopen its doors from the epidemic this year, it’s common sense to me that people are on the move, and traveling is back on the menu.  Really pushing the summer theme imagery and not too much emphasis on product, the Corona “image” is still powerfully incentivized with traveling through Expedia.  The advertisement itself left a taste which I’ll be associating with the other this summer.

Something different I would do as a brand manager for Corona is adjustments to the big advertisement image for the Tripto sweepstakes( https://coronatripto.com/ ).  I think Corona’s slogan “La Vida Más Fina” really encompasses the essence behind the summer sweepstakes, as such I would try to promote on there.  When I say “Corona” in my head, the image that I visualize is the cold glass bottle with the staple slice of lime on the top.  That being said, I think their drinks/products could have been exaggerated a bit more to really target consumers on remembering that image, whether they win a summer vacation or travel on their own accord.

Sweepstakes have not always appealed to me.  In the back of my mind, the word has almost immediately been associated with fake car warranty calls or spam mail.  I learned from this article that renowned brands, big celebrity names, and trialing times can be big deciding factors between scrolling through content and suspensefully double-clicking an advertisement.

https://www.marketingdive.com/news/corona-offers-spin-on-crypto-craze-to-get-people-back-to-the-beach/602717/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/corona-and-snoop-dogg-welcome-you-to-la-vida-mas-fina-301112947.html

Father, College Student, and New Blog Creator

    Welcome to my first post on a blog, I'm Kevin Gonzalez.  If I could describe my current position in life, I guess it would be sort of like a busy highway intersection in California!  I grew up there in Oakland, and after some time I enlisted in the Navy as a Hospital Corpsman (google it, it's pretty awesome!).  As my journey continued, I transitioned out of my military lifestyle and landed in the peaceful small town of Lebanon, OR.  I currently spend my days as a loving husband (that's what my wife says) and a father to two beautiful children who have earned the title of "roommate."

    I'm currently en route to a degree in business, but also working out the kinks on what major I specifically want to succeed in.  Regardless of my end destination in business academia, marketing has always intrigued me.  It plays a huge role in the environment of business, and I'm sure there's something for me to take along in my future endeavors.  Nothing specific calls out to my interest in marketing (yet), but I hope to build a solid educational foundation in it.

    After my quiet times of studying and learning in college are over for the day, the beautiful chaos that is my life resumes!  I mentioned earlier that I have a family, and since the day we were established they have been my passion.  My life and love revolve around this small core group of humans that motivate me to move forward every day.  From the good, the bad, and the poopy diapers, the fruitful life that I'm living wouldn't be possible without them, and for that, I give them credit (and a house, toys, peanut butter sandwiches, you get the gist).  When I do manage to squeeze some personal time in, I find it peaceful and releasing to do some weight training at the gym.  

The Gonzo's