Frozen-Food Rivals Plot Campaign to Halt Sales Slump in Freezer Case

You know you have a health-perception problem when a fast-food marketer takes a shot at you. So when Wendy's -- hardly the standard for health food -- makes a point of marketing its beef as "fresh, never frozen," the $70 billion frozen-food industry decided it had to do something. The American Frozen Food Institute and the Frozen Food Roundtable, a coalition of freezer-case heavyweights including ConAgra, General Mills, H.J. Heinz, Kellogg Co. and Nestlé USA, along with retail behemoth Walmart, are pooling their might to launch a campaign that could reach up to $50 million in spending, according to industry executives. McCann Erickson is tipped to win the agency review for the push, whose goal is to warm consumers to the frozen-food aisle. According to proprietary research from the organizations, 98% of products in the frozen aisle are experiencing flat or declining sales in the U.S., across nearly all categories. Driving these declines are more health-conscious consumers and their association of frozen foods with high sodium, sugar, fat, calories and preservatives. In a document dated Feb. 15, the groups said they were seeking "proposals for the development of a consumer-facing campaign designed to change the way consumers think and feel about frozen food by promoting positive messaging regarding the benefits and attributes of frozen foods." perceptions & sales A major challenge, the group added in the document, will be to overcome taglines like Wendy's "fresh, never frozen," which capitalize on consumers' negative perceptions of frozen food. A representative for the industry groups declined to comment. In recent months, individual frozen-food producers have taken on the issue. ConAgra launched a campaign for its Healthy Choice and Marie Callender's brands to help consumers "better understand the benefits of frozen meals and experience frozen foods in a new way," according to a press release the company sent in March. Still, marketers have steadily decreased pricing on frozen entrees, according to a chart by Bernstein Research. But changing consumer perceptions is not a one-company job and dropping prices to maintain volume is not necessarily a sustainable practice. The Bernstein research noted that while taking down pricing has helped better sales in the frozen-entree category, volume and sales remain in negative territory. The group's industry conducted research beginning late last year and found that although the perception of frozen vegetables surpassed those of other frozen subcategories, frozen-food penetration rates are down across all age groups, with the highest losses among 35-to-44-year-olds. There are "significant concerns with the nutritional value and a general feeling that frozen foods are not as good as fresh," according to the findings. These concerns were often linked to the frozen-entree category. Moreover, the longevity and convenience of frozen foods were once selling points, but they are no longer changing a general apathy toward the category. The frozen-food players began early this year to build the skeleton of a multi-million-dollar campaign to target baby-boomer, millennial and Hispanic shoppers. It then issued an RFP to a number of shops, including Interpublic Group of Cos' McCann; WPP's Ogilvy & Mather; and independent PR giant Edelman, which in February conducted a consumer-insights study for the industry group. McCann submitted its RFP response in partnership with sibling PR shop GolinHarris, which recently expanded its relationship with client Walmart, an FFRT member. Omnicom's BBDO also responded to the RFP in the early stages of the process. Nearly every PDF version of the agency presentations that Ad Age obtained included budget proposals totaling just under $50 million and messages aimed at changing consumers' health-related perceptions. For example, McCann presented a strategy to "redefine frozen" with the tagline, "Frozen. How fresh stays fresh," and a mix of tactics such as paid ads, sampling and integrating frozen- and fresh-food products in grocery aisles. A second proposal showed how the agency would "challenge assumptions" and overcome the idea that frozen has become a dirty word. Edelman proposed the tagline, "Fresh just frozen," while Ogilvy offered "Open up to frozen." According to the RFP, the plan is for a pilot campaign in select markets and possibly a national yearlong campaign with the option to extend it another 12 to 24 months. Contributing: E.J. Schultz According to the FFFT study featured in the group's request for proposals, these are the distinct consumer segments and their attitudes toward frozen foods. however, open to the idea of frozen as part of their meals

Frozen-Food Rivals Plot Campaign to Halt Sales Slump in Freezer Case

Featured Stories