The non-GMO origin of Gerber's fruit and vegetable purees used
to be almost hidden on the back of packs. Now, it's highlighted on
the front and Gerber is making some of its other products, such as
snacks, with non-GMO ingredients. It also has more flavors with a
culinary edge.
"When you hear acai or kale, you don't think Gerber," says Sandy
Greenberg, co-founder of Terri & Sandy, which created the
"Anything for Baby" campaign. "In the past maybe those flavors
wouldn't have made it into the advertising because those flavors
really only appealed to a small segment of the population. But now
we're leading with them."
Terri & Sandy has worked on the brand for about five years
and Greenberg and co-founder Terri Meyer have an even longer
history with Gerber as they worked on the account for a decade at
FCB.
A new commercial is set to run online starting Wednesday and
head to TV on Oct. 23.
Of course, others are promoting their own efforts. Plum, which
led the baby food pouch revolution, introduced Baby Bowls, a line
in recyclable plastic dishes it says are easier for parents to hold
during spoon feeding, with 10 flavors including pumpkin, banana,
papaya & cardamom.
Gerber founder Dorothy Gerber wrote letters to parents who
reached out to her for advice. So now Gerber has Dotti, a coaching
service parents can connect with via text to get answers from
experts including a lactation consultant and registered
dietitians.
Nestle's U.S. media spending on Gerber fell 10.9 percent to
nearly $76 million in 2016, according to Ad Age Datacenter. Working
media spending should rise as it invests in areas including TV, its
website, programmatic, and social, particularly in 2018. "We're
bringing our A game," says Hernandez.
Agencies on the effort include creative agency Terri &
Sandy, digital creative agency Ogilvy & Mather, Hornall Anderson on
packaging and logo design, MetaVision on media and Match MG /
Catapult on retail redesign.