File this one under “It Took Them Long Enough!” After dominating the candy-bar-in-a-jar, chocolate-hazelnut spread market for more than 60 years, Nutella finally has some competition from Jif, a company that knows a thing or two about spreadable concoctions.

Jif has unveiled two chocolate-based sandwich toppers – a Nutella-cloned chocolate hazelnut spread and a mocha cappuccino-flavored hazelnut spread. Nutritionally, the Jif options are similar to Nutella (230 calories and 14 grams of fat per 2-tablespoon serving, compared with Nutella’s 200 calories and 11 grams of fat).

Of course, Jif won’t make the same mistake Nutella did and claim that its product is in any way a healthy snack. Nutella recently settled that class-action lawsuit to the tune of $3.05 million.

So why’d it take so long before the peanut butter camp decided to invade Nutella’s turf? This is just a hunch, but we’re guessing that the shocking rise in peanut butter costs opened the door for a surge in Nutella sales and the Jif gang wanted a piece of that delicious, chocolaty pie.

MARKETING LESSON: Don’t be afraid to take a bite out of your competitor’s bottom line (but don’t wait half a century to do it).

When Facebook unveiled its new timeline layout in March, some of the site’s users bemoaned the forced transition, although they’ve mostly warmed up to the new design. On the marketing side, however, Facebook’s timeline has changed the way consumers interact with and experience brands on the social network.

In a nutshell, the upgrade allows brands to tell their story in a more authentic, visually compelling, and streamlined way. How much has Facebook’s timeline changed the brand/consumer engagement experience? According to one study, brands are getting 46 percent more interaction thanks to the timeline layout.

Of course, it should be noted that recent studies have shown that 81 percent of Facebook users access the network via the site’s smart phone app. This point-of-entry makes the mostly aesthetic timeline features a moot point, but the upgrade is still valuable for those who check in via non-smart phone methods.

Among the many brand benefits of the timeline layout:  Read more...

• The Milestone feature – a year-by-year chronology of a company’s history – allows brands to tell their stories and highlight notable milestones. The content possibilities are endless, but many brands (Coca-Cola is a good example) have used the milestone tool to share details about the company’s founding, show off historical documents and photos, and feature new logos, products and people.

On the heels of yesterday’s entry, we thought we’d take a closer look at another popular ballpark marketing tactic: the rise of gourmet (or at least unexpected) ballpark food offerings.

Gone are the days when peanuts, Cracker Jack, and overcooked hot dogs were your only choices of stadium fare. Today’s stadiums (and we’re only talking baseball here) provide everything from gluten-free selections to vegan soups to snack stands bearing the brands of famous local eateries. It’s a smart marketing move, too. If your team is terrible and can’t sell tickets, maybe the food can pick up the slack.

Here are five Major League highlights:

• Miami Marlins – Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos
  
  

  The Marlins’ new state-of-the-art stadium includes a farm-to-fork stand, but the team’s $14 power hitter is its grilled mahi mahi tacos (pictured above). The tacos are made with fresh grilled mahi mahi, pickled red onions, pico de gallo, shredded cabbage, and topped with cilantro vinaigrette and a chipotle aioli.

• New York Mets – The Shack-cago Dog
  
  

  A stand branded by NYC’s famous Shake Shack offers a tempting twist on an old ballpark favorite with its “Shack-cago” dog, a Vienna all-beef hot dog served on a potato bun and topped with Shake Shack relish, onion, cucumber, pickle, tomato, pepper, and celery salt.

 Read more...

If your brand is somehow affiliated with a major pro sports team, breaking through the clutter can be challenging to say the least. After all, you’re probably one of 40 different products laying claim to the title of the team’s “Official (BLANK).” But that doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of your spot on that crowded roster and become an All-Star marketing partner.

With a little help from Pavone, Turkey Hill Dairy did exactly that.

The Lancaster County-based ice cream and iced tea maker signed a big-league contract to become the official ice cream of the world’s most popular sports team, the New York Yankees. Together, we turned that opportunity into a home run.

In the Big Apple, we highlighted Turkey Hill’s pair of Yankees flavors with a 30-second TV spot (seen in the case study above), among other promotional methods. It was a swing for the fences, but it worked, as the flavor experienced a 30% jump in pint sales over the previous season.  Read more...

Anheuser-Busch may be the “King of Beers,” but Miller Lite has proven itself as the “King of Beer Gimmicks” with its latest packaging ploy, the punch top can. The can, which comes on the heels of the Miller Lite vortex bottleneck, allows connoisseurs of the brew to “crack it, punch it, for a smoother pour.”

We’re not sure if this packaging upgrade was brought on by an uprising among beer drinkers demanding a smoother pour, but it’s a good example what happens when a company isn’t afraid to make a few changes to a tried-and-true design (and reap a few marketing benefits along the way).

MARKETING LESSON: When it comes to package design, small changes can make a big difference, especially if you promote those changes with a multi-million dollar media blitz.