Press: Food Business News

In the wake of some bad press this year, Chobani launched the 'Love ThisLife' campaign. Three advertisements showcase the "modern american family" enjoying the splendors of a simple, clean, and healthy life.If you haven't seen the campaign yet you can find it in the Food Business News article by Elaine Watson below where Interact partner, Blake Mitchell, had the opportunity to comment."

Greek yogurt maker Chobani has launched 'Love This Life', a new multi-media campaign with strapline: "To love this life is to live it naturally."The campaign - which features bucolic scenes on a family farm - opts for more of a lifestyle approach than the 'How Matters' campaign, which focuses on how Chobani's products are made.The longest of the new ads - dubbed 'family' - doesn't show any images of Chobani products at all, but tells a "modern American story", chief marketing and brand officer Peter McGuinness told FoodNavigator-USA.However, it should be seen as an evolution of the earlier work, he said: "We're going from how it's made to how it makes you feel."The campaign, which debuted Friday, and is fully integrated across all channels, from broadcast to social to shopper marketing,w as developed by ad agency OppermanWeiss and is accompanied by a packaging refresh.'We're still very bullish about the Greek yogurt category'It also features original songs by artist and producer Eef Barzelay that were written for Chobani, said McGuiness, who claimed that the new ads "elevate the brand and elevate the category", while competitor ads were about "bowel movements and gas...and taste offs."The new packaging highlights core attributes such as 'Only natural Non-GMO Ingredients', and '40% Less Sugar Than Regular Fruit Yogurt' (for the core range_ and '75% Less Sugar Than Regular Fruit Yogurt' (for the Simply 100 range).It allows for the brand to tap into their consumer's emotions rather than just selling the products. So what do branding and marketing experts think?Blake Mitchell, partner at Boulder, CO-based design agency Interact On-Shelf, told FoodNavigator-USA that he liked the "cleaner and simpler" packaging and was impressed by the thinking behind the campaign: "Consumers are attracted to the reasons a brand exists and it allows for the brand to tap into their consumer's emotions rather than just selling the products."Hence why there is very little Chobani on display throughout the new campaign since it paints the pictures of the product origin."But he added: "However, the family doesn't feel connected around a specific emotion with either the sister being stoic while her brother keeps playing or the wife looking like she wants to shower while covered in mud. This style of campaign has been done and it isn'y particularly engaging or memorable."However, Jeff Hilton, partner and co-founder at branding/marketing agency Brandhive, told us: "I actually find the videos quite intriguing. Very unique in tone and a bit quirky...this seems like a creative way to take the brand in a wholesome, fewer ingredients, better for you and those you love direction."This seems like a natural progression since the Greek yogurt field is crowded now and it no longer is enough to be Greek; they must forge a new more compelling brand story to make an emotional connection with the consumer."While some commentators believe Greek yogurt has peaked in popularity, four of the op 10 new CPG products of 2014 were in the Greek yogurt category, suggesting it might be a little early to write it off just yet, according to the latest New Product Pacesetters report from Chicago-based market researcher IRI.And if Chobani has had its fair share of negative press this year, it can take some satisfaction in securing two spots in the top 10 (Chobani Simply 100 and Chobani Flip) and a place in the 'Rising Stars' ranking (Chobani Oats)- which predicts which products might be the pacesetters for 2015.Said McGuiness: "We see the Greek yogurt category doubling in the next 5-7 years and we're still very bullish about the category."The recent decision by USDA to include Greek yogurt in the National School Lunch program was also good news for the category added McGuiness, who said new Flip products hitting shelves in summer included Peanut Butter Dream, Coffee Break Bliss, and a limited edition Strawberry Summer Crisp.