The Real Things: Heritage, honesty and why they work in food and beverage marketing

Does your product have a heritage? Does it have a backstory that makes it unique and helps it stand out in a sea of competitors? If so, don’t be afraid to embrace that heritage and tell that story. Why? Because now more than ever, consumers are yearning for genuine brands with authentic voices.

This heritage-friendly marketing trend can be brought to life in two ways: by celebrating a brand’s geographic roots or by eschewing Photoshop in favor of more genuine advertising efforts.

Take, for example, our own work with Carib (see video case study above). The Pavone team created a marketing campaign for the Trinidad-based beer brand showcasing what the Caribbean is all about – adventure and excitement. The region is credited as the birthplace of Carnival, a festive season incorporating costumes, dance, Calypso music, street parties and parades that has been adopted by cities around the world.

Long before this trend became a trend, we put the laid back Lancaster County heritage of Turkey Hill Dairy on display through the ice cream and iced tea maker’s marketing efforts. The result was a place-based image that helped consumers get to know the brand on a whole new level.

“Authentic” marketing efforts – a ‘warts and all’ approach to showing a brand’s true self in its advertising – can also be effective.

Domino’s Pizza built an entire marketing campaign around this insight when it announced in July 2010 that all pizzas featured in TV and other media, including flyers, would be free of Photoshop enhancements. The campaign also includes a website called “Show Us Your Pizza” that encourages people to upload their pizza photos free of any enhancements.

Whether you embrace your heritage or adopt a “warts and all” approach, know this: Consumers are a lot wiser than they used to be when it comes to evaluating a brand’s cultural claims. This is especially true of older consumers who, with a few years of worldly experience to their credit, won’t be fooled by generic or watered-down goods.