Sargento, Walmart Make Sandwiches

Plymouth, Wis. — Sargento Foods partnered with Walmart in May for a digital campaign extolling the benefits of natural cheese. Unlike many summer campaigns that focus on grilling, this one targeted sandwiches.According to Nicole Pavlica, senior shopping marketing manager at Sargento, the campaign’s direction was inspired in part by research from the NPD Group showing that 77% of natural sliced cheese is consumed on sandwiches and that 52.1% of slices are paired with lunchmeat, versus just 12.3% with a hamburger.The research also showed that the vast majority of cheese slices are used at lunch and dinner. It additionally disclosed that many consumers use pasteurized process cheese food, which is only required to have 51% real cheese, on those sandwiches.“Consumers are seeking more natural, real foods, and when we educate them on the benefits of 100% natural cheese, we can help them make better choices for that quick sandwich meal solution that every American has as part of their meal routine,” Pavlica says.The campaign took a digital focus based on the shopper insight that sandwich meals, in particular, are planned prior to visiting the grocery store. The targeted program started with digital engagement via Breaktime Media’s Dailybreak.com rewards site. This approach offered Walmart shoppers educational and brand content on the benefits of Sargento and natural cheese, a social sharing component, and links to coupons and incentives to purchase specifically at Walmart.“It can be difficult to target the Walmart shopper specifically and to manage the coupon usage at Walmart,” Pavlica says. “We wanted [Breaktime’s site] to be the main hub and drive shoppers there so that everyone got the education component that is so critical to meeting the objectives of the campaign.”The content was designed to help consumers understand the varieties of cheese that Sargento offers through an interactive, personality-matching tool that educates them on which varieties they might like based upon their preferences. “Once they got through that, they had an opportunity to have a meal inspiration through Pinterest and recipes and social sharing, and they were rewarded with a RevTrax coupon,” Pavlica says.From the Breaktime site, shoppers could access Ibotta receipt-submission rebates on Sargento natural cheese slices. They could also view additional brand content on the benefits of natural cheese versus pasteurized process cheese food, also known as American singles.The digital activation kicked off prior to Memorial Day, the beginning of the peak season for cheese slice products. In stores, the promotion was supported by product demos over Father’s Day weekend that highlighted different varieties of Sargento cheese slices on sandwiches. This gave shoppers the ability to experience the difference of natural cheese firsthand. The campaign wrapped up in early September.The success of the program will be defined by product sales, the number and quality of digital impressions, and shopper engagement. “We are outperforming most of Breaktime Media’s benchmarks with engagement on the program, so we’re very pleased with that element,” Pavlica says. As the leading brand in natural cheese slices, Sargento is also trying to elevate the category and its performance.The Walmart program is one of several that Sargento executes with strategic retail partners. Others include an initiative with Kroger that features pre-shop digital activation along with a greater reliance on Kroger’s communication tools, as well as a program with Publix featuring a mix of digital and traditional media. The Walmart program was differentiated both in its strong focus on digital tools and in its emphasis on the cold sandwich meal occasion.Partners for the program include activation agency IN Marketing Services (headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, with its Walmart team in Bentonville, Arkansas); digital engagement specialists Breaktime Media (Boston); mobile cash-back coupon vendor Ibotta (Denver and Chicago); digital incentives agency RevTrax (New York City); and in-store demo agency Shopper Events (Rogers, Arkansas).

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