Simple Rules for Optimal Snacking SNACK ATTACK
Marketing HORROR STORIES
A Lesson in What Not to Do Every marketing professional wants their campaign to be memorable. They want consumers to take notice — or take the bait — and make their company a big profit. But sometimes, things don’t go exactly as planned. The campaigns below certainly won the attention of consumers, but in each case, what started out as a marketing dream quickly turned into a nightmare. In 1992, women across Spain received anonymous letters inviting them to go on a “little adventure.” The letters stated, “We met again on the street yesterday, and I noticed how you glanced interestedly in my direction.” Fearing a stalker, many women locked themselves in their homes. A few days later, another letter arrived, revealing the identity of the “secret admirer” as the new Fiat Cinquecento. Yes, the creepy letters were part of a marketing campaign by the Italian car company. Fiat apologized and ended the campaign after criticism from consumer protection groups, Social Minister Cristina Alberdi, and the 50,000 women who received the letters. FIAT’S DIRECT MAIL DISASTER • Back when “Oprah” was the biggest show on television, KFC ran an ad offering a free two-piece chicken meal with two sides and a biscuit for anyone who went to their website and downloaded a coupon. Over 10.5 million coupons were downloaded, and KFC had to give away $42 million in free food. • In the 1990s, Hoover Company in the United Kingdom offered two round-trip plane tickets with the purchase of a vacuum. Unfortunately, even in the ‘90s, most vacuums were still cheaper than plane tickets, and Hoover lost 50 million pounds in what remains the biggest promotional disaster ever. Guerrilla marketing can create valuable word of mouth — think about the success of the movie “IT” last year. The marketing for the film included simple red balloons tied to storm drains. But Cartoon Network didn’t have quite the same luck in 2007 when they tried to promote their show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”When the network put electronic devices featuring a character from the show all over Boston, city residents thought the strange contraptions looked like bombs and called the police. This triggered a terrorist scare that ultimately cost the general manager of Cartoon Network his job. CARTOON NETWORK CAUSES A BOMB SCARE KFC AND HOOVER CAN’T DO MATH A shocking number of companies hold giveaway promotions without calculating exactly how much they will cost. Here are a few examples.
When you decide to eat healthy, the focus is typically on your big meals. You say goodbye to the drive-thru window and teach yourself the secrets of whole foods and homemade meals. But what about the rest of your eating habits? Even if you find a solution to emotional eating and cut out mindless munching while watching TV, does that mean you also have to put an end to all snacking between meals? The truth is that having a snack between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner can help you on your path to healthy living. A well-placed snack between meals can prevent you from overindulging later and help keep your blood sugar and energy levels up. If your meals are 3–4 hours apart, it’s okay to have a healthy snack. Depending on your schedule, the best times to plan a snack are midmorning (around 10:30 a.m.) and sometime between lunch and dinner (roughly 3:30 p.m.). The keyword here is “plan.” If you let yourself grab a snack every time you feel hungry, you might fall into the bad habit of snacking because you’re bored. Planning a time to snack cuts down on grazing and keeps you from consuming calories you don’t really need. More important than when you snack is what you snack on. A candy bar from the vending machine or a semi-stale doughnut from the break room isn’t going to do you any favors. Choosing a cup of coffee as your afternoon pick-me-up isn’t the best option in the long run, either. When it comes to effective snacking, go for the healthy options. Think whole-grain toast with almond butter, an apple, or some vegetable soup. Smart snacks planned throughout the day can be your secret weapon for overall healthy eating. So if you’re feeling hungry and your lunch break is still hours off, go ahead and treat yourself to a little snack — just make sure you have a healthy option in mind before you reach for the fridge.
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