Nabisco opened the cages and the media started to play.
In a move that garnered national media attention, Nabisco decided to change the packaging of Barnum’s Animal Cracker.
Several public relations lessons can be learned from Nabisco’s strategy.
Some background… The cookie company tweaked their graphics to remove the current look of caged animals on wheels. Now they will be using new packaging with the animals apparently in the wild and no bars to speak of.
Nabisco’s parent company, Mondelez International, said they were succumbing to pressure from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
According to press reports, PETA had been asking the company to change the packaging since 2016.
CBS News reported that PETA said in a letter to Mondelez: “Given the egregious cruelty inherent in circuses that use animals and the public’s growing opposition to the exploitation of animals used for entertainment, we urge Nabisco to update its packaging to display animals. that they are free to roam in their natural habitats.
At the same time, PETA was pressuring Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey, namesake of the cookie, to release their animals. The circus stopped using elephants as part of its show in 2016, and due to slowing ticket sales, closed entirely in 2017.
Circus or not, the new cookie boxes have been redesigned to remove the implication that the animals are traveling in wagons for use in a show.
Whether or not a young person, or even their parents, would connect the dots between caged animals, a traveling circus, and animal cruelty by simply looking at the package and consuming its contents is irrelevant in the setting. In fact, it’s a piece of public relations that actually has two winners.
First, PETA can take a victory lap. The organization and its 6.5 million members can rejoice at having impacted the operations of another major international conglomerate and changing the face of an iconic brand.
However, the big winner is Nabisco and Mondelez. The company wins on many fronts.
First, he used his marketing bullets to get a lot of national and international media attention.
Two, you waited for the best-selling season like back-to-school period, pack my lunch box to make your ad. If nothing else, the news coverage should give the brand a boost this summer and fall.
Three, it creates the perception that the company is “up to date,” in tune with millennials and others who oppose all things animal cruelty.
Smaller B2B companies that don’t have an iconic 100+ year old brand to fall back on can still use many of Nabisco’s PR techniques.
Can…
•Publish any major news at a time of year most likely to get maximum media coverage.
• Formulate your news at a time that will have a high impact with your consumers or your clients and prospects.
•Redesign or remodel product packaging, offers, and website to show that it is in tune with the current market.
•Create events with prominent social causes to demonstrate your modern relevance to buyers of your products.
Nabisco’s animal cracker campaign offers some good PR food for thought, and some good tasting ones.
