1

Simon Baggs

CEO, Lateral Marketing and Management

Krispy Kreme is a phenomenon – a brand that features in Michael Jackson's lyrics, and takes on a holy grail-like aura in The Simpsons. It is quintessentially American. It represents the fat side of Americanism, a perceptual space from which McDonald's is trying to escape with its 'Lighter Choices' advertising.

No other brand of snack food could cause such excitement, such an ardent following, and such derision.

This is no ordinary doughnut; this is an American cultural icon.

Launching the Krispy Kreme brand in Australia in defiance of the march towards healthier eating was successful in part because of the brand's renown, and in part due to excellent marketing. Restricting distribution in the early days created heightened demand. Here was a mass product being treated like a prestigious brand.

What would their sales have been like if we were not so health conscious? Doughnuts eaten as an occasional treat pose no threat, but as a cultural symbol, as Homer's snack of choice, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are fair game to the likes of SumoSalad. Good on them for raising their own profile through staging a protest at the Victorian store opening.

Consumers know the protest is a self-serving publicity stunt, and I am sure they appreciate the audacity and the gamesmanship. Consumers also know that they should exercise more, eat less and eat better. Yet people are still not heeding the warnings. Perhaps consumers are going to start their healthy lifestyle next week, or the week after that, but never today.

At least Krispy Kreme is not positioning itself as anything other than what it is. Many of those who have jumped on the healthy food bandwagon are often claiming to be 'fat free', but at the same time refrain from mentioning sugar levels, or they sell salads so laden with oily, fatty dressings that they defeat the purpose of eating a salad in the first place.

The old idiom 'if it tastes good, it is probably bad for you' may hold true, but it was good for SumoSalad, which rode the Krispy Kreme opening and stole some of the limelight. A bit transparent, sure, but not a bad return on investment.

2

Peter Mills

PR and Marketing Planner

Did the media try to expose this protest as a media stunt – or did they report it straight? My guess is that SumoSalad got plenty of un-cynical coverage for some useful shots fired in the obesity wars. And once the media have accepted a PR story as news, consumers are unlikely to perceive it as a commercial grab for exposure. Publication or broadcast has a legitimising effect.

Backgrounding this event, it’s my understanding that thousands of give-away Krispy Kremes have been consumed by journalists at their desks, resulting in much favourable copy about the US doughnut chain. But journalists are not fools and will look for a way of balancing the story. SumoSalad has handed them an opportunity on a paper plate.

Yes, this was a great publicity stunt. No, consumers won’t reject something that so dramatically contributes to the debate about nutrition.

SumoSalad has now clarified its brand as ‘the opposite to Krispy Kreme’. Further attacks on the doughnut maker – but never on other chains such as KFC – will enhance this effect. The salad company can use future Krispy store openings as opportunities for more media publicity within local communities.

Shaping up to Krispy Kreme makes SumoSalad look bigger than it actually is – an effect that will be enhanced if the doughnut chain decides to publicly defend itself against the barrage.

To avoid appearing negative, the salad maker should work on its food credentials. A professional nutritionist should be hired to produce scientifically sound information in support of the company’s claims. This material can be multi-tasked – leaflets handed out at demonstrations, media releases, website, store posters and table mats, community letterbox drops, advice in homemaking magazines. The nutritionist should be trained and promoted as a media spokesperson.

SumoSalad can sponsor parent groups that are lobbying to have junk food removed from school canteens. The salad maker should also nurture its proactive customers by forming SumoSalad ‘supporters’.

By having the guts to name the bad guys in the nutrition debate, the company has got itself off to a good start.

3

Rob Fraser

Managing director, Big River Creative (creator of the Sumo Salad/Kripsy Kreme

The protest was opportunistically organised to highlight the dangers of unhealthy fatty fast foods, particularly for Australia’s children, and to promote SumoSalad as a healthy alternative at the same time.

SumoSalad is a relatively small player in the fast food industry compared to American fast food giants such as Krispy Kreme. The sheer marketing muscle of these corporations means that parents and children struggle to avoid the noise these brands create in the market, at the expense of healthy alternatives.

We had heard of the 6.30am grand opening of Victoria’s first Krispy Kreme outlet, which was to follow a few days of media build-up and culminate in a night of entertainment featuring comedians and bands.

We marvelled at the lengths a company would go to in targeting children and families to promote the opening of a doughnut shop, and the fact that the media seemed to be lapping it up, while at the same time telling us constantly of the obesity problem in general, and particularly for kids.

SumoSalad was the right brand to take a stand. In organising the protest, we sought to leverage the obesity issue, already in the social conscience, and of course to present the healthy alternative – SumoSalad.

Unlike publicity stunts favoured by the likes of Richard Branson, who unashamedly crops up with bikini babes whenever Virgin creates another brand extension (and always seems to enjoy wide media coverage), we built a plan around a big social issue and a relevant alternative.

It was a high impact activity, and potentially risky, but it provided the media and consumers alike with an engaging and effective message that was based on an important issue, delivered in a disruptive and fun way – something that could cut through the clutter of day-to-day advertising and boring corporate messages.

SumoSalad is a cheeky and irreverent brand, and the protest was conducted in a tongue-in-cheek manner in keeping with the SumoSalad brand values. It is ultimately up to consumers to vote with their feet and wallets, but anecdotal feedback following the protest indicates that SumoSalad customers supported the stance and are likely more deeply engaged with the brand as a result of the protest.

4

Christine Edwards

Marketing manager, Krispy Kreme Australia

Krispy Kreme believes consumers see stunts like this for exactly what they are. In fact, we have had a number of emails and calls from our customers confirming that this is a risky way to establish brand awareness.

We believe in building strong relationships in the community. We adopt the approach that when we participate in an event we want to be involved in a way that enhances the event.

5

Michael Kiely

Marketing Guru

My old man used to tell me, “Any publicity is good publicity, so long as they get your name right!” There can be no losers in SumoSalad’s protest action outside Krispy Kreme. Both parties are winners. The sanctimonious lettuce leaf lovers who insist on imposing their dietary beliefs on the rest of us by employing armies of thin-lipped, joyless scientists to ‘prove’ that anything that tastes good can’t be good for you, who codify their beliefs in official health guidelines and turn the fearful followers who run our governments into nanny-state puppets of herbal tea-sipping public servants – they and all their sucked-a-lemon mates who will never know the joy of a good Havana and a balloon of VSOP would have applauded SumoSalad. Hateful American doughnuts. Gastronomic imperialists!

Krispy Kreme lovers would have their faith in sugary, syrupy, doughy doughnuts reinforced by the sight of these dietary do-gooders trying like teetotallers and prohibitionists to save their souls. Their first bite would have even greater zing having wrestled their way past the protestors. Have you seen how triumphant Krispy Kreme customers are when they emerge clutching their little box of wicked delights? These people are hooked. No saladiers can reach them.

Every one of us falls on one side or other of the great good-for-you divide. Whichever side you are on at whatever time (I flip flop from side to side) will determine your reaction to the incident in question. I personally think SumoSalad is suspect. Witness its rationale for the protest: “We’re protesting to let all of the public know there are healthy alternatives available.” So said Luke Baylis, CEO of SumoSalad. “We’re very passionate about the issue.”

Bollocks! He’s passionate about making a profit! The public knows there are alternatives available. Everyone’s mother tortured them at the table throughout their childhood years, harping on about, “Eat your (cabbage, sprouts, zucchini… whatever), it’s good for you.” Anyone who had a mother knows the world is staggering under the weight of things that are good for you. At least Krispy Kreme doesn’t have the gall of McDonald’s, which promotes the fiction that its products are on the good-for-you side of the great divide.

Krispy Kremers can have their doughnuts and Sumo Saladiers their carrot sticks. I yearn for a good Havana. “You can’t have one.” (Voice behind me...)