According to an online poll conducted by BCM, the majority of people surveyed (more than three in four) believe that the recent Vegemite iSnack 2.0 naming and subsequent plan to change it by parent company Kraft, was nothing more than a ploy to maximise exposure for the new product.
The BCM poll, which surveyed over 1,250 respondents, revealed that more than 75% of participants believe that it was a carefully crafted media publicity stunt.
This is despite a statement from Kraft specifically denying this was ever their intention.
“We conducted the survey because many industry insiders were debating whether the name was a cheap grab to gain publicity. We thought it would be interesting to know what the public thought. We now know overwhelmingly that people considered it a stunt,” explained BCM agency partner, Kevin Moreland.
Blogs and forums all over the internet have been buzzing with consumers indicating the name must be a joke, suggesting it was un-Australian and that it failed to connect with Gen Y – the audience it was intended to attract.
“It would seem that people simply couldn’t accept that iSnack 2.0 was ever a serious contender as a name. People assumed therefore that Kraft must have carefully planned the marketing to maximise publicity. More than anything, the study sends a clear message to marketers about the lack of trust consumers have for many brands and how cynically they view the marketing community,” asserted Moreland.