Social Marketing Blog
Pillsbury Company is a recognized food products manufacturer that produces flour and baked goods. The company is also renowned for its cookbooks and annual promotional baking contests particularly the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Pillsbury Food Company was founded in 1869 by Charles Pillsbury who purchased shares from Minneapolis flour mill. The establishment of additional milling plants reputed the company in 1872. Since then, the company has expanded extensively, for instance in 1972, it embarked on operating The Burger King fast food outlets and later on the entire chain (Schmidt, 2018). The brand also consolidated with Green Giant Company into marketing frozen and canned vegetables and with the acquisition of Haagen Dazs Company, Pillsbury brand engaged in the sale of frozen yoghurt and ice-cream.
From 1989-2001, the British company Grand Metropolitan acquired ownership of most of Pillsbury’s assets though Burger King retained sole ownership until 2002. On the other hand, Haagen Dazs was marketed through a mutual licensing agreement between Great Mills and Nestle (COLQUHOUN, MacDonald, & Wright,2018). The company has significantly evolved with its numerous networks, and to date, food production under the Pillsbury brand comprises breakfast foods, cake mixes, snacks, biscuits and rolls as well as cookie doughs.
Figure 1 Cake Mix (Source: Anon, 2019)
Figure 2 Big Deluxe Oatmeal Raisin (Source: Anon, 2019)
Social Media Marketing
The power of social media marketing in the contemporary society imposes much influence on businesses prompting the implementation of digital marketing strategies for successful operations (Baker, 2016). Pillsbury brand is in fact an example of a brand that utilizes the social media platforms as an advertisement strategy. The brand’s continued expansion resonates from digital marketing which is a distinctive strategy that has enabled it to promote the company’s products online. As a matter of fact, the brand utilizes diverse online marketing platforms to contain a more pronounced effect on the target audience.
Media technologies employed in Pillsbury Company
The brand’s Marketing Officer confirmed great social media presence with approximately 50% of his time spent in the creation of content related to advertisements. Pillsbury utilizes more than 3000 social media sites as interface between the brand and its consumers. In fact, the idea of blending bacon flavors and caramel was obtained from the analysis of social media interactions. Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of what their brands represent beyond a particular product. Goya Pillsbury’s media interactions are not limited to marketing but social participation as well. The company also engages in social causes, for instance, the Goya Gives program donated a billion dollars among those affected in the Puerto Rico hurricane incident and this further accentuated the recognition of the company. This in turn fostered increased returns.
Pillsbury brand targets to access a broader clientele base through the enhancement of marketing activities and customer-oriented communications. This is achieved by contests and promotions that are accomplished through the traditional, social media and digital channels. Apart from regular advertisements, the brand offers information on customer data concerns and other privacy considerations. For optimal supplier-consumer interactions, the brand constantly devises innovative solutions to expand its market positions, whilst reducing associated legal threats such as competitor challenges that are potentially caustic to its progress.
Social Media Platforms
Pillsbury Company utilizes different marketing platforms with the inclusion of Face Book, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram where it has gathered a massive number of followers with at least 132,000 followers in Twitter, beyond three million in Face Book, 188,500 followers in Pinterest and 31,700 in Instagram. Each marketing platform has contributed a significant measure in reaching the target market. Photos of the company are uploaded to the Instagram and Pinterest platforms to attract more clients whilst Face Book and Twitter platforms stress on the content delivered to the audience.
Figure 3 Snacks (Source: Anon, 2019)
Video advertisement is yet another marketing strategy employed that generates thousands of posts. For instance, the video for Pillsbury Grands Unsloppy Joes that elicited a new concept on how to use flour in making instead of the usual baking (Anon, 2019) .It showcased meat wrapped in dough before baking and other related recipes that inspired numerous consumers. Moreover, through the interface between brand and customer, the company learnt that families used Pillsbury dough in forming shapes for fun and not just for cooking. Based on this insight, Pillsbury revitalized a brand that focused on family activity values that the products facilitate. Pillsbury has also invested a great deal in its mascot that has prevailed in pop culture to an extent that it is featured in popular television programs such as the Simpsons and Glee. As a result, the clientele base has broadened. Furthermore, the mascots have recently generated social media attention and in turn boosted the brand’s revenues. The company’s good organization culture allows its internal affiliates to share their perspectives on better marketing approaches to be employed.
Consequently, most companies in today’s society employ social media platforms to market and advertise their products. The shift is mainly triggered by the massive coverage in media platforms. Pillsbury Food Company is one of the companies with great accomplishment accredited to implementation of efficient online marketing strategies.
References
Anon, (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/garyschroeder2/pillsburys-social-media-strategy [Accessed 17 Apr. 2019].
Baker, M. J. (2016). What is marketing?. In The Marketing Book (pp. 25-42). Routledge.
COLQUHOUN, D., MacDonald, J., & Wright, M. (2018). U.S. Patent Application No. 29/587,479.
Schmidt, A. (2018). The Washburn-Crosby Company: Cadwallader Washburn’s Vision for Minneapolis Flour Milling.
