(Frito-lay/Associated Press/Washington Post)
My first reaction after purchasing Sun Chips in its new, snazzy biodegradable packaging (because I recycle EVERYTHING) upon trying to open it was “dang, that’s noisy!”
Lo, Frito-Lay, owned by PepsiCo Inc. and maker of Sun Chips, has pulled its snazzy biodegradable packaging from shelves (available since January) wasting exorbitant amounts of money in so doing because it failed at consumer test marketing (IMHO).
I’m amazed companies the likes of Pampers with its Dry-Max debacle I wrote about here and now Sun Chips have launched products (after cycling through the usual market research, focus groups, product development et al I assume) only to pull them or engage in defensive posturing due to consumer outcry AFTER the fact.
How could Sun Chips not know that bag was noisy? Have you ever heard it?
Tumbling sales and consumer-created videos on social media sites contributed to the decision by these corporate giants to return five of the six flavors back to non-compostable packaging. So much for saving the environment from potato chip bags, eh?
Here’s the fail – because social media is at the fingertips of all consumers and corporations if they regard it as more than a passing fad, all Sun Chips would’ve had to do was the following:
- During market research, it would’ve been simple and inexpensive to produce and launch a YouTube video asking for a nation-wide vote about which bag consumers prefer – the current (non-noisy) bag or the new, biodegradable (noisy) bag. I can assure you, Frito-Lay, that video would’ve garnered tremendous word-of-mouth attention and off we go to the races.
- On your lame attempt at a Facebook page where one consumer calls the new Sun Chips bags “great idea, freakishly loud,” you could’ve asked for votes on which bag is preferred and then point to the YouTube video to secure hits there, too.
- On Twitter (are you @Fritolay or @Frito-Lay?) with your confusing identity with the same avatar where one of you currently apologizes for the noisy bag and asks for another chance, you could’ve launched a campaign to engage the tier-one social media pros to ask for a Twitter strategy (because obviously your in-house public relations department or unsavvy agency did not help you in this regard).
Well, hindsight is always 20-20, right? And, no one asked me, so I’ll just keep my 26-years-in-public-relations-counsel to myself.
Spot on Jayme. Frito-Lay could have even preempted the entire issue by poking fun of the noisy bag at the outset with some creative, viral-ready video, copy etc. that would have gotten people onboard with the bag, acknowledging the extra noise but accepting it b/c of the positive environmental aspect of the packaging.
I rarely get fired up about such things, but this issue is an embarrassment. Seriously, we can’t deal with some extra crinkling of a bag? Apparently a near economic depression brought on by greed and excess has done little to get us thinking beyond ourselves. Too bad.
You say that so well. In the short history of my blog, I poke jest at many of these large corporations for their collective failures. Why? Where are the agencies and counselors to advise them differently prior to the fail? What an extreme waste of money for diapers, potato chips, chocolate bars, beer, soft drinks, and the like. You’re right, “too sad, bad.”
And, P.S., REALLY love that you stopped by with your intelligent counsel, Michelle!
Love your idea Michelle. If they had made the noise the funny focus of their marketing efforts, perhaps they would had had better success.
My first reaction to reading Jayme’s post was – we chose not to do right for the environment because of NOISE? I had to re-read because I was so distracted.
This noisy bag is a PR person’s goldmine! Imagine giving the empty bags to K-1 music programs with other “non-instruments” to teach how we can make non-conventional music! What about making Sun Chips the butt of other Frito-Lay chips’ jokes on YouTube and launching the campaign for “The chip bag with NOISE,” something like panache. It would’ve been funny to create a campaign about opening Sun Chips in church; hilarious.
This is truly unbelievable. But, I guess sales dictates the ultimate decision, eh? Thanks for popping in.
YES!!!!! I love your ideas Jayme! Laughing so hard at my desk.
What Would Jayme Do – at this point, would she pull the bag, or would she immediately launch a new campaign to make fun of the bag?
You know me WAYYY too well, Jenn! Join me on that campaign!
Michelle and Jayme, you have some great, creative ideas for turning negatives into positives. I remember when I first bought that bag, someone warned me about the noise. Yes it’s loud but you get over it.
Jayme, I gotta agree with you on the research fail across the board. Someone somewhere decided that 1) environmentally friendly packaging was important and 2) it was important enough to make part of the marketing promotion. And yet.. like Jenn I wonder that no one noticed how loud the bag was, or did a localized test before investing in new packaging?
It’s the hindsight issue… offensive burger joint commercials (BK, Carl’s, etc.) or sexist douche ads (Summer’s Eve) or silly iPhone aps (Amp) .. no one thought to see if this was objectionable to those outside or even inside the target market BEFORE the campaign launched? “Oops we didn’t see the problem” is just bad. FWIW.
Davina, where are all the experts in the agencies or internal departments? Why are we professionals watching these debacles and laughing while shaking our heads in disbelief? There’s a serious problem in corporate America today with products that fail to meet perspective/standards/needs of the consuming public.
Is social media corporate America’s worst enemy? Certainly, if they continue to ignore its power until AFTER the product is launched. Perhaps the lesson here becomes “traditional market research no longer fits the bill in the current social media environment.”
You bring some great examples of other products, advertising and failures of research. Maybe all of us should pitch some business to these companies to help them strategize on how to loop in social media before and during launch. Too bad Frito-Lay didn’t make that move before pulling a major packaging introduction.
(the replies only go so deep so I am having to start a new comment)
I think the Sun Chips bag could be a great way to deal with awkward situations such as the family holiday dinner. Someone asks the new girlfriend an embarrassing question? Open a bag of Sun Chips! Need to let one rip? Rip open a bag of Sun Chips instead!
You’re killing me. ROTFLMAO (dang I hate texting speak, but that fits here). How about the, ahem, chica who coughs a bit much?
OMG amazing. Every time I cough in a meeting or a con call I could just rip open that bag. “What was that?” “Just eating some Sun Chips, ma’am.”
OK, I’m now dead. You just killed me with laughter. You rock, Lady!
I’m sorry. I’d love to join the conversation, but I can’t hear you over my Sun Chips bag!
Yet one more clear example of a company attempting to hop onto the hot “green” train, only to end up wasting even more resources than if they had done nothing at all. Worse of all, the re-call spurred by consumer dissatisfaction could have been prevented before stocking the shelves with new product!
Isn’t it fascinating, Jillian? You’re so right — this corporate giant failed at the most basic. It astonishes me and makes me wonder how profitability and product pricing are affected by these ridiculous mistakes. Thanks so much for popping in here!
Honestly, I think kids would have loved these bags…the noisier the better. Can you just image school lunchrooms? Agree with another commenter, poking fun of the noise would have been a much better approach.
Thanks, Jackie! Putting these in K-1 schools along with other “non-traditional instruments” would’ve been a perfect teaching experience! I am really shocked at the failure of the entire product, marketing, PR, digital, agency and whomever else had a hand teams. Appreciate your comment here!
Thank you for writing about this very important issue. You might want to check out this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FwybnTQ30 that I saw on the GreenopolisTV YouTube channel. Maybe you can help out with the issue discussed there. Thanks!
Hello, “Recycle!” Thanks for stopping in here with your video suggestion. I watched it, and it’s interesting that more people have more ideas about this bag than how to solve downtown economic woes. While I don’t believe this is a publicity stunt by Frito-Lay, it’s coming pretty darn close, right? Shades of the Gap logo!
Tasty?