Innovative marketing partnership re-launches classic, homemade American
snack
NEW YORK, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- This entertaining season, consumers
will take a new look at a family favorite recipe that's been a tradition in
America's kitchens for decades. Chex(R) Cereal is proud to introduce a new
marketing platform for its much-loved homemade Chex Party Mix that will
contemporize the brand and make it relevant for today's consumer.
With an innovative partnership with Reader's Digest Association (RDA)
Food and Entertaining Affinity Integrated Sales and Marketing, Chex Cereal
will debut an integrated campaign to re-engage families with this classic
American snack mix through various touch points encompassing print, online,
broadcast, in-store, experiential and public relations.
"More than ever before, consumers are seeking simple, affordable, yet
delicious snacking solutions they can make at home," said Rohan Thakur,
marketing manager for Chex Cereal. "This transformation will enable
consumers to enjoy the familiar irresistible aroma and crunch of Party Mix
with simpler microwave prep in 15 minutes and a delicious breadth of five
crowd-pleasing recipes."
A Multi-faceted Makeover
As a part of this new campaign, Chex Cereal debuts a complete makeover
of this traditional holiday snack, including new packaging and a new
advertising campaign. The exciting communication centers on highlighting
five 15-minute microwavable Chex Party Mix recipes, along with the search
for America's Favorite Chex Party Mix Recipe through an online sweepstakes.
All communications will demonstrate the ease of homemade preparation and
feature updated imagery, which sparks the tagline, "Five Recipes. Fifteen
minutes. Lots of wows!"
"Partnering with RDA was an obvious choice," said Thakur. "Their
unprecedented reach allows us to showcase these recipes to a wide variety
of consumers. In addition, they have a unique connection to help us share a
variety of entertaining ideas with a community of entertaining enthusiasts,
through their user-generated platforms."
The new Chex Party Mix campaign has been strategically designed to
reach and engage consumers during the hectic holiday season -- a time when
media fragmentation and saturation are most pronounced. The Chex campaign
is the first of its kind to tap all of Food & Entertaining @RDA's consumer
touch points, leveraging the company's iconic media properties and customer
database. The effort leverages presence in Every Day with Rachael Ray and
Taste of Home magazines, sponsorship of the Taste of Home Cooking Schools,
online videos and recipe exchange integration on AllRecipes.com -- the
country's No. 1 food-based social network.
RDA and Chex are also teaming with Katie Lee Joel, a lifestyle cooking
expert and author of The Comfort Table, an entertaining and recipe book, to
share a fresh take on these contemporary, homemade and microwavable recipes
with an emphasis on family, simplicity and taste. Video featuring Joel's
recipe demonstrations and entertaining tips can be seen at
http://www.Chex.com/Recipes starting September 15. Joel will be featured in
public relations efforts that include online, radio, broadcast and print
outreach to help promote the search for America's Favorite Chex Party Mix
Recipe. Joel will announce the winning recipe at an event in New York City.
"This program demonstrates a bold new direction for the Chex re-launch
by leveraging the powerful Food & Entertaining assets of RDA to reach
highly engaged food enthusiasts," said Suzanne M. Grimes, president, Food &
Entertaining @RDA. "Together we created a strategic, customized solution
rooted in contemporary conversation marketing that will energize the brand
at retail and deliver meaningful results."
About Chex
The Original Chex Party Mix has been a tradition since 1955 when the
wife of a Ralston Purina executive brought the treat to a holiday
gathering. It has been a staple snack ever since. In addition to the five
microwavable recipes, there are more than 70 unique Chex Party Mix recipes
available on the Chex Web site at http://www.chex.com. Chex Party Mix can
be made with all varieties of Chex Cereal including Rice Chex (now
gluten-free), Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, Multi-Bran Chex, Honey Nut Chex,
Chocolate Chex and Strawberry Chex.
About General Mills
One of the world's leading food companies, General Mills operates in
over 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including
Cheerios, Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green
Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., General Mills had FY2008
global net sales of US $14.9 billion, including the company's $1.2 billion
proportionate share of joint venture net sales.
About the Reader's Digest Association's Food & Entertaining Affinity
Food & Entertaining @RDA is the first and only media community designed
to unify the voices and experiences of everyday cooks and home
entertainers. Food & Entertaining @RDA encompasses: Allrecipes.com, the
largest social networking company in the food and entertaining category;
Every Day with Rachael Ray -- one of the fastest growing magazines in
history that spawned a new food-lifestyle category; Taste of Home -- the
largest food magazine in America -- and its portfolio of assets including
print, online, experiential and marketing.
SOURCE Reader's Digest Association's Food & Entertaining Affinity
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Related links:
http://www.rd.com
http://www.chex.com http://www.Chex.com/Recipes
CONTACT:
Ellen Morgenstern of Readers Digest
Association, +1-914-244-7582,
Ellen_Morgenstern@ReadersDigest.com; or Kim Harbinson of General
Mills, +1-763-764-4830, Kim.Harbinson@genmills.com
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