Focus on Innovation and Digital marketing in Campbell Soup Co. Turnaround

This week in “Turnaround Management” elective course, the professor talked about role in innovation in turnaround of established companies. One visible example of innovation in recent times is Digital Marketing efforts at The Campbell Soup Co.

CEO Denise Morrison has made digital media a top priority at the company since taking over about a year ago. During a recent presentation to financial analysts, she acknowledged that "in many respects, [consumers] are ahead of us" and "food companies and retailers are just beginning to understand the power of digital marketing."

Morrison is investing in innovation, online platforms and digital marketing to attract new consumers. Last year the soup company launched Go Soup, a new line of exotic-flavored soups packaged in pouches rather than cans to target the millennial generation. In December, they started marketing the new products on platforms like Spotify, Buzzfeed, the Angry Birds game, Facebook and Twitter.

Campbell Soup Co. has hired its first digital marketing and social-media director, Adam Kmiec, to lead and manage of marketing and advertising in mobile and emerging media

CIO Joseph Spagnoletti is supporting Campbell CEO Denise Morrison’s plan to bring back sustainable profits and sales growth to the company, which competes with General Mills Inc. Kellogg Co. and others. To accelerate sales in 2013, Ms. Morrison has tasked Mr. Spagnoletti and the company’s marketing team with building digital technology services that appeal to a younger generation of consumers accustomed to accessing content from mobile devices. Some examples of the technology efforts Mr. Spagnoletti is using to support Campbell’s business transformation are:

·         Matching carefully selected applications with functions such as order fulfillment, trucking, and product quality managment.

·         Matching the right apps to the right services

·         Supporting these efforts with more than 100 cloud services.

·         Using Fieldglass Inc., a crowdsourcing tool for vendor management,

·         Using Field Agent LLC, a crowdsourcing sales tool

·         Using a web app from Apptio Corp. to create an IT bill of materials for each service

·         Participating in a beta test with Amazon’s Fresh grocery service, in which Campbell’s recipes are recommended online to customers

·         Planning to use predictive software to analyze consumer interaction with digital services and shopper & consumer insights areas

·         Fostering an “open innovation” initiative among partners to crowdsource IT ideas

Campbell is boosting its digital budget more than 40% in the latest fiscal year. The hike comes even as Campbell trims its overall marketing spending. This fall, digital will play a key role supporting two big product launches: Campbell's Go soup in microwavable pouches and Campbell's Skillet Sauces. "You're going to see things that you probably would never have imagined coming from Campbell's," Mr. Kmiec said, alluding to planned partnerships with BuzzFeed among others.

References:

The Campbell Soup Turnaround Is Heating Up. Will It Sizzle Or Fizzle Out?

Campbell Soup Co. Boosts Digital Efforts

Campbell’s CIO Uses IT To Soup Up Sales