A Lesson in Brand Building

Situation

By early 2003, the newly formed Mastertaste—a Kerry Group company that develops and manufactures food and beverage flavors—had acquired eight other companies. The result was a remarkably capable organization obscured by a cloud of competing brand identities.

Marketing Challenge

Mastertaste knew it needed to stake its claim in the marketplace. To do that it had to develop a sustainable branding campaign that would define Mastertaste for its external and internal audiences.

Solution

Mastertaste’s prevailing personality trait is a deep concern for its customers’ success. Whereas many of its competitors are seen as detached food scientists, Mastertaste is every bit as passionate about its customers as it is about flavors. This positioning led to a new tagline: “Your success, our passion.”

The next step was to equip Mastertaste’s sales reps with effective collateral. “Culinary mnemonics” such as lemon wedges, chocolate chip cookies and chicken nuggets were combined with elegant line drawings of a human face.

These themes and images were formed into a collateral system that included a corporate carrier piece, a Mastertaste overview brochure and three “category” brochures—one each for sweet, savory and beverage flavors. The copy was quirky but informative, a tone that helped capture the personality of the Mastertaste brand.

At the Institute of Food Technologists Food EXPO (IFT), a special occasion at Williams-Sonoma Chicago was planned featuring world-renowned culinary chef Rick Bayless. To announce the event’s importance, dimensional mailers were created featuring a highly tasteful chef’s apron. Inside the apron’s pocket was a sophisticated invitation carrying graphics and messaging that integrated seamlessly with the trade show booth.

Outcome

The affair was a smashing success that took Mastertaste’s branding effort to its appetizing limits. Not only did 100 people attend—these were the right 100 people.

IFT attendees were sent a post-show direct mail piece that included a Mastertaste napkin imprinted with faux food stains. Each stain represented a food item attendees might have sampled at the Mastertaste booth. Captions next to the stains reminded recipients of the fantastic flavors (example: “Passion fruit margarita—muy caliente!”). On the back, copy prompted readers to contact Mastertaste for more information about using flavors to capitalize on coming flavor trends.

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