Weber Sauces, Seasonings, Rubs & Marinades
B2C & B2B l B2B Expands Retail Distribution, B2C Increases Consumer Trial, Sales Up ⇧ 12% YOY
Background
The U.S. market for sauces and seasonings was mature, yet dynamic and competitive, with new ethnic, fair-trade, private label, premium, and organic products appearing on retail store shelves frequently.
When I came aboard, Weber’s young, newer line of branded seasonings, sauces, rubs and marinades faced an uphill battle against well-established, deep-pocketed competitors which dominated key brand, retail and sales metrics.
My Role
Coach Player I was strategic lead responsible for supervising and coaching direct reports and junior colleagues, supporting and leading a cross-functional team, guiding and developing research, insight and campaign strategy, and nurturing and supervising campaign development, production, implementation, measurement, reporting and optimization across multiple channels.
Research, Analysis & Insight
To better understand Webers’ challenges, we analyzed the category, competitors, customers and the Company, including its products, services, performance, key personnel and brands.
Weber BBQ Sauces
Then we dug further, taking a classic Segmentation / Targeting / Positioning (STP) approach: Segmentation to divide the market into distinct customer groups based on demographics, psychographics and behaviors, allowing for a more accurate and thorough understanding of customer needs, perceptions and motivations; Targeting to select the most attractive segment(s) on which to focus; and Positioning to confirm the ideal product classification and craft a value proposition to maximize relevance, distinction and attraction.
Segmentation Available research revealed three key segments of grillers. On average each segment was similar in age, 25-54, included females but skewed male, and lived primarily in the Southeast, South and Southwest where summers were longer. The real differences appeared in how confident they felt about grilling, their openness to experimentation, and grilling frequency.
Casual Grillers Grill about once a month, feel mildly anxious about their ability to grill “successfully”
Grilling Enthusiasts Grill about 3-4 times per month, a bit more sure of themselves than Casual Grillers
Grill Masters Grill frequently, 4 times per month or more, especially on weekends, confident in their grilling skills and abilities
Despite their similarities and differences, all three segments shared an obvious but important desire: each wanted to enhance the flavor of their grilled food.
Weber Marinades
This gave us a way in — Weber’s brand heritage in grilling meant Weber could credibly claim enhancing and delivering delicious grilled flavor.
This simple truth meant we could credibly extend Weber’s legacy of delicious grilled food to deliciously flavored grilled food.
Targeting While continuing to target heavy-users — “Grill Masters” — we expanded the target to include medium and light “Casual Grillers” and “Enthusiasts” — who grilled less frequently but were just as interested in and open to trying new marinades, rubs, sauces and seasonings.
Positioning Internally we positioned Weber as
“Delicious grill flavor from the brand that perfected grilling.”
This shifted Weber from “grill brand” to culinary grill brand with the credibility and expertise to deliver deliciously flavored grilled food.
Development, Production & Implementation
Based on our research findings and insight, I lead the development, production and implementation of our campaign strategy for an integrated effort targeting the retail trade and consumers with an insight-driven approach and messaging.
I briefed our creative team, who developed a variety of concepts. Given limited budget and timing, we weren’t able to copy-test the concepts. So we reviewed competitor communications, and gathered feedback from our extended team — using a structured process with clear guidelines to ensure and capture useful, actionable feedback — to determine distinction within the category and choose the strongest.
Weber Seasonings
The strongest were the also the simplest, featuring mouth-watering photos of chicken, fish, burgers and steaks grilling with Weber sauces, seasonings, rubs and marinades. Communications elements included:
Consumer-focused display to increase awareness, especially around key grilling periods (e.g., summer holidays) and warm-weather weekends
Consumer-focused FSIs and point-of-purchase (POP) to increase in-store visibility and drive trial and repeat purchase
Retailer-focused sales collateral, shelf talkers and pitch decks to increase retail buy-in, shelf space and placement
Integrated branding across all B2C & B2B elements to ensure consistency and recognition
Measurement, Reporting and Optimization
Our work delivered measurable impact across retail and consumer measures including:
National retailer distribution growth achieving 80% of goal — slightly below target
Consumer sales growth of 15% YOY, surpassing goal
Total sales growth of 12% year-over-year, surpassing goal, across all Weber seasonings, sauces, rubs and marinades
Retail partners said the campaign was a key factor in ongoing support and distribution, with improved shelf positioning in multiple regions
Despite a crowded mature category, our work helped Weber extend its brand equity from grill to grocery aisle — and gave consumers a flavorful way to bring the Weber experience home.
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