gardein digital branding project
TRANSCRIPT
RYAN DOYLEDEC 2015
● Brand History● Personal Connection to Brand● Digital Scope
○ Website○ Email○ Display Ads○ Social Media
■ Facebook■ Twitter■ YouTube
● Digital Integration○ Marketing With Meaning
● Recommendations
Brand History Personal Connection
Digital Scope
Social Media Email Integrated Media
Recommendations
Website
Facebook Twitter
YouTubeLanding Page
Content
Stats
Start here or click on the tabs below for direct access
Instagram & YouTube
The biggest threat to the future of America’s well being is our collective eating habits. Throughout the 20th century big business has continued to profit off slowly killing the million of citizens by selling addictive processed food with large amounts of fat and sugar filled products. The harmful effects of our diet is no longer invisible. We are becoming a disease riddled culture due to our over indulgence in meat and quick, unhealthy food options. What does this mean for us? Future Health Care costs to combat these diseases is going to be extremely high and continue to rise. In 2010 it was reported that $190.2 Billion dollars of medical spending in the US was spent directly on combating obesity related illnesses. Additionally, our longevity is declining as well and future generations will suffer due to our current business practices. It all starts by changing the companies that produce our food and shifting to a culture that does not believe that there is love packed into a McDonalds cheeseburger.
This is why I chose gardein. They are a company that makes the great tasting foods we know and love but are derived from plants. Plants that enrich our bodies and our natural environment by consuming CO2 and releasing Oxygen into our environment, contrary to the pollution animals cause via methane and the tremendous amount of resources it takes to keep them alive. But let’s get this straight. I don’t want everyone to completely stop eating meat. Because that is never going to happen. However, if we all try our best to significantly cut back and seek out healthier alternatives like gardein, then I can have hope that someday my children will live happy, healthy lives on this beautiful planet.
Personal Connection
Sources: 1. Time 2. CDC
gardein, a leading producer of frozen plant based protein packed meals, was brought to life about 25 years ago by Yves Potvin. Their dedication to innovation and a health conscious lifestyle has continued to spur their growth throughout the years. Meat-free protein options are no longer limited to cardboard tasting veggie patties. Thanks to gardein, consumers now have access to many options including golden fishless filets, vegan holiday roasts and mini crabless cakes. Through years of R & D gardein has crafted a name for itself in the frozen alternative meats section and the CEO reports that last year, 75% of the growth in this section was from their company alone. The company hopes to reach mouths throughout the world by prioritizing health, taste and convenience.
Overall, gardein has a competitive digital presence within their segment. Their website and social media sites . The brand’s current story explains how gardein provides moms with a healthy alternative to quickly feed their children. However, this story is only directly shown in the commercials on their YouTube page. Although gardein is leading its way in their category, their overall branding
Brand History & Digital Summary
Source
gardein.com
The website for gardein protein is the central hub of the company’s owned media. Like most food companies, gardein does not sell their products directly on their website. Additionally, the need for the inventory to be frozen would make selling their product on their site a lofty challenge. As a result, their website serves as a crucial tool to inform, engage and excite customers about their products. The company does so by fostering a community that is inspired by their product offerings.
This graph shows that nearly half of all traffic to gardein.com is via search.
The Website
similarweb.com
gardein.com Statistical Summary
similarweb.com
Landing Page
After landing on gardein.com you are immediately greeted with a large image slider, a straightforward menu, an introduction to the company and a product locator. These featured headings should be what gardein wants visitors to remember most about their company. For example, the screenshot on the right is targeted for visitors to recall gardein's wish for visitors to have a great dinner tonight via their dollar off promotion.
The imagery on the landing page has been continually updated throughout the semester, such as when the holiday season was
Website
fast approaching. The featured image on their slider included their signature offerings for the season. However, the slider at times (early December) would link to a nonexistent page. Previously the holiday themed slider linked to a section of holiday themed recipes. However, it was surprising to land there because the slider image did not even mention that the holiday recipes existed.
Below the fold of the home page there are featured recipes, links to their blog page and Instagram pages and a submission form to receive updates and special offers. These are important features that inform consumers how to use their products and how they can connect to the gardein community. Although the homepage is filled with a great deal of content, the design has made it visually appealing and it does not feel overwhelming at all.
In today’s digital landscape it is crucial for gardein to use their brand’s authority to inform website visitors by providing relevant information for them. Additionally, gardein surprises and delights visitors with optimized content. It is clear that gardein has considered the multiple personas that could be visiting their site and have designed their site accordingly. Below are specific site assets that add value to those who request to visit their page.
Food Service
Providing Meaningful Content
Product Info
From the products tab one can easily navigate through the selection of meatless products that gardein offers, sorted by the product category. Individual product pages highlight nutritional information, ingredients and displays links to recipes that feature the product.
Food Service
gardein also distributes their products to food service vendors ranging from cafeterias in large companies and colleges to restaurant chains. To prioritize this aspect of their business, gardein features a Food Services menu tab for anyone who may be looking to incorporate gardein to their business.
Blog
Since September 3rd, gardein has posted 14 blog posts. The posts focus on a variety of topics such as healthy living, gardein sponsored events, featured user submitted Instagram posts and seasonal recipes. Noticeably, the blog posts do not have sharing buttons and do not allow for comments.
Recipes
Another valuable asset within the gardein site is the selection of recipes sorted by meal type. This on-brand tactic is used to help inspire consumers to try their products in new ways and help families make a ever growing variety of healthy, quick meals.
SEO
frozen vegan meals2nd page - 1st result(Noticeably, the first page of results features google’s People also ask feature. Although gardein’s link is not included on the first page of results.)
vegan chicken 1st page - 1st result
vegan meat 2nd page - 6th result after ads
meatless meat 1st page - 3rd result (Beyond Meat was 1st)
vegan meat recipes 2nd page - 2nd result
There is certainly opportunity for gardein to improve their SEO. After playing with many different word combinations including the ones above, it became clear that their result placement
After subscribing, I received an email every week. There was never a consistent day that the newsletter was sent out, but their emails came on Monday and Tuesday 73% of the time. Additionally the emails were always sent in the window from noon to 2:30 pm. Optimizing the delivery time is important for the brand as they hope to find their place within subscribers’ busy lives.
The strategic use of email is a key asset that gardein uses to inform and intrigue consumers who decide to opt in on their website. At the bottom of the home page you will find their newsletter subscription form which uses clever copy to inspire each site visitor to opt in.
Within the emails, content can range from a single image announcement to an complete newsletter that highlights multiple aspects of the company's current activities and accomplishments. However, like the holiday slider featured on the home page, I found that there are occasional issues with copy decisions in their images. The image to the right is promoting a recent giveaway. When readers view this image they are most likely to perceive and recall a cookbook giveaway. However, written in tiny print below the image is details to the giveaway mentioning it also includes for a trip to LA , a year supply of gardein, and two signed copies of Chef Tal’s cookbook. These are some awesome giveaways! I have a hard time understanding why they are not the focus here.
The gardein brand successfully growing on all of their accounts and finding their voice online by engaging their audience. Overall, social accounts account for 6.5% of traffic to their site. Throughout my social media review there are comparisons to key competitors such as Beyond Meat and Morningstar Farms.
Social Media
Breakdown of Social Media Leads to gardein.com
October Data
November Data
similarweb.com
no brand milestones
SocialBakers
The gardein Facebook page portrays a consistent brand image. Since 2009 when the company began posting Facebook, their following has grown a total of 137,888 fans and since August 26th their following has grown by 24.5%. The growth in followers is due to the company consistently posting quality eye catching content and influencing their audience to engage with them such as in their 12 Days of gardein campaign. Their Facebook page is also equipped with apps found on the website like the product locator and newsletter form. The manager of their page does a great job responding to Facebook users that post on their page and send directly messages. In the about section of their page, Facebook reports that the average response time is under and hour. On their wall, those who have trouble or have questions are also promptly responded to but their manager also makes sure to engage with those who send positive remarks as well. The image to the right displays a response that generates a meaningful brand experience.
Socialbakers.com
Daily average: + 21 followers, + 5 tweets, 0 followingDaily average: + 27 followers, + 5 tweets, 0 following
The gardein twitter page has continued to grow new followership steadily throughout the semester. On the feed you will find a collection of retweets of fan generated media which helps foster a community of followers that can actively take ownership in their brand. Building these relationships strengthen the bond between follower and brand.
Below is a comparison of the Beyond Meat and gardein twitter accounts. The graphs displays how often each brand tweets per day and the growth of their followers. Interestingly, the Beyond Meat has implemented a consistent tweeting schedule while the gardein page is quite volatile. Tweets per day ranged from 0 to 25 tweets per day.
Beyond Meat gardein
Instagram & YouTubeOn Instagram gardein posts multiple times throughout the week. Their collection of photos incorporate user generated photos, meal inspiration and general gardein news. However, the account is lacking far behind the Beyond Meat account. The gardein account has nearly 63% less followers than their rival company. After examining each account it became clear that while Beyond Meat leverages their account to share, (what the internets calls) food porn, the gardein account often shares branded media and feel like digital display ads than an entertaining Instagram account.
The gardein YouTube page another account that lacks an authentic message and fails to provides transparency for the brand. Firstly, the company’s videos prohibit comments. Doing so fails to engage the community and the ability for viewers to post feedback that could help direct future videos. The content itself is also lacking in quality. A recent video that was posted
gardein and their key competitors are all active on Pinterest and and share similar follower counts. The Pinterest page helped refer 3% more social media referrals to their webpage.
Visual MediaWhy should gardein consider refreshing and implementing new practices for their visual content.
Source
On November 18th, gardein posted on their facebook to inform their fans of an upcoming live stream event with The Healthy Voyager and gardein’s executive chef to be aired on December 9th. Following this on November 25th, the same notification was sent via their email list. Unfortunately, I discovered inconsistent messaging between the Facebook post and the email.
On facebook the post explains that the event will be streamed live via The Healthy Voyager’s Periscope account. The email fails to explain the extent of the event and simply explains it as a “Facebook Chat” between the two hosts. In addition, the email imagery links to the gardein holiday recipes page. This does not allow for email readers to discover more details about the event or links to learn more about The Healthy Voyager.
Other Mediums
Integrated MediaThe digital presence of gardein is consistent to the point where it become a fault. While it is important to use a consistent voice to tell and consistent story, social media accounts and emails become boring when they are all saying and show they same thing over and over again.
Marketing With Meaning
gardein prides itself on being a healthy alternative for consumers who can do good for themselves, the environment and animals just by choosing to purchase their product. However, this pride is often only reflected in their social bios. Alternatively, the narrative that is being told is that of a mom needing a quick and healthy meal for her kids. As if no one has ever done that before.
What they have done to promote the pride their company was founded on, is seen to the right. This is a minimal effort that needs to be expanded upon. An engaging story can help connect to their audience’s desires and it will help aid their digital branding efforts because humans are wired to recall stories rather than facts.
Recommendations● Improve content on all visual media accounts
○ Instagram: Provide followers with more authentic and eye catching images that give the brand a personal touch.
○ YouTube: Their video production needs a lot of work. Potentially hiring a new video production team and making videos like that of Tastemade could seriously make an impact on this site.
○ Pinterest: Overall, the brand needs to post more and get ahead of their competition. If they choose to do so they could seek out Ahalogy to promote their pins.
● Refine their imagery on the website, social media and email
○ Over integrated visuals become boring. Additionally, I witnessed multiple copy errors that needed to be fixed. The design team should be paying more attention to the objective of every image.
● Improve Brand Storytelling
○ Instead of providing my own campaign idea, I would like to recommend that the company hire a firm to perform empathetic research on their customers to dig into their hearts and minds. Doing ethnographies and in-depth interviews will enable them to find a key insight to create a moving story.