Heinz Ketchup decides enough is enough

Since I was young, I have been continually annoyed that hot dogs and hot dogs buns don't come in the same size packages, you always have more hot dogs than buns. Although this is very annoying, I figured it would never change because it allows both companies to sell more of their products and make more money. However, I stumbled upon these articles regarding Heinz Ketchup demanding it be changed. 

"Hot dog wieners come in packs of 10. Hot dog buns come in packs of 8. WHY?! As the condiment that has been bringing foods together for over 150 years, we’ve decided enough is enough. That’s why we started the Heinz Hot Dog Pact. We’re calling on Big Bun and Big Wiener companies to find the answer to this hot dog packaging mismatch, once and for all. We need your signatures more than ever. Let’s change hot dog history together."

Heinz is well known for being a champion of condiments. They are a consumer-centric company that strives to bring people together and help create long-lasting memories for people around the world. They take pride in creating high-quality and responsibly manufactured products and caring about the environment and communities around them. 

"With dedication and passion, we provide consumers and their families with products they know, love, and trust. Quite simply, we help feed the world - and we do it deliciously."

Their website heinzhotdogpact states, "10 weiners. 10 buns. it's time.", along with a fun 1-minute video to show how people's lives have been affected by this inconvenience. 

This newest campaign is timed perfectly with National Hot Dog Month in July and just in time for the warm weather and backyard barbecues becoming more frequent after many have been vaccinated. 

"Heinz's Hot Dog Pact is the brand's latest attempt to engage consumers with quirky humor. This effort ties into a commonplace complaint about hot dogs typically coming in packages of 10 while buns typically number eight per pack, a gripe that is more top-of-mind as consumers ramp up grilling and start hosting outdoor gatherings as they return to pre-pandemic activities."

Their petition on change.org started just two weeks ago is nearing 23,000 signatures and continues to grow by the minute.

 

Heinz released this campaign in hopes of building on the growth they made during the pandemic. Of course, everyone was eating from home and no one wanted to cook, so they turned to easy fan favorites like hot dogs. During this time, the company saw its organic sales grow by about 2.5% during the first quarter of 2021, an 8.7% increase from their pre-pandemic sales in quarter one of 2019. 

It's hard to say if this petition will actually get any real changes when it comes to weiner and bun counts, but it sure does create a big buzz around Heinz Ketchup, and the petition allows them access to first-party data like names and email addresses of supporters. 

This marketing technique is unique because they aren't really marketing any of their products, or selling you something. Instead, they found something that would get people's attention and inserted themselves into a situation that doesn't really have to do with them at all. 

"The petition is a pretty ingenious viral marketing ad for Heinz, though, which is subtly advertising its brand and line of products in this Heinz Hot Dog Pact campaign - without really advertising them at all."

I think this approach was absolutely genius, they know it's something that bothers their consumers, and making a big deal out of it can go a long way toward increasing sales. If I were the brand manager, this idea would probably never have crossed my mind because as I previously stated, it doesn't obviously market Heinz's products the way we are used to seeing. I probably would've made a commercial with people barbecuing in their backyard that says something about getting back to normal or getting back to the way life should be, but I think this campaign is better.