ConAgra combats delivery service popularity with social media cooking challenge
Consumer packaged goods brand ConAgra wants to make at-home cooking more palatable for millennials, who have a reputation for enjoying ordering out, by encouraging consumers to take a pledge to cook at home for an entire week.
ConAgra?s #GreatAmericanCookIn campaign is designed to entice millennials to save money while cooking for themselves, following a pledge to eat in for an entire week. The food brand is sharing recipes and how-tos on various social media platforms and is hoping consumers will join in on the conversation with photos of their own cooking, an activity that millennials are known for embracing.
"In an effort to help young adults learn to have fun in the kitchen and save money, ConAgra is hosting the #GreatAmericanCookIn Challenge, encouraging people to pledge to 'cook in'for one week during the month of May," said Erin Hulliberger, manager of brand communications at ConAgra. "People can pledge to participate by using #GreatAmericanCookIn on Twitter or Instagram.
"ConAgra will monitor the pledges and surprise select participants with a cooking in kit, complete with ConAgra ingredients, an apron and recipe book," she said. "In addition, program spokesperson Chef Catherine De Orio will be hosting a live Nomcast (in other words, a cooking demo on the new food site Nom.com) on May 25th at 3pm ET to share tips to successfully cook in for one full week."
Cooking up campaigns
Sharing pictures of food is nothing new for millennial social media users, and ConAgra is hoping to tap into that trend with its #GreatAmericanCookIn campaign. The food manufacturer is urging consumers to cook at home for an entire week using recipes that feature its products from its brands such as Hunt?s tomatoes, Egg Beaters, Pam, Rotel, Peter Pan Simply Ground Peanut Butter and Reddi-wip.
Leveraging various social media platforms for native experience such as Pinterest for recipes and Instagram for food-centric photos, ConAgra is targeting its millennial users through the platforms they go to most. For instance, a specialized board is featured on Pinterest with a series of salad recipes titled April Showers Bring May Salads.
Users are joining the challenge by making a pledge on social media using the hashtag #GreatAmericanCookIn, promising to cook at home for an entire week during this month. Also featured in the campaign are a series of recipes showcased on its recipe content site, Forkful.com, which is mobile-optimized.
ConAgra is also sharing content for tips and tricks as a part of the campaign. For instance, the brand has compiled a list of different ways to use its Hunt?s tomatoes.
Social media specialties
Similarly, Jeep created a social media dialogue with fans through a microsite, user-generated content and a celebrity spokeswoman to celebrate its 75th anniversary and solidify a positive, uplifting image (see more).
Also, B&G Foods' Ortega taco shell brand targeted local Kroger and Walmart shoppers, while valuing social media cross-promotion, in a new campaign exclusive to Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest that pairs recipes with video and GIFs (see more).
"The goal of the #GreatAmericanCookIn is to sharpen peoples? cooking skills and overall confidence and creativity in the kitchen using ConAgra?s recipe brands, including Hunt?s, Egg Beaters, PAM, ROTEL, Reddi-wip and Simply Ground, the newest Peter Pan Peanut Butter," Ms. Hulliberger said.