• by Larissa Faw , August 26, 2016

Otis Spunkmeyer is launching its first advertising campaign to raise awareness for the snack brand's expansion into the retail space.

"The Otis Spunkmeyer brand has been around a long time and most people know us through fund-raising and catalog sales," says Charice Grace, brand manager, Otis Spunkmeyer. "This is the first time we have created retail foods for our cookies and snack cakes." 

Timed to coincide with the back-to-school shopping season, the "Snack Aisle Snackdown" campaign serves as a call-to-action to test Otis Spunkmeyer foods against competing products.

Working with agencies Nail and Matter Communications, the ad uses real people selected while grocery shopping to state their preferred snack, ending with the hashtag #OtisSnackdown. The spot is also backed up with a national taste test that involved 199 people who preferred Otis products two to one to competitors. 

The campaign's tagline "only for everyone" enforces the notion that the brand’s food products are meant for all ages, while the brand’s “no funky stuff” line is designed to educate buyers that the food is made without artificial colors/flavors, high fructose corn syrup, or partially hydrogenated oils.

This message is particularly relevant for the brand's target buyer: moms.  "One mom has a lot of purchasing power, with a child, spouse, parent, or maybe an in-law all living together," says Grace. 

The company is using a strategic rollout to help spike enthusiasm.

Earlier this summer, Otis Spunkmeyer launched an experiential tour traveling to stores and baseball games in select markets. Now, nine key markets -- Boston, Chicago, Tampa-St. Pete, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Charlotte, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City -- are targeted with additional food sampling, free-standing inserts in Sunday newspapers and TV advertisements. Digital components and social media are running nationally.