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Kraft Launches Super Bowl Promotion for Velveeta - WSJ.com
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Thursday, January 29, 2009 As of 11:32 AM EST
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JANUARY 29, 2009, 11:32 A.M. ET
Velveeta Gets Ready to Party
Thousands Apply to Host Special Super Bowl Gatherings
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By JULIE JARGON
On Sunday, thousands of women across the country are expected to welcome friends to their
homes not just to watch the Super Bowl, but to dip into bowls of Velveeta ultimate queso dip.
For snack-food manufacturers, including Velveeta maker Kraft Foods, there's no bigger day than
the day of the big game, when Americans eat 46% more chips than on a typical Sunday,
according to market researcher NPD Group.
Trying to get more consumers to dip their
chips into Velveeta, Kraft turned to House
Party Inc., an Irvington, N.Y., marketing firm
whose specialty is setting up parties to
promote clients' products.
Using its database, House Party emailed
Internet-savvy women ages 25 to 50,
Velveeta's target market, offering them the
Kraft Foods
Velveeta, above, sells for an average $3.99 for a
two-pound loaf. Below, an emblem provided by Kraft
for its hostesses to use on their blogs or Facebook
pages.
chance to host a game-day party featuring
Velveeta. Both House Party and Kraft also
promoted the offer on their Web sites. More
than 15,000 women applied, and 2,500
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The hostesses, who won't be paid for their
services, get "party packs" containing a
32-ounce package of Velveeta, take-home
plastic Velveeta storage containers for 16
guests, a recipe for chili con queso dip -along with the requisite cans of diced
tomatoes and green chilies -- a spinach dip
recipe, a dip bowl, a couple of bags of Ritz
toasted chips, snack-bag clips, Velveeta
Kraft Foods
coupons, Kool-Aid and cups. House Party
said it couldn't estimate the value of the party
packs.
"We don't attend the parties; doing that would hamper the authentic nature of it," says House
Party Chief Executive Kitty Kolding. "We give the hosts the materials, but very much let them
create the kind of party they want to create."
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Of course, Kraft and House Party hope that the menu will showcase Velveeta, and that hosts
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and their guests, after sampling the product, will serve it regularly at home, as well as talk up its
taste. "The game-day parties on Feb. 1 will allow us to reach thousands of consumers while
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2/1/09 1:21 PM
Kraft Launches Super Bowl Promotion for Velveeta - WSJ.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123318397635126261.html?mo...
they're in the moment of eating the queso dip," says Greg Hughes, a marketing director in
Kraft's cheese business.
Video
Katherine Murray, 28 years old, says she will use the recipes House Party provided, but will add
her own twist. "I'll add a little hot sauce to the spinach dip ," says the stay-at-home mother from
Raleigh, N.C. "I've liked Velveeta for a long time. I grew up eating cheese dip made with it."
Read More
Get regular updates on the competition among
athletes and marketers alike in the Journal's
Super Bowl blog.
Velveeta, which is classified as a
"pasteurized prepared cheese product," is
made by blending natural cheeses with other
dairy ingredients and emulsifying salts. The
end result is a product that "melts so nicely
and evenly," says Ms. Murray, who uses it in a chicken casserole.
Kraft doesn't break out sales of Velveeta, but Mr. Hughes says sales have declined in recent
years in the "processed cheese loaf" category, and that Velveeta's marketing efforts are
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After using house parties to promote its Philadelphia cream cheese and Grey Poupon mustard
Velveeta Gets Ready to Party
50% in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl," Mr. Hughes says.
The Velveeta push is designed to appeal to budget-conscious consumers. With an average
0:42
3:42
designed to make sure "Velveeta is relevant to people today."
last year, Kraft is using the same approach for Velveeta because "Velveeta ultimate queso dip is
a fixture at holiday parties and football parties, in particular. We see Velveeta sales increase
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retail price of $3.99 for a two-pound loaf, "you can buy twice as much Velveeta as cheddar for
the same price," says Mr. Hughes.
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When House Party publicized the chance to host a Velveeta party on its Web site, Angilyn
Mathews, a stay-at-home mother of five who lives in South Jordan, Utah, says she knew she
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had to apply. She says she has been using Velveeta to make chimichangas since her sister got
the recipe in her junior-high home economics class 15 years ago. "It's really easy. You just roll
up chicken, salsa and Velveeta in a flour tortilla and deep fry it," says the 33-year-old Ms.
Mathews.
"It's like an honor to get picked for the party," she says. "When we got the party pack with all the
fun things inside, it was like Christmas."
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