“OREO” CASE STUDY RESPONSE FETCHES ME A PRIZE…..

“OREO” CASE STUDY RESPONSE FETCHES ME A PRIZE…..

IN BUSINESS TODAY (BT) ISSUE OF 31ST MARCH 2013,THERE WAS AN INTERESTING CASE STUDY ON ” OREO” TITLED “SMART COOKIE”.I LIKED IT AND HAD MAILED MY RESPONSE TO BT.THE LATEST ISSUE OF BT DATED 26TH MAY 2013 HAS ON ITS PAGE 104 PUBLISHED AN EDITED VERSION OF MY RESPONSE AND AWARDED ME A PRIZE -A BOOK BY TWO WELL KNOWN AUTHORS.WAITING TO RECEIVE MY PRIZE.READ ON….

MY RESPONSE TO OREO CASE STUDY IN BUSINESS TODAY OF 31ST MARCH 2013, SENT ON 28TH MARCH 2013.

The OREO case study (Business Today, March 31st 2013) was undoubtedly one of the best in recent times and it throws new light on marketing and brand management strategies of the company. However, had it added a few more insights specially about its name and its TLD strategy, I feel it would have connected more with the readers.

I had often wondered about the cookie’s queer name. So I did a little research to know how OREO got its name? The people at Nabisco aren’t quite sure. Some believe that the cookie’s name was taken from the French word for gold, “or” (the main color on early Oreo packages). Others claim the name stemmed from the shape of a hill-shaped test version; thus naming the cookie in Greek for mountain, “oreo.” Still others believe the name is a combination of taking the “re” from “cream” and placing it between the two “o”s in “chocolate” – making “o-re-o.” And still others believe that the cookie was named Oreo because it was short and easy to pronounce. Anyway, all said and done, it is a catchy name and if you pronounce it with breaks saying “O” “RE” “O”, it sounds as if you are calling some one’s attention in Hindi! (Hey You There)
I also found its “TLD” strategy very innovative. The sandwich biscuit, launched in early 2011 with its global ‘Twist, Lick, Dunk’ communication, had broken across various types of media, including television, print, outdoor, radio, and digital. The ritual referred to, is about twisting an OREO biscuit open, licking the vanilla cream, then dunking the biscuit in a glass of milk, before relishing it. The TV Commercial depicting a playful prank between a father and his son, centered upon the biscuit’s ‘twist-lick-dunk’ ritual, was enjoyable and hard-to-miss.

I also recall seeing novel advertising tactics to garner more mind-share. There was an outdoor campaign like the OREO biscuit packets mounted on bus shelters. A mobile van had also carried the ‘twist, lick, dunk’ communication, with a large fabricated glass of milk on the van where the biscuit could be seen moving up and down, making it seem as though it was being dunked into the glass. Such “out-of-the-box” and creative advertising has gelled well with the company’s goals and plans. I remember to have read somewhere that: (Quote) “Research points towards the insight that Indian mothers love to see their children bond with their fathers. It was also equally critical to establish the twist-lick-dunk ritual which the brand has owned for over 100 years, and uses across the globe consistently.”  (Unquote).True indeed!

I also recall that Robby Mathew, National Creative Director, Interface Communications, (the Agency behind the OREO campaigns) had said in a media report somewhere that: “The childlike delight of twisting, licking and dunking an OREO captures the simple pleasures, missing from our hectic lives. The ritual allows kids to be kids and parents to be kids, too.” I agree whole-heartedly with his views.

A BIG THANK YOU TO THE BT TEAM! I am shortly going to discuss this case study in my MBA class. I am sure the “smart cookies” ** in my class will enjoy it! Of course, it will be discussed while sampling a few tasty bites of OREO.

(**a smart cookie (American): someone who is clever and good at dealing with difficult situations. Example: ”If anyone can make this company succeed, it’s Broca – he’s one smart cookie.”)

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RESULTS OF THE RESPONSES TO THE ABOVE CASESTUDY HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF BUSINESS TODAY DATED 26TH MAY 2013 (Received my copy on 15th May 2013). A highly edited version of my response has been published on Page 104 with the usual title : “BEST OF THE LOT”

BT receives scores of responses to its case studies. Below is the best one on Oreo in the March 31, 2013 issue.

Smart cookie

J S Broca, Retired Chief Manager, Bank Of India, jsbroca@yahoo.com

The Oreo case study (Business Today, March 31st 2013) was undoubtedly one of the best in recent times and it throws new light on marketing and brand management strategies of the company. However, had it added a few more insights specially about its name and its Twist, Lick and Dunk (TLD) strategy, I feel it would have connected more with the readers. I had often wondered about the cookie’s name. The people at Nabisco aren’t quite sure. Some believe that the cookie’s name was taken from the French word for gold, “or” which was the main color on early Oreo packages. Others believe the name is a combination of “re” from “cream” and the two “O”s in chocolate – “O-re-o.” And still others believe that the cookie was named Oreo because it was short and easy to pronounce.

All said and done, it is a catchy name and if you pronounce it with breaks as “O” “RE” “O”, it sounds as if you are calling some one’s attention in Hindi! (Hey, You There). I also found its TLD strategy very innovative. The sandwich biscuit, launched in early 2011 with its global Twist, Lick and Dunk communication, had broken across various types of media, including television, print, outdoor, radio, and digital. The ritual is about twisting an Oreo cookie open, licking the vanilla cream, then dunking it in a glass of milk, before relishing it. The TV Commercial depicting a playful prank between a father and his son, centered upon the Twist Lick Dunk ritual, was enjoyable and hard-to-miss.

J S Broca wins copy of India Inside by Nirmalya Kumar and Phanish Puranam.

MORE …..by J S BROCA

The captioned book by the two well known authors has received rave reviews in the media. Details of the book:
India Inside. By Nirmalya Kumar & Phanish Puranam, Harvard Business Review Press. Pages: 177, Price: Rs 795/-