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Superhero Agency: kicking butt and taking names isn’t a job description—it’s a lifestyle.
We as Superheroes believe in jumping over the edge and living off the grid to develop the perfect campaign. “Play it safe,” isn’t a phrase we use; being daring is our second nature. Superhero Agency blends eccentric creative with untraditional ideas to create a lasting impression in the minds of your target market.
Think, your brand with superpowers. What makes us the right choice for your business? Our unwavering ability to devise tactical advertising campaigns with the right amount of POW! allows your brand to strike fear in the competition while being the idol of the masses.
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Contents The McIlhennys How The Star Is Made Current Positioning Desired Positioning Objectives of the Campaign Target Market Primary Research Secondary Research Tabasco won’t melt your face. Promise. Super senses Competition
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Frames of Reference Benefits and Appeals Points of Difference Barriers Additional Key Factors Mandatories Image Tone Look and Feel
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The McIlhennys The TABASCO chili sauce and products are made by McIllheny Company, a family-owned and operated company founded on Avery Island, Louisiana in 1868. Five generations have passed since Edmund McIllhenny first created the recipe for his famous pepper sauce, and the business is still run from the same place on Avery Island. The current president, Mr. Paul McIlhenny, is the sixth in the line of McIlhennys who hopes to continue the tradition set forth by his family 140 years ago.
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How The Star Is Made After 140 years, the recipe for TABASCO brand pepper sauce has changed very little. The main ingredient for the sauce is the Capsicum frutescens, a small pepper that is indigenous to regions of Mexico and Central America. These peppers are grown in Latin America, and are picked and shipped when they come to fruition. This is indicated by comparing the color of the pepper to a small wooden dowel, “le petit baton rouge,” which is painted with the preferred hue of TABASCO red. The peppers are then mashed and mixed with Avery Island salt and placed in white oak barrels. The barrels’ wooden tops are covered in Avery Island salt to protect the contents and aged for up to three years before it is bottled. McIllheny Company holds the second-oldest U.S. foodpatent for this famous pepper sauce.
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Current Positioning Currently, McIllhenny Company has positioned itself and the TABASCO brand part of tradition. This is evident in their most recent print ad campaign, which places past and present photos next to each other, depicting the growing and mashing process, TABASCO plant, and even the six generations of McIllhennys who have been a part of the company, accompanied by their campaign slogan of “don’t mess with a good thing.” They are aware of who they are historically, and have found strength in the traditions of the McIllhenny company. A second campaign being used features Mike Golic, sports radio personality and one half of ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” show, and features the slogan “So much more than hot.”
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Desired Positioning Although previous advertising campaigns have boasted the sauce’s history and unique, spicy flavor, Superhero Agency wishes to create an advertising campaign that emphasizes the ability of TABASCO to surpass it’s initial image as “insanely hot” and brand it as the perfect flavor additive. Tabasco is perfect. Just right.
We wish to position TABASCO brand pepper sauce as a product that is modern and composed of the perfect amount of spice.
Positioning Statement To Heat Seekers, TABASCO brand Original Pepper Sauce contains the degree of flavor that is just enough hot.
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Objectives of the Campaign ♦♦ Establish TABASCO as a product that has been created from tradition, but that is modern and has a flavorful future. ♦♦ Produce a successful campaign that communicates a cohesive message and resonates with the target market. ♦♦ Create a campaign that establishes a bond between consumers age 18-24 and the TABASCO brand.
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Target Market Demographics The target market for TABASCO is typically men ages 18 to 39 years of age. The new campaign will appeal to a larger target market and aims to reach potential global users in supermarkets and restaurants, regardless of race, age, or gender.
Psychographics Avid users of TABASCO pepper sauce are typically men and women ages 25- 45. Loyal consumers tend to put the sauce on everything, from pizza to sc rambled eggs, and use it for any occasion. It is often recognized as a symbol of extreme heat and manliness.
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Primary Research After interviewing people who fell within our target market description, Superhero Agency came up with the following key insights: ♦♦ Those who use TABASCO brand Pepper Sauce are loyal to the brand ♦♦ Some stray away from TABASCO use because they perceive it as extremely hot ♦♦ People who use TABASCO brand products typically use only one product of the family ♦♦ Younger users identify TABASCO with their edgier advertisements ♦♦ When asked about TABASCO brand products, the target market identifies only the Original Pepper Sauce among all the products McIllhenny Company offers
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Secondary Research Our secondary research of McIllhenny Company and the TABASCO brand revealed the following key insights: ♦♦ TABASCO owns 20-25% of the domestic market, and international sales comprise 40% of their annual profits ♦♦ McIllhenny Company is a company of tradition, but is not afraid to do untraditional advertising ♦♦ TABASCO Original Pepper Sauce can be found in restaurants throughout the country and is not considered just a household condiment ♦♦ McIllhenny Company has yet to produce an expandable campaign that targets the 1824 age group, a market they have the most difficulty retaining ♦♦ TABASCO ads of the past have touted the Original Pepper Sauce as an insanely hot condiment or ingredient, although it’s not counted among the hottest in its product category
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Tabasco won’t melt your face. Promise. We approached the initial idea the target market has of TABASCO as being a sauce that is “too spicy to consume.” At Superhero Agency, we want to get away from the consensus that TABASCO will “melt your face off,” and bring home the idea that it has a bold flavor unique to its formula that can be enjoyed—without pain.
Just Enough Hot
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What do our super senses tell us about TABASCO?
TABASCO has potential to raise its retention of the younger age segment of 18-24. Their inability to hold the attention of this target market could be attributed to the more traditional feel of the current ad campaigns McIlhenny Company is running. Our super senses tell us that giving TABASCO a more modern personality in an ad campaign will serve to gain this segment as customers, while still retaining those already loyal to the brand.
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Competition ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦
Cholula Frank’s Red Hot Louisiana Hot Sauce Sriracha Tapatio Independent Hot Sauce makers
Frames of Reference ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦
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Well-known Traditional Reputable Global Enduring Icon Hallmark worldwide Shared among all walks of life Boldly flavored
Benefits and Appeals ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦
The “perfect” seasoning. Invaluable in the kitchen. Beloved nationwide. Consistent approach and execution for over 140 years. ♦♦ The hot sauce that is always on the table. ♦♦ Can be found in home and public eateries. ♦♦ Controls 20-25% of the market share.
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Points of Difference ♦♦ So firmly rooted in name, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language offered an official definition. ♦♦ Tradition unrivaled by challengers. ♦♦ Family owned from the beginning. ♦♦ Over 140 years of a consistent product. ♦♦ Unique Flavor
Barriers ♦♦ Competition (limited) ♦♦ Marketing to first time product users ♦♦ Family and shareholder difficulties or discrepancies ♦♦ Location of primary factory ♦♦ Distribution channels
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Additional Key Factors From extensive research of the brand, it is clear that McIllhenny Co. is interested in reaching a youthful target market, while still retaining those users who are loyal to the brand. By using humor in the campaign, we will be able to attract a younger demographic. In marketing TABASCO pepper sauce as a global product, the campaign will give our target market people it can connect and identify with as users of the brand with a slogan of “Just enough hot.�
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Mandatories The one mandatory for the ad campaign is without a doubt the recognizable diamondshaped TABASCO logo, which will be used to connect with our target market’s recall of the brand. We will also use our campaign’s tagline, “Just enough hot,” in each part of the media buy.
Image We want TABASCO to be perceived by heat seekers as something that is mild enough to be enjoyed for its flavor and subtle heat.
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Look and Feel TABASCO is composed of an exact balance of flavor. Each ingredient contributes to the unique taste embodied by the Original Pepper Sauce, and creates the subtle heat TABASCO should be known for. We at Superhero Agency took the idea of being “subtle” and combined it with a visual metaphor, leading to the series of ads produced.
Tone The tone of our ads is edgy and “subtly sexy.” We allow the target market to assign meaning to the visual metaphors as they will from memory, thereby forgoing an overly sexual campaign, while still being just enough hot.
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