Michael Pleczkowski

Public Relations Plan for KraftHeinz

Situational Analysis

KraftHeinz is a newly combined power company in the food industry bringing together the home cooked
foods of Kraft mixed with the countless condiments produced by Heinz. Newly produced Riserva by
Classico is not just your average, everyday pasta sauce. This is a pasta sauce that has a rich flavor with
high quality ingredients for the finest of chefs. It is also at an affordable price that the everyday home
cook can use on a regular basis. The average Joe cooks like a five star chef, and experienced chefs have a
product with high quality ingredients readily available.

However, these products are very difficult to advertise. With the sauce only costing $5.00, simply putting
it on the shelves of grocery stores is not enough to convey to the general public the high quality the
ingredients in each jar. With the majority of premium pasta sauces running over $10.00, customers will
see the $5.00 price tag and immediately assume that it is a lower quality sauce. We will bring awareness
of this product and its favorable qualities to the target customer in ways other than simply listing them in
advertisements. KraftHeinz needs to reach their already established market and grow their social media
presence exponentially. Certain products such as Krafts macaroni and cheese or Heinzs ketchup/mustard
are extremely popular all over the world and are very active on social media. Riserva by Classico needs to
follow suit.

KraftHeinz has a tremendous opportunity to create a new product segment and become a market leader in
the sauce industry. Riserva by Classico is a product unlike any other in terms of the authentic Italian
quality combined with a cost that mimics that of the standard low-grade pasta sauces. Our firm can take
Riserva by Classico to new heights of popularity.

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Audiences

We wish to reach three main target markets in the release of this product in order to capitalize on the
widest possible range of publicity.

First and foremost, we will target males and females age 25-45 who have a passion for cooking, may be
constricted by a budget, and, however refuse to sacrifice taste/quality. This was outlined in your
presentation as your main target market and we will cater to them to the fullest extent. This market
however can be extremely diverse:

Beginner Just learning the ropes of cooking fancy Italian dishes (wanting to cook like mom and
grandma). Will most likely be on the younger end of the spectrum and will be on a stricter budget
when it comes to groceries.

Experienced at Home Chef Enjoys cooking full meals on a regular basis. Very aware of what
they are doing in the kitchen and refuse to sacrifice on quality in any way.

With their target market being so diverse, KraftHeinz should look to attract a diverse and wide range of
grocery stores and specialty markets to sell Riserva by Classico as well. In accordance with your
presentation, we will make the presence known largest in South and Midwest.

Local Chain Stores

o South - Food Lion, Harris Teeter, Piggly Wiggly
o Midwest - Kroger, Aldi

National Chains Walmart, Sams Club, Target

Specialty Grocery Stores Whole Foods, Trader Joes

Lastly, we plan to target local media and Italian restaurants as well. If you at KraftHeinz wish to target
specific geographic areas, local newspaper coverage at popular restaurants giving testimonials on the
sauce will only make the product explode at the local level at an electrifying pace.

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Objectives

Restaurant/News Outlet Objectives Acquire a seal of approval from the head chef in three out of the top
five Yelp reviewed Italian restaurants in cities that match the target market and have a strong Italian
presence. We would highlight chefs stating that they would serve Riserva by Classico in their own
restaurant; an acceptable seal of approval would also be as simple as positive reviews of the sauce by the
chef. The cities we will be testing in include:
South:

Atlanta (GA), Birmingham (AL), Charlotte (NC), Little Rock (AR), Nashville (TN), New
Orleans (LA), Tampa (FL)
Midwest:

Chicago (IL), Cincinnati (OH), Detroit (MI), Indianapolis (IN), Kansas City (MO), Louisville
(KY), Minneapolis (MN)

In addition to the restaurant campaign, our goal is to generate at least one news story (major newspaper or
local city papers) written, posted or broadcasted about the taste tests.

Social Media Objective Create and grow a Facebook and Twitter account for Riserva by Classico. Kraft
and Heinz already have a giant presence on social media and certain products (Heinz ketchup, Kraft mac
and cheese) have over 1,000,000 followers. Riserva by Classico is not nearly as popular as those products
listed above, however we believe that the KraftHeinz brand can allow the social media presence to grow.

Immediately create and launch Facebook/Twitter pages gain 10,000 followers by launch of the
product.

10% conversion rate from flyers handed out in store to likes on Facebook or follows on
Twitter

80% conversion rate of coupon downloads

o Have the Facebook page direct to a specific Riserva by Classico website that allows the
customer one coupon download for liking the page.

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Tactics

The main goal outlined in your presentation is to generate more awareness for Riserva by Classico. We
believe the best way to do this is via social media and local media outlets. Kraft and Heinz both have very
strong separate social media profiles, however the joint KraftHeinz Company is lacking in its social
media presence, and Riserva by Classico does not have any platforms at all. We believe the best way to
grow the awareness of Riserva by Classico via social media is at the local level through the restaurant
taste tests, and samplings in local grocery stores.

Restaurant Campaign
Certain restaurants in select cities have a very influential sway of the opinions of local residents. For
instance, Sienna Mercato is a widely respected and trending restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA. If the chef and
staff claim that Riserva by Classico tastes good enough to serve in their kitchen, brand recognition and
demand will grow within the city of Pittsburgh. We plan to target the cities mentioned above in the
Objectives portion of this plan. Once the chefs at three of the top five Yelp reviewed restaurants in each
of these cities state that Riserva by Classico is truly high quality tasting sauce, the local population will be
buzzing and buying.

An extremely important aspect would be coverage by the local media. As the papers, local news stations,
local cooking shows and ethnic radio shows cover these taste tests, then the presence of these tests grow
and possibly expand into more cities and blanket more of the population at once. Creating a campaign
titled something like #ClassicoCookOff would be a unique way to link social media to this campaign and
will add a lighthearted aspect to it, so as to not seem as we are directly attacking these restaurants and
their quality of food. KraftHeinz can create charts on their website for each city that is visited and
challenge these restaurants in a certain way. This not only brings popularity to the sauce and its social
media pages, but also gives these restaurants a reason to want to participate. They would in turn receive
complementary marketing from the news coverage and posts by KraftHeinz on social media.

The main reason for this tactic is to target the higher-end consumer as well as the higher-end grocery
stores. If we are successful in obtaining the approval from the chefs at these high-end restaurants, then the
consumer that relies on quality will firmly believe that Riserva by Classico is an upscale sauce compared
to others on the market.

In Store Sampling
The in store samplings are where we plan to really to explode our social media campaign. First and
foremost, we believe it is important to sample the product in-store simply because it is necessary for the
customer to be able to taste the product before they decide on purchasing it. In addition, our
representatives can sell them on Riserva by Classicos low cost/high quality features and then the
customer can purchase it right on the spot. These samplings will occur every Saturday and Sunday in
January from 12:00pm-4:00pm as those are the busiest times for consumers shopping in grocery stores.

In terms of social media involvement, we plan to have representatives at the grocery stores pass out flyers
at the samplings as well. These flyers will potentially have coupons contained in them, but, more
importantly, the flyers will have QR codes that link to both social media pages for Riserva by Classico.
With these flyers, we will be able to determine the conversion rate of flyers handed out versus flyers used
at checkout.

In addition, and as listed in Objectives, we want to have a separate website that is linked to our
Facebook and Twitter pages which we will create. This website will have a coupon that is redeemable for
liking the sauce on social media. With these flyers, we do not plan to have this separate website listed
because we want to drive as much traffic to our social media accounts as possible. In order for consumers

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to access the external website and downloadable coupon, they must first go through the social media
pages.

However, on this separate website we plan to have a short survey that is part demographics research and
part how the consumer found out about the website/social media accounts. This in turn will allow us to
determine where all of the website traffic is coming from. While they will all come directly from people
liking or following on Facebook and Twitter, this survey will tell us more specifically how they heard
about the product/social media accounts (restaurant taste test, flyers from in store sampling, WOM, etc.).
This is very helpful in determining which tactics were most effective in reaching the specific groups of
our target market.

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Evaluation

Restaurant Campaign
The best ways to evaluate the success of this restaurant campaign can be measured in two distinct
outcomes: the approval of head chefs at select restaurants, and publications in local media outlets. The
cities listed in the Objectives portion were selected due to the number of traditional Italian American
neighborhoods in the area. The Italian restaurants would also be quite authentic because the population is
very familiar with the culture.

Approval of top chefs Obtaining an endorsement from the head chef in three out of the top five
Yelp reviewed Italian restaurants in the selected cities stating Riserva by Classico is good enough
to sell in their high-quality restaurant would demonstrate success on this aspect of the campaign. If
we cannot get this exact quote, we would still accept/post on social media if the response was
unquestionably positive.

Local media publications We would accept one publication/review in a newspaper or news

story run on television from each of the 14 cities selected. A news publication would be crucial for
us to continue the #ClassicoCookoff campaign because this would give the restaurants publicity as
well as our product; this would trigger similar events to conduct in more cities. This also allows
word to spread about the new product at an explosive rate for free.

In Store Sampling
Hard data is in store when looking to evaluate the effectiveness of our in store sampling sessions. The
majority of these numbers will come directly from the flyers that will be handed out by the people
working our sampling events at select grocery stores. Here we will be able to evaluate the percentage of
the flyers used and social media activity following use of the flyers. We will track immediate product
sales as well as website hits/coupon downloads from the website after liking the social media accounts.

Social Media Growth Gain 10,000 followers before release of the product
o Kraft and Heinz each have over 1,000,000 followers a simple post registers about 250-
500 likes and ~100 shares on Facebook. A few simple shout-outs from each page
should gauge enough attention to gain 10,000 followers before launch.

Social Media from Flyers Along with growing social media organically, we plan to use the
flyers that we pass out at the grocery store sampling sessions as well. We hope to convert 10% of
flyers that we pass out to transfer to hits on social media. We feel this number is appropriate as
most people throw away coupons immediately, or, if they purchase the product, will discard them
shortly after use. Additionally, we plan to produce upwards of 400,000 flyers so it is not a
guarantee that we will give out all of our flyers during this campaign. A conversion rate of 10%
would be successful in our eyes.

Coupon downloads via website After a person likes one of the Riserva by Classico pages,
they will be directed to an external website for the new sauce. Here they will be able to download
one coupon good for 20% off a jar of sauce. We hope to have a conversion rate of 80% of website
hits to coupon downloads. We figure that such a high rate is reasonable because if people take the
time to like our page, then they clearly like the product enough to purchase again and would take
advantage of the coupon offer.

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Timeline

Immediately Create social media pages (Facebook/Twitter) for Riserva by Classico

After pages are up and running, established Kraft and Heinz pages post about the new product
and suggest following the page.

December 10, 2015 Begin #ClassicoCookoff campaign; have first citys taste test completed.

One city in each region to be completed per weekend

December 31, 2015 Achieve at least our 10,000th follower on Facebook and Twitter

December 31, 2015 Have half of #ClassicoCookoff completed in each region

Builds up anticipation for the product just before launch

January 3, 2016 (as long as product is launched by then) Begin in store sampling sessions; have one
representative in five of each type of grocery store we are targeting (local, national, specialty).

We want to wait until after the product launches so customers can buy it on site.

January 31, 2016 Last day of in-store samplings completed

February 1, 2016 Have the remainder of #ClassicoCookoff completed

Doing the remainder of the cities after the product launces will drive people to the grocery stores
to buy our product they will also run into our samplers and receive flyers, which will drive them
to social media.

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Budget

The budget will focus solely on our in-store sampling portion of this PR campaign. We do not expect to
have any expenses for our restaurant campaign. We hope and plan that KraftHeinz will cover all travel
expenses, and that the restaurants will jump at the opportunity for the free publicity. That being said, the
budget is solely for the store samplings, as we believe that will have the greatest reach to our customers
on an individual basis as well as social media and gathering hard data.

We will be having 1 representative in 4 local grocery chains, 4 national chains, and 2 specialty grocery
stores in each city we are attacking (same as restaurant campaign). We are having a larger presence in the
chain stores because this helps target the market that is looking to save more money. The target market
audience that wants high quality ingredients will already be sold during our restaurant campaign.

Beginning on Sunday January 3rd (assuming product has been released), we will have our representatives
table and sample the product from 12:00pm-4:00pm every Saturday and Sunday in January (nine total
days). These are the days/times when grocery stores are the most crowded.

Detailed description on how $50,000 will be spent:

1 representative per grocery store making $9.00 per hour.

o One person is efficient to hand out the product and sell Riserva by Classicos unique
features simultaneously.
o $9.00 covers the minimum wage in every state that we will be participating in.

10 stores per city covering 14 cities will make 140 reps working at once equating to $1,260 per
hour. Then, each rep working a 4-hour day will equate to $5,040 per day.

9 total days of sampling at $5,040/day, makes for a cost of $45,360 for the total service fees for
these samplings.

The remaining $4,640 covers paper costs for the flyers passed out at the sampling sessions.
o On Amazon, we have found a box of 2400 sheets of Hammermill paper costing $25.00
per box.

Purchasing 185 boxes of paper (444,000 sheets) will cost $4,625, leaving $15 remaining in the
budget.
o The 444,000 sheets will be split to 3,171 sheets per store allowing each store 352 flyers
to pass out per day

Expenses ($50,000 budget)

Wages $45,360
Paper for flyers $4,625
Total $49,985

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Research

Initially, we based the demographics of our target market (males/females age 25-45) solely from the
presentation you provided us.

In the Q&A portion, you explained that you wanted to target the South and Midwest Regions the most.
This led us to determine which grocery stores are most common in these geographic regions, which gave
us an understanding on where we should conduct in-store samplings.

When it came to deciding which specific cities we would conduct the samplings and restaurant tests, we
researched which areas held the largest presence of Italian American neighborhoods in the more highly
populated cities in the South and Midwest. We decided on participating in 14 total cities, 7 from the
South and 7 from the Midwest (listed in Objectives). Cities with a strong presence of Italian Americans
will provide the best market for Riserva by Classico because of the frequent consumption of classic
Italian dishes containing pasta sauce. This will allow us to gauge the quality of the product, but at the
same time, our $5.00 price point will make us a competitor for families looking to make Italian dishes
without concern of breaking the bank.

We felt Yelp was the best resource to use when deciding which restaurants to include and based this on
their extremely impressive numbers. They have over 100 million visitors to their site every month so their
information and reviews are always up to date. In addition, their largest percentage of reviewers (36.4%)
are people ages 35-54 so it contains a large majority of our target audience. This site is very reliable and
we trust the reviews and data they bring in order to conduct our restaurant campaign.

Lastly, when it came to the budget, we knew that we wanted to pay for only our sampling sessions. We
felt that we should pay our representatives slightly above minimum wage to give them some incentive to
be more enthusiastic in selling the features of Riserva by Classico. We landed on $9.00/hour because that
was slightly above the minimum wage in all states we would be participating in. Minnesota is the only
state in which $9.00 is exactly the minimum wage but we figure that keeping the pay rate an even $9.00
across the board was most convenient for the budget.

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 Works Cited

"50 Amazing Yelp Statistics." DMR. Ed. Craig Smith. 4 May 2014. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

"List of Italian-American Neighborhoods." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.

"Whats the Minimum Wage in Your State?" Whats the Minimum Wage in Your State? National
Employment Law Project. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.

Yau, Nathan. "Grocery Store Geography." FlowingData. AggData, 26 June 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.

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