Marie Adams | Communications Strategist
Situation
In the Fall of 2012, Hostess faced a brand shutdown due to the rise of health trends causing consumers to cut back significantly on sweet indulgences.
Challenge
Invigorate Hostess fanatics to save the brand through product repositioning.
Who are Hostess Fanatics?
They have an "It's my life" mentality, living everyday doing what they want to do with no questions asked. They follow the rules but live for those little moments of rebellious thrills. They occasionally steal pint glasses from bars, and feel like a hero when they park illegally without getting a ticket. Eating cookies for breakfast while their kids eat oatmeal empowers them. They're not into gourmet cupcakes or store brands of their favorite snacks. They want the real stuff! The old Pontiac made of metal instead of new cars made of plastic, the kind you could hit a deer with and not even leave a dent. They don't want anything fancy, especially when it comes to food. They prefer Hershey's chocolate to Godiva and Hostess snacks over anything else. To them, Hostess represents so much more than a snack. It's their childhood memories, the good times, the real times. It's something that could never be replaced, which is exactly why the Hostess shutdown was completely unacceptable to them.
Strategy
Be the Anti-hero to the snack police.
Hostess will overcome the overbearing health craze by addressing it instead of ignoring it. By owning being a simple sweet indulgence that should be eaten without guilt they will ignite their fanatics to rally around the brand. By being the anti-hero to the snack police Hostess can start a movement around celebrating the simple indulgences in life.
 We went to a Hostess Bakery Outlet store on it's last day of serving customers. |
|---|
 People were lined up with carts full of all of their faves. We interviewed customers as they captured the last moments of a brand they’ve treasured for years. |
 The goal of stocking up wasn't just for the customers at the store to enjoy. They were thinking of others too. |
 Even local news stations were there showcasing the customer demand to scoop up everything possible before it was all gone. |
 Of course, we had to include product tasting in our research. |
 Hiding these precious gems behind our notebooks and computers was absolutely necessary. |
50%
are tired of the extreme measures being taken about eating healthy.
"I understand eating healthy is important, but it's gotten to be overbearing."
"It's my life, keep out of it."
"When people ridicule me for what I feed my kids, it makes me feel like an inadequate mother."
100%
believe allowing small indulgences in their diet is important.
"Everything is fine in moderation."
"Sometimes I gave my kids Hostess snacks just to be a rebel mom. I get sick of the snack police. His friends were always jealous."
75%
said no other brands could ever replace Hostess snacks.
"Nothing could ever replace a Hostess snack. It's like trying to replace your dog with a new one. It'll never do."
72%
were unhappy about the Hostess shutdown.
"The fact that my future children might not know what a Hostess Cupcake is irritates me to the tenth degree."
Marie Adams & Whitney Keller | Brand Positioning
Thankfully, it only took eight months for everyone's favorite snacks to be put back on shelves. Metropoulos & Co. and Apollo bought Twinkies and other Hostess brands for $410 million. The comeback was certainly the sweetest one yet. Now, instead of never forgetting our Hostess favorites, we'll never forget the time we almost lost them for good.