Turning Transparency Into Leadership*

Here’s a cool story in the NYTimes (4/17/09) about a company embracing total disclosure.

They make Elovena oats. Apparently part of the oat-making process involves water use. And these guys are much easier on the earth with their water consumption than their competitors. So, they decided to be the first ones to put an H2O label on their package. Part of a “total impact” statement. They’re volunteering to be measured by it.

For a low-loyalty product, they’re essentially inventing a new reason for preference. They’re using water they way their whole category should be, and by pointing that out, they win. They’re doing good, breaking parity, and showing thought-leadership in the category.


Any brand can do this. Operate the way the whole category ought to, and make a little noise about it. Bingo, you’re the leader.

See the NYTimes article, HERE.

(* AKA, the worst title of a blog post ever. I'll work on that.)

Goodby’s Debut w/Quaker = Good

Well, whatd’ya know. The first major campaign for Quaker from their new agency Goodby has a major component of do-gooder-ness in it. It’s called the Quaker Go Project, and it’s done well. Here’s why.

It’s on-strategy: a food brand fighting hunger in America.

It’s actionable: customers submit UPC codes (via Facebook), and each one “donates” a bowl.

It’s risk-free: “up to a million bowls.” Quaker knows exactly what their commitment is at the beginning.

It’s simple: check out their website (it’s much easier than Diet Coke’s for heart health).

It’s got a little flash: it includes celebrity chef Art Smith, which doesn’t overshadow the client or the cause.

Creatively, the whole campaign is cleaner too, focusing on the simplest end benefit of powering your day right. Though the tagline “Go Humans Go” is pretty darn expansive, it works with the main campaign and the Good sub-campaign as well.

Oatmeal is pretty simple stuff, and wholesome too. It’s no time for the post-modern ironic approach. Element79’s plastic Quaker statue is officially ancient history. I’m going to have some oatmeal to celebrate.

So - has anyone seen the results of Quaker’s Go Project? It officially ran from 1/12 – 2/28. I’d love to know if Quaker’s customers hit the one million mark. (Though Quaker is continuing the Go Project online, HERE.)

(NOTE: Goodby coordinated with Edelman to pull-off the Good part of this campaign, and Edelman also deserves huge credit for this. You can read Edelman's release, HERE. And yes, the NYTimes picked it up; story is HERE.)