There was an interesting piece this morning on Morning Edition about a branding battle between Boars Head deli meats and Dietz and Watson.
Steve Chiotakis speaks of a branding battle for deli counter space between a nationally known producer, Boars Head and Dietz and Watson, the local “kinder and gentler” meat producer. This piece really speaks to B2B branding—since the sale is between the deli meat producer and the supermarket—where normally only one brand of meat is carried. Boars Head is the clear bologna behemoth in deli shelf space and holds a monopoly in some areas. In terms of branding, Dietz and Watson portrays the company as a smaller regional mom and pop operation and plays into the new local craze—buying locally to reduce carbon footprints. And both brands heavily rely on their distributors and sales force to be brand ambassadors. Chiotakis relays a voice mail recording from a Boars Head rep:
Aggressive Voicemail: Hey Dietz and Watson: I dare you BLEEPers to come up here with your BLEEPing product. I’m a Boar’s Head guy. You bring your BLEEPing little BLEEPing circus up here, I’ll bury you BLEEPing guys.
Clearly this is not the brand steward that Boars Head marketing had in mind….
But this story is really about B2C marketing. Neither brand has made a convincing argument to the consumer on why their brand of mortadella is better than the other ones. After all ham is ham and smoked turkey is smoked turkey… right? Wrong. Both companies have failed to give the consumer a compelling reason to ask for pastrami by name. And so deli meat is a commodity and the decision is left up to the supermarket chain.
It reminds me of ordering a drink 10 years ago—if you ordered a gin and tonic—you got your drink… no questions asked. Now order a G&T and every bartender will immediately ask what brand of gin you would like. That is because most people know there is a difference between Gordons and Bombay Saffire… And even if they can not taste the difference—there is a perception that one brand is better than another. In terms of branding, Absolut is a model of how to change a commodity into a luxury brand…
Well the same for corned beef. When Boars Head or Dietz and Watson start talking directly to the end consumer they will have a better chance of either protecting their turf or breaking into the deli counter. When consumers start asking for Dietz and Watson by name, then supermarket officials will sit up and take notice. When they start to impress their brand on the minds of the consumer then the battle of the bologna will change course.
