Frito-Lay, the snack foods division of PepsiCo, was losing Lay's sales and loyalty in US convenience stores despite holding up to 80% of the shelf space. Vivaldi Group ran in-situ consumer research in four of its largest markets and repositioned Lay's from a functional taste message to Get your smile on, a proposition built on moments of enjoyment. In the nine months after launch, Lay's sales rose by almost 20% with no increase in media spending.
Frito-Lay, the snack foods arm of PepsiCo, sells more than $11.5bn of snacks a year and held up to 80% of savory-snack shelf space in US convenience stores. In the mid-2000s the Lay's potato chip brand was losing sales and loyalty in exactly that channel, and its functional positioning, Betcha can't eat just one, no longer gave consumers a reason to choose it.
Vivaldi Group observed and interviewed consumers in four of Frito-Lay's largest markets, using eating journals and in-home conversations to understand when and why people snack. One insight ran through every segment: Lay's delivers small moments of enjoyment. Vivaldi repositioned the brand around that idea as Get your smile on and built the communications and convenience-store activations to carry it.
In the nine months after the new positioning went live, Lay's sales increased by almost 20%, and loyalty and brand equity scores rose significantly, without any increase in media spending. Frito-Lay went on to work with Vivaldi for many years on brand architecture, portfolio roles, new brand development and communication strategy.
| Kunde | Frito-Lay, the snack foods division of PepsiCo, for the Lay’s potato chip brand |
|---|---|
| Industrie | Consumer packaged goods (CPG), savory snacks |
| Region | United States, with research across four of Frito-Lay’s largest markets |
| Project period | Mid-2000s, followed by a multi-year relationship |
| Ausgangspunkt | $11.5bn in annual snack sales, 40% of US savory snacks, up to 80% of convenience-store shelf space, but declining Lay’s sales and low loyalty |
| Vivaldi Geltungsbereich | In-situ consumer research, brand strategy and repositioning, messaging, convenience-store activation program |
| These | Get your smile on, replacing the functional Betcha can’t eat just one |
| Ergebnis | Sales up almost 20% in the nine months after launch, higher loyalty and equity scores, no increase in media spending |
| Vivaldi Blei | Larry Lucas, Senior Partner |
Frito-Lay is the largest seller of snack foods in the world. It sells more than $11.5bn of snacks every year, which accounts for 40% of savory snacks sold in the US and 30% in markets outside the US. Convenience stores were its stronghold: Frito-Lay products commanded as much as 80% of the savory-snack shelf space in that channel.
In the mid-2000s that position came under attack. The Lay’s potato chip brand in particular was losing sales and showing low loyalty in convenience stores, the channel where it should have been strongest. Frito-Lay engaged Vivaldi Group to reposition Lay’s so that the brand became relevant to consumers again, rather than relying on distribution and shelf space to carry it.
"Die Arbeit, die wir mit Vivaldi geleistet haben, hat unser Denken über unser Geschäft grundlegend verändert. Es war harte Arbeit, aber wir waren in der Lage, sie in eine Strategie zu übersetzen, die motivierend und inspirierend war, so dass der Rest der Organisation die praktischen Anwendungen verstand. Es war ein Modell für eine wirklich durchdachte Planung und Analyse eines Markenportfolios."
To understand what sat behind the sales trend, the Vivaldi team toured four of Frito-Lay’s biggest markets and met consumers with very different economic and psychographic profiles: heavy snackers, early adopters of new food trends, mindless munchers and people deeply involved in their food choices. Vivaldi issued eating journals and sat with people in their kitchens to discuss daily routines, needs, motivations and the context in which snacking happened, the starting point of the demand-led approach Vivaldi uses for brand innovation.
The research showed that Lay’s existing value proposition was too functional. Betcha can’t eat just one spoke about taste and ingredient quality, not about what the product brought to the consumer. The slogan also drew criticism from the FDA for encouraging larger portions. What consumers described instead, across every segment, were small moments of enjoyment and happiness that a bag of Lay’s made possible.
Vivaldi repositioned the brand around the idea of Get your smile on, a proposition built on creating moments of enjoyment and happiness for consumers, accessed through Lay’s potato chips. Communications were focused on those small moments of joy, messaging was adapted to reflect the new positioning, and Vivaldi developed a series of activations to bring the message into convenience stores across the United States, the channel where Lay’s had been losing share.
The repositioning did not require a larger media budget. The same spend was redirected from a taste-and-ingredients message to an emotional benefit that consumers had described in their own words. The logic behind that shift is set out in Vivaldi’s guide to what corporate brand positioning is and how it is built.
“Conducting in-situ research to listen to and observe consumers with a trained eye is priceless. If you want to add value to someone's life you need to understand how they live, what they do and why they do it.”
Lay’s is one of the 15 rebranding and repositioning case studies Vivaldi has published with their outcomes.
Lay’s, Frito-Lay’s flagship potato chip brand, partnered with Vivaldi Group to reverse declining sales and low loyalty in US convenience stores. Vivaldi’s in-situ research across four markets showed the brand’s taste-focused positioning was too functional, and repositioned Lay’s around moments of enjoyment as Get your smile on. In the nine months after launch, sales increased by almost 20% and loyalty and equity scores rose, with no increase in media spending.
Frito-Lay is the snack foods division of PepsiCo and the largest seller of snack foods in the world, with brands including Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos. At the time of this engagement it sold more than $11.5bn of snacks a year, accounting for 40% of savory snacks sold in the United States and 30% of savory snacks outside the US.
Vivaldi repositioned Lay’s from a functional taste message to an emotional benefit, Get your smile on, based on in-situ consumer research in four of Frito-Lay’s largest markets. New communications and convenience-store activations carried the positioning, and in the nine months after launch Lay’s sales rose by almost 20% with higher loyalty and equity scores and no increase in media spending.
In-situ research: the team observed and interviewed consumers in their own kitchens across four markets, using eating journals to capture daily routines, needs and the context of each snacking moment. Participants ranged from heavy snackers to early adopters of food trends, which is how Vivaldi found the one insight shared across segments.
The slogan focused on taste and ingredient quality rather than on what Lay’s brought to the consumer, so it gave shoppers no emotional reason to choose the brand over competitors on a crowded convenience-store shelf. It had also drawn criticism from the FDA for encouraging larger portions. Get your smile on replaced it with the benefit consumers had described themselves.
Yes, when the positioning changes what the existing spend says rather than how much is spent. In the Lay’s case the media budget stayed flat; the message moved from product attributes to moments of enjoyment, and sales rose almost 20% in nine months. Repositioning works best for brands with strong distribution but a weak reason to choose, which is where a consumer insight, not more reach, is the missing piece.