Kellogg’s Serves Up Breakfast at Manchester Arndale

trendz_web_julyaug13_kelloggs Most people don’t go to a restaurant to order a bowl of cold cereal, but Kellogg’s though it was about time they did. The food giant’s Crunchy Nut Restaurant first popped up in shopping centers across the UK last summer as part of a £6 million ($9.6 million) media campaign that focused on taste. The brand overhaul, which pushed annual sales up 10 percent to £88 million ($140.8 million), promoted the cereal as a premium product, one that deserved slick surroundings to deliver a full consumer experience. As McDonald’s did with its McCafé strategy, Kellogg’s also attempted to turn a commodity into something a little more special.

“The re-launch of Crunchy Nut last year helped us to change the way people think about the brand by simply reminding them how delicious it is,” said Jenny Powell, marketing manager.

“This has been done by making taste ‘king’ in our advertising and really driving brand saliency hard through in-store focus, sampling to get people to try it again, and also bringing new innovation to Crunchy Nut. It’s created a real buzz with shoppers and has brought them back to the brand.”

This past August, Kellogg’s marketers Sam Blunt and Debbie Thomas opened another pop-up in Manchester Arndale’s Exchange Court with The Lounge Group agency’s help—that temporary occupancy is worth £28,000 ($44,800). For twelve days, the restaurant served nearly 8,000 shoppers the company’s new Crunchy Nut Chocolate cereal, whose launch was backed by a £2.3 million ($3.68 million) media campaign. Kellogg’s picked up the tab, but encouraged patrons to tip staff with a picture post on Twitter, instead of spare change.

Much ado about cereal? Well, that’s the idea. As the Kellogg’s master tweeters said, “Crunchy Nut and chocolate go together like aristocrats and wigs.” Just click on the video window to view the TV commercial, and you’ll get their marketing drift.