Every time I think of Activia yogurt, I think about Kristen Wiig impersonating Jamie Lee Curtis on SNL from like a decade ago.
Click to watch the original parody
Of course, SNL being SNL, this was a caricature of the real commercial with the real Jamie Lee Curtis.
Click to watch one of her original commercials
Danone, the company behind Activia, launched it in 2006 with the claim of probiotic yogurt supporting digestive health. It was an uphill battle for them:
Danone is outside the U.S., based in Paris
They had to educate people on what probiotics were (less popular/known at the time)
Ran into issues with the FTC due to their claims that one daily serving could fix irregularities (i.e. deceptive marketing)
As a result of that third bullet point, Danone backtracked and clarified that it actually took three servings of Activia to experience GI benefits.
(Hence why Kristen Wiig was slurping down cups of yogurt in the skit.)
Part of the reason why they hired Jamie Lee Curtis in the mid-2000s was to help revitalize their new, more truthful image. As a result of her being their spokesperson, sales soared.
While I couldn't find any specific stats before and after she joined, I did see that over a decade later, Activia went from $472M worth of sales in 2019 to $506M by 2021.
So why am I taking time out of my day (and yours) to educate you on 20-year-old probiotic yogurt sold by a 50-year-old celebrity?
Because marketing is a correlation game.
Activia ➡️ Jamie Lee Curtis
Vulnerability ➡️ Brené Brown
Nike ➡️ Athletes
Gucci ➡️ Rich people
Marketing is the connective tissue between where you are and where you want to be, using that product or service to sell you the image or result.
Whatever you're building, you're marketing the outcome with (ideally) you as the messenger.
Whether you're a boutique, a professional service, an author, or anything in between, it's YOU selling the experience. If your business isn't prolific like Gucci or Nike, it's you who has to sell it. Why?
Customer-centric brands are 60% more profitable than companies that fail to prioritize the customer experience (source)
80% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand if the company offers a personalized experience (source)
40% of consumers say brands don't understand them as people (source)
If you don't believe enough in what you're selling to promote it yourself, then why should anyone else buy it from you?
Something to think about. Hope you found this useful! Don't forget to email your favorite friendly neighborhood marketer (me) with any questions you have. :)
