Kraft's Crafty Marketing Efforts

Tassimo, a hot beverage system brand produced by Kraft Foods in the US, has branched out into online and alternative marketing efforts, with the help of Ogilvy.

They have created a series of Webisodes titled “Who Hired Bob?” The comedy series follows the misadventures of Bob, a quirky character in an office setting who obsesses over the little things that have nothing to do with work. Bob loves his Tassimo machine to the point of being fanatic about it. Each episode is said to contain one “Tassimo Moment”, where an acknowledgment to the audience that the Webisodes are a marketing tool.

The online series is a result of a marketing innovation fund that Kraft instituted to experiment with different forms of marketing.

The initial two Webisodes, which are available for viewing at WhoHiredBob.com, have three acts each, with viewers able to choose between one of two options at the end of Acts I and Acts II as to what happens next to Bob. Each act runs about two minutes for a total of six minutes per Webisode. Viewers can also submit stories of "Bob-like" characters in their own workplaces. The winning viewer submission will be filmed as the next "Bobisode."

To market the series, Tassimo and Ogilvy created a 30-second trailer and bought media on Google's AdSense network. Joseph Frydl, director of Ogilvy's branded content and entertainment group, said he expects 70 million impressions during the course of a month on financial, travel, food and special interest sites. He also expects word of mouth, YouTube and other video-based sites to help get the word out.