CASE STUDY: Oscar Mayer Kraft Foods North America, Inc.
Dora O. Tovar, M.P.Aff Background Kraft Foods North America, Inc. is the largest packaged branded food and beverage company headquartered in the U.S. and the second largest in the world. Its portfolio includes hundreds of brands, such as Velveeta, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Oscar Mayer, Nabisco, Post, Kool-Aid, and Maxwell House. In 1999, Kraft Foods noticed its Hispanic share was not growing as fast as its overall share in some categories. This situation served as a strategic "call for action" given the double-digit growth of the Hispanic population. Kraft acted promptly by changing marketing strategies and embarking on an indepth analysis with the Hispanic consumer and key decision-maker-the Hispanic Mom. Kraft marketing managers enlisted the support and involvement of their senior management with the following objectives. Develop culturally relevant marketing programs which: • • • Enhance the quality of Hispanic Moms' lives Create an emotional bond between Kraft brands and Hispanic Moms Are embraced by retailers as unique and value added

Marketing Challenge The Hispanic consumer opportunity presents a classic marketing challenge for Kraft and otherseffectively applying target marketing. The cornerstone of Kraft's success is rooted in understanding how to identify key target groups and tailor marketing efforts to the target's specific needs and concerns. The first step in achieving these objectives was to identify valuable consumer insights about Hispanic Moms. In other words, understanding not only her eating and cooking behavior but also uncovering emotional consumer insights that explain her life motivations, her dreams, and her wishes for herself and her family. Research Kraft thought it beneficial to communicate with several key family "decision makers" or "influencers" at the same time, crossing