\n
Ohana means family, and family means Spam.<\/p>\n
The canned-meat product has long had a place on Hawaiian families\u2019 dinner tables, and when the brand got the opportunity to partner with Disney on the recent live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch<\/em>, a beloved tale of a Hawaiian girl and her adopted pet alien, it was a seamless fit, according to Dan Kubiak, senior brand manager of Spam at Hormel Foods.<\/p>\nAs part of a campaign that rolled out in late April ahead of the movie\u2019s release, the food brand released three specially designed collectible Spam cans that feature island-themed artwork and Stitch\u2019s image, as well as a 15-second ad showing the food being used in Hawaiian-beloved dishes like musubi and fried rice, which <\/em>also serves as a temptation for Stitch\u2019s mischief in the ad. The ad is running across streaming and digital platforms in various formats through June 30, as well as on national TV, and since the campaign began, it has already garnered 3 billion earned media impressions.<\/p>\n\u201cHawaii is so special to the brand,\u201d Kubiak told Marketing Brew. \u201cThis was just a great partnership for us to drive that authentic connection with our consumer base and really tell that story together within Hawaii.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aloha, Spam<\/h2>\n
Spam is an American brand born in 1937, and it became popular among American troops who relied on the protein-rich food item in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts. The story goes that US soldiers shared Spam with locals and left it behind when they departed, making the ingredient ubiquitous in many Asian cuisines\u2014so much so that later on, when people from these countries immigrated to the US, they were surprised to find the product in American grocery stores, per Smithsonian magazine.<\/p>\n
With Hawaii a key US military presence during World War II, many islanders also relied on Spam rations during this time, and the product has remained a part of Hawaiian culture to this day. Kubiak said this staying power is what made the campaign feel authentic to the brand and film.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalking through the airport, you see people wearing Spam shirts. People just have an affinity and the brand has meant so much to them,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s more than just sustenance. It\u2019s creating those very unique dishes, and everyone has such a unique take.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spam\u2019s Lilo & Stitch <\/em>campaign went live at the beginning of AAPI month in May, helping to emphasize Spam\u2019s cultural roots with Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and it capped off with the movie\u2019s Memorial Day weekend release. Lilo & Stitch<\/em>\u2019s popularity contributed to the weekend being the biggest Memorial Day box office in history, a success that Kubiak said helped highlight that its \u201coff-shelf placement\u201d has \u201cresonated well with customers.\u201d<\/p>\nSpamalot<\/h2>\n
Spam\u2019s Lilo & Stitch <\/em>campaign isn\u2019t the only bit of marketing the brand has cooking. It just held its 21st edition of Spam Jam, a festival celebrating the product that\u2019s held in Austin, Minnesota, where Spam is headquartered, as well as in Hawaii; this year\u2019s event in Oahu drew 50,000 attendees.<\/p>\n\n
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Austin is also home to the Spam Museum, a kitschy attraction that sells Spam merch, details the product\u2019s history, and is a place that Kubiak said often draws in visitors on road trips through the area. Ahead of Lilo & Stitch<\/em>\u2019s premiere, The Spam Museum offered the limited-edition cans in-store.<\/p>\nDespite the national campaign tied to the movie, Kubiak said Spam isn\u2019t hurting for brand awareness. Instead, the Lilo & Stitch<\/em> partnership was designed to expand its audience through pop culture, which has also been advanced through Spam\u2019s enduring presence in popular culture, like Monty Python and the Holy Grail<\/em>. In May, the brand partnered with the St. Paul Saints, a minor-league baseball team based in Minnesota, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Monty Python<\/em> at a game, complete with Spam-themed T-shirts and concessions.<\/p>\n\u201cThis is a bit of a way for us to push towards that family audience, and also a bit more of that Gen Z and millennial audience,\u201d Kubiak said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really special way to provide a little bit more of an emotional hook.\u201d<\/p>\n
Broadening audience appeal can be a major advantage of partnering with a blockbuster film, but the Spam team was cautious of becoming just one of many brand voices hopping on the movie-as-marketing bandwagon. Kubiak said the authenticity of bringing Spam into Lilo & Stitch<\/em>\u2019s story was too perfect to pass up, and acknowledged that Spam may not have pursued the same partnership with another film.<\/p>\n\u201cWe don\u2019t want to fit a square peg in a round hole with ways that we bring the brand into cultural moments, because we know that our consumers will see that,\u201d Kubiak said. \u201cThe cool thing is that we probably have too many partnerships that we could evaluate. It\u2019s just picking the right one.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ohana means family, and family means Spam. The canned-meat product has long had a place on Hawaiian families\u2019 dinner tables, and when the brand got the opportunity to partner with Disney on the recent live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, a beloved tale of a Hawaiian girl and her adopted pet alien, it was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-marketing"},"yoast_head":"\n
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