McCain Pockets:
From moms' health choice to teens' lifestyle pick.
McCain Pockets are a microwavable Pizza Snack that holds the #2 market share position to Pillsbury Pizza Pops. Historically, McCain has talked directly to parents, positioning their product as the healthy one, while Pillsbury has talked directly to teens, with decades of zany irreverent ads that have nothing to do with health at all.
In 2021, McCain made the decision to shift their target to teenagers, because it turns out they have more purchasing power.
Research revealed an interesting opportunity to position Pockets with this new segment: Teenagers eat our product when they don’t want to be stuck at a dinner table. Playing a video game, cramming for an exam, rushing out the door to basketball practice, on FaceTime with their friends.
Pizza Pockets are easy to eat one handed, don’t require you to wash dishes, and can go freezer-to-microwave-to-stomach in under 5 minutes. Most other substitutes for this moment, like granola bars, aren’t very tasty.
This reframing allowed us to position Pockets distinctly as food that doesn’t get in the way of your life – Don’t Stop. Do Pockets.
Merch
We also made merch with Pockets for your Pockets, so you can store a McCain Pocket, no matter what you’re doing. Perfect for food designed not to get in the way of your life.
Results
Brand desire scores increased while everyone else in the category decreased. Unaided awareness increased 7%. Past 6 months purchase incrased by 8%. Advertising drove all these results, with recall scores breaking category norms.