Cereal goes to the Olympics

This year the gold medal goes to: Kellogg's. For the 2012 London games the company is the official sponsor of the USA Olympic and Paralympic teams and gets the right to piggy back on all the attention that the massive sporting event provide. In addition to specially marked Corn Flakes boxes featuring Team Kellogg, specific athletes, they have introduced a limited-edition Team USA cereal.

Kellogg's has had this privilege for a number of years. I'm just surprised that they haven't taken advantage of it even more than they are. There is so much more marketing potential here.

UPDATE: More on Kellogg's sponsorship on their website, includes links to commercials and ads.

"More" from Post

Recently in grocery stores large boxes of cereals are showing up promising "more". Good Morenings cereal is a new brand launched by Post that appears to be a major thrust since their move late last year to go public and independent. Good Morenings is bold on several fronts, mainly because it is actually six new cereals which come in large boxes (over 20 ounces) that stand out on the grocers shelves.

The six new varieties include some knock-offs like frosted flakes, berry loops, vanilla o's, and waffle crunch. But, there are also some innovative flavors like cocoa cinnamon crunch and strawberry and creme. The emphasis in this brand seems to be on value. They are priced well, and they want consumers to believe that they have good nutrition value too, packed with vitamins and minerals but lacking high fructose corn syrup (although their sugar content is on the high side).

In any case, this is an interesting move from Post, who desperately needs to reinvent itself. These cereals should stand out, although I haven't seen any formal marketing campaign yet. Post appears to be taking its future seriously, and this is a good example. In addition, they have also made some other changes with a revised logo and visual identity, plus the launch of postgoodness.com, an online social site that encourages consumers to share positive intentions for their day. All in all, Post may be on the right track.

SexCereal

You knew it was only a matter of time, and finally someone has done it. We've seen cereal focused on children, sports, digestive health, etc. but now we have entered a new frontier. Big Life Foods, a Canadian company, has introduced SexCereal, two cereals (one for men, one for women) to help you "Fuel Your Fire."

SexCereals are touted as "an amazingly delicious melange of wonderful, sometimes exotic, whole foods and spice." The implied message is that these formulas will enhance your love life.

This is obviously an incredible marketing effort, and one that should catch people's attention. But, as always, the cereals themselves had better be pretty tasty (or effective!) or the novelty will wear off fast, especially at almost $11.00 a box. At this point the cereals are available online and in Canadian health food stores. Don't look for it at your local grocers anytime soon, especially next to the Froot Loops.

(More at: Ottawa Citizen)