One of the most intriguing marketing campaigns in the past ten years has certainly been the Shreddies debate between the shape of the breakfast cereal. It all started when Shreddies decided to change the shape of its cereal from a square to a diamond as a way to boost sales. This led to a large debate as to which type of Shreddies cereal was better. With this slight change in their product, Shreddies has continued to maintain their high sales. (Fun fact: As of 2008, 66% of customers prefer diamond-shaped Shreddies compared to 34% of customers who prefer squared-shaped Shreddies).
Diamond Shreddies vs. square Shreddies.. Is there a difference?
When I had first heard of this campaign, I was very surprised; I did not understand how a slight (if any) change to a product could revive an entire cereal brand. I thought that the “45 degree rotational technology” was hardly a technological advancement, definitely not enough of an improvement to justify a new product. However, I now understand this campaign as an attempt at product differentiation. The company’s use of a voting system (diamonds vs. squares) was also a very creative way to sell the idea that the two products were very different. I realized that these marketing tactics were very unique because they did not sell a product, rather an idea. This was useful for me because I had previously had difficulty thinking of real-world examples of companies selling ideas and not products. I believe that this campaign was certainly an excellent example of just that.
Sources:
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/diamond-versus-square-shreddies-debate-rages-on-900167.htm
I agree with you, it is simply a marketing strategy to get the attention and involvement of consumers, rather than attempting to sell the product. It clear worked, considering we are still talking about it now!