Greek yogurt continues to gain traction as more Americans are trying to eat healthier foods, but now long-time yogurt company Yoplait is trying to reduce Chobani's market share with its taste test marketing campaign.
What started as a television advertisement that shows customers prefer the taste of Yoplait's rendition of Greek yogurt over Chobani's is going to develop into a wide range of custom made signs, in-store samples and posts on social networking websites, according to AdAge. Yoplait's strategy comes two years after Dannon joined the Greek yogurt industry with its own advertisements between 2011 and 2012.
The news source explained that directly challenging a competitor has been a common business practice in the past — think about the cola wars between Coke and Pepsi — but recent marketing efforts have displayed a more passive-aggressive approach. Instead of blatantly saying that their product is better than the competition, many companies have made fun of other business' signature products. Here's what Yoplait had to say for its strategy.
"We thought it would be great for consumers to know that we are a great-tasting Greek yogurt even when compared with something they are very familiar with," Marketing Director Carla Vernon told AdAge.
Yoplait's campaign reported that by the end of the sample taste test of blueberry-flavored yogurts between the two companies, 65 percent preferred the taste of Yoplait over Chobani. Americans who want to chime in on the campaign can use the hashtag #TasteOff on social networks.
Despite the results of these initial taste tests, Chobani added that "we've always made delicious, nutritious, natural and accessible yogurt, which we're proud and honored to say has made us America's [number one] Greek Yogurt brand."