Krafts Image Motivator

In our tobacco industry research, TobaccoFreedom.org found an internal document showing that Philip Morris (PM) hired consultants (The Wiirthlin Group) in 1993 to study their public image. PM executives were not pleased with the findings. People do not like Philip Morris–they do not like the tobacco companies in general. Yet people have fairly positive feelings about Kraft Foods and are relatively positive about the Miller Brewing Company. Once Philip Morris learned this, they stopped talking about their relationship to Marlboro and other tobacco products, highlighting their ties to Kraft and Miller.

In a 1993 report for Philip Morris, we learn the tobacco giant hired Landor Associates, who are "Identity Consultants and Designers Worldwide," to assist in re-defining the Philip Morris image. The documents shows Philip Morris "has elected to adopt a new corporate name and image to launch a positive repositioning campaign" as their "current image is that of tobacco based company."

After a multi-million dollar PR campaign touting their charitable work failed to improve their image, the executives at Philip Morris Companies have decided on a wholesale corporate makeover, centered around a name change to the lofty sounding Altria. The November 16th 2001 announcement comes on the heels of what has widely been seen as a failed $250 million dollar corporate image advertising campaign, which highlighted the company's charitable contributions and downplayed the deadly and addictive tobacco products that built the company.

Until 2002, Philip Morris could be designed as the company that sold things that were not very healthy to put in your mouth, namely: Marlboro (the old Philip Morris tobacco company, founded In London around 1850), Velveeta (Kraft, acquired in 1988), Tang (General Foods, acquired in 1985), Chips Ahoy (Nabisco, acquired in 2000), and Miller Lite (Miller Brewing, acquired in 1969). The name change is part of a long-term effort to improve the corporation's public perception, which has included shifting the focus of attention away from Philip Morris (Altria) as a tobacco company, to a "consumer packaged goods company." Consultants recommended this change, as "forty percent of the general public can't even guess what a consumer packaged goods company is."

So is it a coincidence that…

Kraft Foods Inc. has agreed to sell substantially all of its sugar confectionery business to the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, for approximately $1.5 billion. The proposed sale includes the Life Savers, Creme Savers, Altoids, Trolli and Sugus brands, which represent about 1.5% of Kraft's global revenues. Kraft Foods sells yogurt business to Coolbrands International.

Kraft Foods plans to cut calories, fats and sugar across its product line, cease in-school marketing and re-examine portion sizes. Kraft plans to use the new nutrition criteria—to be derived from new US Dietary Guidelines—to shift the mix of products it advertises in TV, radio and print media viewed primarily by children aged between 6 and 11 towards healthier products. In the US it also plans to introduce a “better for you” labeling program featuring an on-pack flag for food and beverage products that meet the specific nutrition criteria.

Whose image is truly improving?