F CASE STUDY:

TITLE OF Slim Jim

m Man Medicine
e

Business
s Situation an
nd Campaign
n Objectives
s

Teenage boys had long g been Slim Jim’s

J core connsumer. In fa ct, by 2010 te
eens accountted for the ma ajority
of Slim Jim
m consumptio on (NPD). Fuurthermore, te
eenage guys h had a favorab ble opinion off the Slim Jim
m
brand, fou
und it socially appealing an
nd craved the product (Slim
m Jim A&U 20 010). Howeve er, despite Sliim
Jim appea al among teen nage guys, co
onsumption dropped
d off onnce they turneed 18. In 2011, Slim Jim so ought
to grow fro
om a brand heavily
h entrenched among teenage boyss (ages 12-17 7) to one that could also atttract
young adu ult guys (agess 18-29).

Successfu ully extendingg the brand reelevance and communicati on to young a adult guys wo
ould represen nt
significantt business pootential. Moreoover, the drop
p-off in consu
umption Slim JJim was expe
eriencing wassn’t a
category norm.
n In gene
eral, snackingg declines when guys beco ome young ad dults compareed to their earrly
teen yearss, however, competitive
c brrands, such as
a Jack Links,, Doritos, Che ngles, weren’t
eetos and Prin
seeing thee same levels s of abandonm ment (NPD).

The strate g objective was clear: Rev

egic marketing verse the dropp-off among yyoung adult guys, while
t core teenage audience
retaining the e. Success would
w be meassured according to the keyy metrics amo
ong
the core male
m consumeers as well as
s the young adult guys: inccrease brand relevance, in
ncrease purch
hase
intent and
d increase con
nsumption

Slim Jim was

w fielding a new ad track king study forr the 2011 cammpaign and tthe new camp
paign was
expected to deliver significant lifts re
elative to thatt young group
p.

h Story
Research

To better understand th
he drivers of consumption
c m conducted a snacking
drop-off, the Slim Jim team
attitude an
nd usage stud
dy among adults and the te eenage boys . The analys is revealed th
hat two segme
ents
of Snacke ers emerged as
a teenage gu uys transition to young aduulthood:

Snack Graduates – Many young adult gu uys moved onn from the sna
ack brands asssociated with
h
th
heir teenage years.
y They no
n longer snac cked as frequ
uently and gra
aduated to mo
ore adult snacck
brrands. They thought
t of Slim
m Jim as a “fo
ood I have ou
utgrown” and one which “used to be coo ol”.

Young
Y at Hearrt – However, many young adult guys re etained their tteenage snacck preferencess.
These were the guys driving g adult consuumption of com mpetitive snaack brands likee Doritos, Cheetos
annd Pringles. Moreover,
M ey were still open to Slim J im. They like d Slim Jim. T
the They even cra aved
th
he taste of Slim Jim, but sim
mply did not have
h it as ofte
en as they ussed to.

This seco ond group of older

o guys (Yo
oung at Heartt) represented
d a clear oppo
ortunity to gro
ow the brand.. Yet,
they still weren’t
w eating
g Slim Jim as much as they
y were other ssalty snacks. The Slim Jimm team neede ed to
better und derstand why? ?

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The team learned through qualitative interviews, focus groups and store intercepts that Slim Jim wasn’t
as relevant to young adult guys. First, they didn’t find the brand as personally relevant as younger guys
did. Second, young adult guys viewed competitive snack brands like Doritos, Cheetos and Pringles as
more relevant than Slim Jim. For years, Slim Jim had been focused on communicating to a younger
teenage target, so the fact that these “older” young adults found the brand as less relevant wasn’t
surprising. After all, although only a few years apart in age, young adult and teenage guys are worlds
apart in terms of their lifestyles – teens are living out the twilight of their childhood, whereas older guys
are being thrust into the adult world. While these life stage differences might have first seemed like a
major barrier to extending the brand to an older audience, they actually represented a strategic
opportunity.

That’s because the transition to adulthood isn’t easy for most guys. Faced with the increasing
responsibility, it’s often difficult to just be a guy. The detailed examples of the struggle became clearer
through numerous interviews and in-home observations. For instance, obligations like paying rent,
holding down a job, or being sensitive to a girlfriend’s feelings make it harder to sleep until noon or spend
countless hours playing video games. Moreover, the adjustment to adulthood seemed particularly
unwelcome among Slim Jim’s growth segment – The YOUNG AT HEART – who still clung to many of
their teenage behaviors and attitudes. Within that tension is the sweet spot and a clear role for Slim Jim.

In particular, with Slim Jim’s equity, the brand was well –suited to rescue young men from the burdens of
adult like and help them just be guys – i.e. restore them to an idealized state of manliness.

The insight was grounded not only in the brand’s equities, but also in the product itself. After all, Slim Jims
are made of meat and few things are manlier than meat.

Finally, the notion of rescuing guys from the burdens of adult life was a unique emotional high ground no
other snack brand had claimed. While Slim Jim’s competitors certainly appealed to young adult guys
through humor and reflections of their lifestyle, none had built a brand with a clear, credible role in their
lives. The introduction of a new campaign would support the current business and also introduce a new
line of spicy products. The play on the need to replenish male spice loss from the pull of adult
responsibility was a perfect match for the new “Dare” line of Slim Jim products.

Understanding how to represent the burdens of adult life and the Slim Jim cure in a relevant, entertaining
and meaningful way required additional consumer learning. There was a delicate balance of just being a
guy among friends and the pull of responsibility and adulthood that could be exposed and leveraged.
Through qualitative iterations, consumers let us know just how far the Slim Jim brand could represent that
tension and provided guidance for what would resonate with the young adult male audience for our
current product offerings and the new “Dare” line.

Campaign Description

Big Idea

In particular, the Man-Medicine campaign introduced the world to the Slim Jim Center for Spice Loss, a
medical-type organization whose trained professionals treated guys suffering from the ill effects of
unmanly behavior.

The Campaign

Disorder = Male Spice Loss

Cause = The new found pressures of adult responsibility – e.g., maintaining a romantic
relationship or the harsh reality of full-time employment

Symptoms = Plummeting video game aptitude, diminished zombie survival skills and important
bro-time being replaced by furniture shopping.

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 Cure = Slim Jim products, naturally. Depending on their symptoms, patients were prescribed a
number of Slim Jim products to restore their manliness.

It was an idea designed to both attract an older audience and still deliver the irreverent humor that
teenage guys expected from Slim Jim. The team put together a comprehensive media plan which began
in July 2011 and included:

‐ National Video (network prime and select male targeted cable networks as well as digital online
video)
‐ Live Commercial with Jimmy Kimmel
‐ Video Game focused Digital including xBox branded destination
‐ Social Media including facebook, twitter and peer to peer social seeding

The communications strategy placed Slim Jim in media channels where young adult guys turned to
escape adult responsibility. Based on syndicated sources, these escape routes included TV, online
video, social media and, of course, video gaming. In particular, video and digital placements ran within
channels like Comedy Central, G4, Break.com, Gamespot and Xbox Live. On-air integrations with
Tosh.o and Jimmy Kimmel Live! further entrenched Slim Jim among the target’s escape routes. Finally,
slim Jim’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and website were themselves transformed from
destinations for product information in to channels which also provided young adult guys with entertaining
escapes from adult responsibility.

Slimjim.com itself was transformed into the official Center for Spice loss, a clear sign the brand fully
embraced the new strategy and creative idea. In particular, the site allowed users to learn about Male
Spice loss, take a man quiz to measure their male spice levels and explore Slim Jim product cures.

Social media invited guys to spread the work about Man-Medicine. Specifically, a series of video greeting
cards allowed guys to send condolences to friends suffering from male spice loss. The cards lamented a
variety of unmanly behaviors, from attending a baby shower to enjoying adult contemporary music.
Visitors to Slimjim.com were able to share the cards and post them to friends’ walls.

Business Results

Tying back to the marketing objective, this new brand strategy and creative idea effectively drove lifts in
relevance, purchase consideration and, ultimately, sales among both teenage and young adult guys.

To measure campaign effectiveness, Slim Jim fielded a tracking study in November 2011 following the
roll-out of paid media. In line with objectives, the study demonstrated significant lifts in all key measures:
relevance, purchase intent, and consumption among both teenage and young adult guys. Importantly,
these lifts were achieved with flat year-over-year spend levels.

Relevance (Is for someone like me) +16pts Teen Boys, +11pts Young Adult Guys

Purchase Intent +25 pts Teen Boys, +25 pts Young Adult Guys

Consumption (unaided) +8pts Teen Boys, +8pts Young Adult Guys

Beyond those tracking measures, sales were the ultimate validation of the Man-Medicine campaign. In
the year following the campaign launch Slim Jim sales grew 14%. For context, that rate outpaced the
growth of every snack category except only corn nuts (IRI Meat Snack Category sales July 2012).

In these ways man –Medicine both attracted a lapsed young adult audience, while still appealing to the
brand’s core consumer. Sales gains were also driven by higher commodities costs, which resulted in
increased pricing. However, higher commodities costs affected the entire packaged food industry,
meaning Slim Jim’s results were achieved on a level playing field. Furthermore, the campaign tracker also
demonstrated that consumption increased during the campaign period.

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