Tazeen Jafri

PREL3355
Assignment: Case Study Analysis Paper
ThermosThursday Refreshes Thirst for Iconic Thermos Brand
Background:
Thermos L.L.C. is the leading manufacturer of insulated food and beverage carriers. Even
though they hold the trademark of vacuum-insulation technology, the company now faces a huge
challenge against the recent growth of competitors producing the same product. The various and
numerous other brands made it easy for Thermos to be lost in the clutter, no longer recognizable
as the leading brand.

Research:
According to the research they had conducted, the companys target audience reaches across
multiple demographics: purposeful parents, fashionistas, outdoorsmen, fitness enthusiasts, and
super-commuters. These demographics share an on-the-go attitude. The companys audience
can enter from any point into the brand family, which makes it easier to increase the number of
consumers. They tapped into this convenience by entering the social space and directing the
conversation towards Thermos Thursday.
The companys research represents two categories:

Organization Goals The company is leading in the industry because they are the
innovators of the vacuum-insulation technology. They tapped into the niche of audiences
that share an on-the-go attitude and categorized them by demographics.

Opportunity/Problem The brand was facing lack of recognition and loyalty. The target
audience would purchase any food or beverage carrier instead of using the genuine
Thermos Brand Carriers.

The companys research also contained non-quantitative information that is geared more toward
the behavior and attitude of their audience.

Objectives:
There are two types of objectives. The first type is output and the other type is impact. The
objectives of the company fall into impact:

Increase awareness of the Genuine Thermos Brand, and awareness of where the brand and
products are today.
This objective of the company falls into the informational category. This is due to the fact
that it promotes an increase in awareness of the brand itself and its position in the market
now.

Reinvigorate and generate demand for Genuine Thermos Brand products.

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This objective of the company falls into the attitudinal and behavioral category. It falls under
the attitudinal category because it convinces the audience to build up brand loyalty. It also
fits behavioral because the company wants to modify the actions of its audience and build
demand for Thermos as the preferred brand over other companies.
The companys objectives are neither measurable nor do they have a time frame. However the
objectives somewhat align with being specific as they have key audience segments.

Strategies:

Build advocacy and engagement for Genuine Thermos Brand in the social space.
The companys strategies fall under the informational and attitudinal category. It falls
under the informational category because it promotes the advocacy of the brand. It also
falls under attitudinal because they want the audience to engage with the brand.

Incorporate Genuine Thermos Brand products into lifestyle activities of key audience
segments and build loyalty.
This strategy the company employs falls into the attitudinal and behavioral category. It
falls under the attitudinal category because it convinces the audience to build up brand
loyalty. It is behavioral as well because the company wants to modify the actions of its
audience by incorporating the Thermos Brand into their lifestyle instead of any other
brands.
The companys main platform was social media through Facebook and Twitter, using the
hashtag Thermos Thursday.

Programming:
Theme/Messages:
The hashtag #ThermosThursday was implemented as a slogan for the campaign. The key
message was that Genuine Thermos Brand can be incorporated into many lifestyles. The
company achieved this by getting the audience to engage socially with the Genuine Thermos
Brand.

Actions/Special Events:
The company created a strategic content calendar. Every Thursday, the rich heritage and
popularity of Thermos brand products was celebrated. The campaign included a variety
of activities to get the audience engaged with the brand. Every Thermos Thursday was a
virtual event or an actual event.

National #ThermosThursday across the country:

They started with the first-ever National Fill Your Thermos Brand Bottle Day. On that
day, consumers across New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Vancouver and
Bentonville, AR, received free fills of coffee, tea and other beverages in their Thermos

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brand product. For this to be possible, the company had to partner with coffee shops in
several markets.
These free fills were promoted on influential blogs such as HelloGiggles, Serious Eats,
Gothamist, LAist, Chicagoist and SFist to endorse the national day. The consumers were
also given a 25 percent discount at ShopThermos.com by using the promotional code.
The company also hosted a sweepstakes on Facebook and Twitter to give away the
brands traveler mugs. They educated the audience on the environmental concerns of
disposable containers. They molded their brand into an unsung hero determined to
promote the use of reusable containers over just any containers.

Regular Social Content:

The company hosted a series of sweepstakes on Facebook, giving away a range of
Thermos Brand products like coolers and Scooby-Doo lunch kits. This campaign not only
brought in new consumers, but it also reinforced and brought together the existing fans
across social channels to increase awareness.

Experiential Events:
The company used #ThermosThursday to go out into the field on hot Thursdays and
interact with the consumers. They hosted water stations in Los Angeles, Chicago and
Austin that provided the audience with Thermos brand water bottles filled with clean and
cold water.

Media Buzz:
The company engaged with the media in order to gain their support through product
launches, key platforms, and opportunistic interest around the Genuine Thermos Brand
and the campaign. They also conducted editor events, created syndicated articles, and
participated in co-op broadcast media tours. The campaign was newsworthy and gained a
lot of public interest.

Celebrity:
Pro wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mark Hoppus of the popular band Blink182 tweeted about Thermos along with photos to their millions of followers.

Evaluation:
The company was able to exceed both of its objective seven months into the campaign. They
accumulated more than 180 stories, and more than 170 million impressions about Genuine
Thermos Brand events and products were made in just the first six months of the campaign.
Media exposure was achieved through: SheKnows, Working Mother, Huffington Post,
Wired, Mens Health, Wall Street Journal and Good Housekeeping.
The national day generated 40.9 million impressions through traditional methods and
social media. The Genuine Thermos Brands Facebook audience increased by 1,660.4

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percent, growing from 3,223 likes in mid-April to more than 56,000 likes at the end of
November, with a paid media budget of only $9,500 for activities in May-June. The Talking
About This (Page, Weekly) has reached as high as 15,000 users and more than 11 million
followers on Twitter. Website traffic to Thermos.com increased 20 percent in the past seven
months.
The company gave away more than 3,300 water bottle samples across the Water Station
events.

Analysis:
Controlled Media:

The website Thermos.com and shopthermos.com and all its content, are controlled media.

Uncontrolled Media:
The press release for the campaign and the designs and execution of the venues that
were used to carry out the events are part of uncontrolled media.
The Facebook and Twitter accounts of the brand, Facebook.com/Thermos and
@Thermos, are forms of uncontrolled media.
The blogs that are mentioned above and the brands Wikipedia page are part of the
uncontrolled media. Other news and media outlets that promoted the campaign and the brand
like spongpr.com, odwyerpr.com and interpublic.com among various others are also part of
the uncontrolled media.

Source Credibility:
Thermos Brand was established 100 years ago which makes the brand itself very reliable and
credible. They also used their history in the press release to reinforce the brand. During its
course, Thermos brand products became a part of history, traveling with Robert Peary on his
discovery of the North Pole, and forming part of the equipment of such aviation pioneers as
the Wright Brothers and Count Zeppelin.
The company also inserted a quote from the president, National Fill Your Thermos Brand
Bottle Day honors the legacy, vast popularity and revolutionary on-the-go technology of the
Thermos vacuum insulated bottle. Today, our products are a part of daily life across the
globe, and the reputation has exploded as more and more people are eating and drinking on
the go, said Rick Dias, President, Chief Operating Officer, Thermos L.L.C. This made the
source even more credible and newsworthy.

Salient Information:
The brand employed message content and verbal cues in their campaign to motivate their
audience:

The hashtag #ThermosThursday.

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Facebook and Twitter deals to inspire people to fill up and celebrate with Genuine
Thermos Brand beverage containers.

Americans are invited to get ready.

Mark the inaugural National Fill Your Thermos Brand Bottle Day.

Share in the excitement, win, interact and learn.

They also tied the brand with a National Holiday making it easier for consumers to
remember it and be a part of it, National Fill Your Thermos Brand Bottle Day will be
observed annually on the last Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, a time when
people commonly grab-and-go with their Genuine Thermos Brand beverage and food
containers.

Making the product more than just a product but an experience, comfortable, enjoyable
eating and drinking experience for people on the go.

Nonverbal cues:

The brand Logo and the products of the brand.

The representation of the different target audience on their websites homepage.

They provided free beverage fills for cold regions and water stations for hot regions.

Scheduling the National Fill Your Thermos Brand Bottle Day with Memorial Day
making it easier to remember.

Two-Way Communication:
They used multiple media touch points to reach their target audience. They encouraged
people to use the hashtag in order to stay in the loop. This was carried out through Facebook
and Twitter, starting a public dialogue and cyber chatter about the brand. They also renewed
interest with their existing fan base by making it possible for them to enjoy free drinks at
various coffee shops as well as at water stations. The company encouraged their audience to
purchase Thermos products in order to utilize the free fills and become part of the big
growing Thermos online community.

Opinion Leaders:
The company incorporated influential bloggers mentioned above to promote not only
Thermos Thursday but also Thermos brands history, products, and basic information.

Audience Participation:
All the events, free fills, water stations, the discount, Facebook, Twitter and sweepstakes are
all forms of audience participation as the audience interact directly with the companys
products and get first-hand experience of the genuine quality.

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Outlook:
In my assessment, the campaign was a huge success as they exceeded their objectives just seven
months into the campaign. The brand itself is a vast umbrella for a lot of different products, so
its fairly competitive with the rest of the companies. All of their events and promotions were
focused on the target audience based on their research. However, I would have incorporated
school going children into the campaign as well. The company could have hosted special events
like the water station, but instead of water they could promote healthy eating at schools to get the
children to interact with the fun colors and designs of their lunch boxes. Apart from that, I didnt
find any other problems with the campaign.

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Source Sheet:

Wikipedia
Bibliography: N.p., 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Website - Cherry Picked: Thermos Thursday: A Journey from Hoarder to Collector

CHERRYPICKEDFINDS.BLOGSPOT.COM
Cherry Picked: Thermos Thursday: A Journey from Hoarder to Collector
In-text: (Cherrypickedfinds.blogspot.com)
Bibliography: Cherrypickedfinds.blogspot.com,. 'Cherry Picked: Thermos Thursday: A
Journey From Hoarder To Collector'. N.p., 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Website
ENGLISH.THERMOSBRAND.CA
Thermos -- Hot Matters. Cold Matters. It Matters.
In-text: (English.thermosbrand.ca)
Bibliography: English.thermosbrand.ca,. 'Thermos -- Hot Matters. Cold Matters. It
Matters.'. N.p., 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Website
Thermos
FACEBOOK Thermos
In-text: (Facebook)
Bibliography: Facebook,. 'Thermos'. N.p., 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Website
HAZLEY, G.
Thermos Brews Hot Coffee PR Stunt with Spong - Fri., Aug. 1, 2014
In-text: (Hazley)
Bibliography: Hazley, Greg. 'Thermos Brews Hot Coffee PR Stunt With Spong - Fri., Aug.
1, 2014'. Odwyerpr.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Website
INTERPUBLIC.COM
Recent Work | IPG
In-text: (Interpublic.com)
Bibliography: Interpublic.com,. 'Recent Work | IPG'. N.p., 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Website
Shop Thermos | Thermos, Thermos Nissan, Element 5, Raya and Foogo
SHOPTHERMOS.COM
Shop Thermos | Thermos, Thermos Nissan, Element 5, Raya and Foogo
In-text: (Shopthermos.com)
Bibliography: Shopthermos.com,. 'Shop Thermos | Thermos, Thermos Nissan, Element 5,
Raya And Foogo'. N.p., 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

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WebsiteOur Work - Spong PR

SPONGPR.COM
Our Work - Spong PR
In-text: (Spongpr.com)
Bibliography: Spongpr.com,. 'Our Work - Spong PR'. N.p., 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Website
AMERICA TO CELEBRATE FIRST-EVER NATIONAL FILL YOUR THERMOS
BRAND BOTTLE DAY ON MAY 23 | Thermos
THERMOS.COM
AMERICA TO CELEBRATE FIRST-EVER NATIONAL FILL YOUR THERMOS
BRAND BOTTLE DAY ON MAY 23 | Thermos
In-text: (Thermos.com)
Bibliography: Thermos.com,. 'AMERICA TO CELEBRATE FIRST-EVER NATIONAL
FILL YOUR THERMOS BRAND BOTTLE DAY ON MAY 23 | Thermos'. N.p., 2015.
Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Website
Killarney SG on Twitter
TWITTER
Killarney SG on Twitter
In-text: (Twitter)
Bibliography: Twitter,. 'Killarney SG On Twitter'. N.p., 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.