What Growth Actually Looks Like at a Legacy Brand with Doug VandeVelde, Chief Growth Officer at WK Kellogg | Ep. 391

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Marketing Millennials – Ep. 391

Title: What Growth Actually Looks Like at a Legacy Brand with Doug VandeVelde, Chief Growth Officer at WK Kellogg
Host: Daniel Murray
Guest: Doug VandeVelde, Chief Growth Officer at WK Kellogg
Date: February 11, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode features a candid conversation between Daniel Murray and Doug VandeVelde, Chief Growth Officer at WK Kellogg, focusing on Kellogg’s bold move to feature Raisin Bran in a Super Bowl ad for the first time. They dive into the rationale behind this decision, the emerging health trends driving it, the creative strategy with William Shatner, and the evolving landscape of legacy brand marketing. Doug also shares insights into managing iconic cereal mascots, using the Super Bowl as a launchpad for yearlong campaigns, and his perspective as a growth leader at a major company.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Raisin Bran and Why Now?

Emerging Health Trends & Super Bowl Timing

• Fiber as the Next Big Thing: Doug emphasizes the cultural and dietary shift towards fiber, which is becoming as sought-after as protein.
  • “Fiber is the next big health trend… 95% of people don't get enough fiber.” (Doug, 02:21)
• Strategy for Maximum Impact: The Super Bowl was chosen as the perfect venue to reach a wide audience and kick off this new health-centric messaging.
  • “If you need to reach 95% of people with a message that's highly relevant, where do you go? You go to the Super Bowl.” (Doug, 02:56)

2. The William Shatner “Will Shat” Campaign

Returning to a Legacy Spokesperson for a Playful Message

• Shatner’s Connection: William Shatner previously appeared in Kellogg’s fiber ads 25 years ago. He’s a genuine believer in the product.
  • “William Shatner loves Kellogg, loves Raisin Bran, really believes in the importance of fiber.” (Doug, 03:50)
• Humor and Education: The “Will Shat” pun helps deliver an important (and slightly cheeky) message about the benefits of fiber, making gut health accessible and fun.
  • “The notion of using William Shatner… as a play on words helps us tell the fiber story in a fun and funny way.” (Doug, 04:35)
• Creative Collaboration: Shout outs to Vayner Agency for concept execution and the importance of authenticity in influencer partnerships.

3. Measuring Success from the Super Bowl Ad

KPIs & The Extended Campaign

• Engagement as the First KPI:
  • “Super Bowl these days, it's an ecosystem of screens... The first KPI is engagement, and we’ve seen tremendous reaction.” (Doug, 07:16)
• Changing Sentiment: The goal is to get people to think more about fiber and consider Raisin Bran.
• Sales & Yearlong Movement: The Super Bowl is just the start of a year-long activation, with follow-ups during the Olympics and ongoing messaging.
  • “This is... the Super Bowl is the kickoff to a yearlong push on fiber. It isn't the end, it's the start.” (Doug, 07:52)

4. Brand Mascots and Emotional Connection

• Sunny the Raisin Bran Mascot: Doug talks about the value of mascots (Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, Sunny), and how Sunny is being more prominently featured to spread optimism and joy.
  • “Sunny as the mascot for Raisin Bran… brings a sense of optimism, a sense of joy. Things that are kind of elusive in today's world.” (Doug, 10:13)
• New Initiatives: Introduction of a Sunny costume for the first time; increased mascot visibility in campaigns.

5. Building the Campaign: Planning and Execution

• Advanced Planning: Initial strategy began at least six months in advance, with intense creative work in the last three months.
• Cross-Brand Activation: The fiber push will also spotlight Mini Wheats and All Bran throughout the year, each with its own Shatner spot.
  • “Mini Wheats and All Bran will also have a William Shatner spot… It's three brands that are really going to lead this fiber movement.” (Doug, 12:12)

6. Super Bowl Media Buying & Strategic Placement

• Media Buy Decisions: Worked with Starcom and NBC to select optimal slots on both linear and streaming platforms. Kellogg purchased spots right before halftime for maximum attention.
  • “We're in the streaming as well… in the streaming service, we're going to be right before halftime.” (Doug, 14:03)
• Deal Structuring: Leveraged both Super Bowl and Olympics ad buys for year-round momentum.

7. Legacy Campaign Favorites

• London Olympics “Proud Sponsor of the Start”: Doug’s favorite previous campaign highlighted Kellogg as the starting point for athletes and viewers.
  • “Our premise was that, hey, the finish gets all the glory, but it all happens at the start.… Kellogg’s: The Start.” (Doug, 15:25)

8. The Evolving Cereal Category & What’s Next

• Resurgence Predicted: Doug forecasts renewed relevance thanks to cereal’s unique position at the intersection of taste, health, and value.
  • “Cereal is ready for resurgence. It's ready to get squarely on trend.” (Doug, 16:27)
• Focus on Simplicity: Many cereals have surprisingly few, natural ingredients. Messaging aims to re-educate consumers.
  • “Frosted Flake has four ingredients. And people when they hear that… they're looking for clean labels, no chemicals.” (Doug, 16:48)
• Synergy of Protein & Fiber: Marketing the classic cereal-and-milk combo as a balanced foundation for modern diets.
  • “Combination of cereal and milk brings the protein and fiber that you need… those two things work in a synergistic way for your health.” (Doug, 18:38)

9. The Role of a Modern Chief Growth Officer

• Integrated Leadership: Doug oversees marketing, e-commerce, R&D, and analytics—focusing on end-to-end innovation and consumer insight.
  • “The idea is to bring all those groups together so everyone's moving in the same direction to really drive ideas and drive growth.” (Doug, 19:24)
• Close Collaboration with Product Development: Example of Kashi Go restage, aligning product benefits with consumer desires from the outset.

10. Marketing Philosophy & Final Thoughts

• Transparency Above All: Doug’s “marketing hill” is about honesty and humanity in messaging.
  • “If you're a brand that is transparent and you're real and you're human and you're fact-based, I think that wins the race in the long term.” (Doug, 23:04)
• The Importance of Social Amplification: Super Bowl spots are distributed and kept alive through strong, reactive social campaigns.
  • “People think William Shatner and Raisin Bran are both national treasures… the response has been amazing.” (Doug, 23:42)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Choosing William Shatner:
  “William Shatner really believes in the importance of fiber. He loves Kellogg, he loves Raisin Bran.” (03:50 – Doug)
• On Humor as a Tool:
  “We wanted to tell the fiber story in a way that just puts a smile on people’s face.” (03:34 – Doug)
• On Planning for a Cultural Pivot:
  “For the first time, the same percent of people were trying to get more fiber in their diet as trying to get more protein.” (05:34 – Doug)
• On Industry Positioning:
  “Cereal is actually more simple than you think. A lot of our cereals only have four ingredients.” (16:48 – Doug)
• On Integrating Functions as Chief Growth Officer:
  “I spent a lot of time working at the intersection of products and ideas and insights and the team, you know, we work together to try and find ways to really break through.” (19:24 – Doug)
• On the Power of Transparency:
  “If you're a brand that is transparent and you're real and you're human and you're fact-based, I think that wins the race in the long term.” (23:04 – Doug)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:17 — Doug introduces himself and background at Kellogg
• 02:21 — Why the focus on fiber and Super Bowl timing
• 03:28 — Why William Shatner? The “Will Shat” campaign
• 05:34 — Consumer insights: Fiber demand rivaling protein
• 07:16 — KPIs for Super Bowl campaign & yearlong strategy
• 09:59 — The role of mascots, Sunny’s renewed visibility
• 11:53 — Planning and executing a year-long fiber campaign
• 13:40 — Inside the Super Bowl media buy decision process
• 15:11 — Doug’s favorite past Kellogg Olympic campaign
• 16:27 — Where cereal is heading in the next decade
• 18:59 — The Chief Growth Officer’s role at Kellogg
• 23:04 — The marketing “hill to die on”: Transparency
• 23:42 — The ripple effect of the Super Bowl ad & social media

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Conclusion

Doug VandeVelde reveals how a classic brand like Kellogg’s reinvents itself for today’s marketing landscape—boldly bringing fiber back into the conversation via a playful, celebrity-filled Super Bowl campaign. The episode highlights the importance of reading cultural signals, crafting long-term integrated campaigns, and maintaining brand authenticity. Doug’s leadership philosophy and behind-the-scenes strategy offer actionable insights for marketers at any scale.

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For further insights, follow Daniel Murray and The Marketing Millennials across their platforms, and don’t miss the “Will Shat” ad if you want a masterclass in turning legacy products into cultural moments.

Transcript

[Unpack Host]

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[Marketing Millennials Host]

Welcome to the marketing millennials, the no BS marketing podC. I'm Daniel Murray, and join me for unfiltered conversations with the brains behind marketing's coolest companies. The one request I tell our guests stories or it didn't happen. Get ready to turn the up.

[Daniel Murray]

We are back with another episode of the Market Millennials podcast. Today we have a very special guest. He's a chief growth officer of W.K. kellogg, and we're going to talk about the Super Bowl. But something special that's happening in the super bowl with one of my favorite cereals of all time. So excited to talk about it, but I'll let Doug introduce himself quickly, and then we'll get into what Raisin Bran's doing in the Super Bowl.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Yeah, great. Thanks, Daniel. Yeah. I'm Doug Vandevelde, chief growth Officer, as you say, for W.K. kellogg, and I've been with the Kellogg Company for about 28 years now. So love cereal. Been around cereal for a long time and happy to be here. And talk about Raisin Bran.

[Daniel Murray]

Let's kick it off with a serious question. The first serious question. Is Raisin Bran your favorite cereal or is it something else?

[Doug Vandevelde]

It's one of my favorites. You know, I mean, being in cereal for so long, I have, like, different cereals for different days. Raisin Bran is my number one travel cereal. Whenever I'm traveling, I eat Raisin Bran. I eat Raisin Bran at home, I switch between Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini Wheats, and Kashi. Those are my three favorite. And then when I'm, I'm feeling it, you know, at night after work, I usually have a big bowl of Frosted Flakes.

[Daniel Murray]

You know, I like. I think Raisin Bran is a good dinner cereal, too. It's a good, like, I love Raisin Bran for dinner, so. But I want to get into why 2026 was the right moment for Raisin brand to appear at the Super Bowl.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Yeah, that's great. I mean, when you look at what's happening in health and what's happening in culture, we really think that fiber is the next big health trend. You know, I mean, obviously it's been protein here for the last number of years, but fiber is really on the rise. And, you know, protein is in everything. So if you want to get more Protein, it's easy these days, but if you want to get more fiber in your diet, it's not always easy, you know, and in fact, 95% of people don't get enough fiber. And cereal is the easiest, tastiest, best way to get more fiber in your diet. So with all that happening, we thought, you know, hey, if you need to reach 95% of people with a message that's highly relevant, where do you go? Where you go to the super bowl. And that's why we're there.

[Daniel Murray]

And I think it's cool because I want you to describe why you chose William Shatner as the spot. And then also I like the play on words, which I think is pretty funny of like we'll shot. But I think it's, I want to go into why he was chosen. Why was he the spot? Yeah, sure.

[Doug Vandevelde]

So, you know, I mean, you know that there is a lot of science that supports the importance of fiber in your diet. And we tell that story through the lens of dietitians. But when it comes to the super bowl, you know, we wanted to make it lighthearted. We wanted to tell the fiber story in a way that just puts a smile on people's face. Obviously there's a lot of use of celebrity to do that in the super bowl and the bar is very high to make good creative that people will, you know, find relevant and maybe have a smile at. So we, we thought, you know, we have a long history with William Shatner in our company in kellogg. I mean, 25 years ago, William Shatner was doing the all brand two week challenge commercials. Hard to believe that was 25 years ago. But yeah, and so he, he loves fiber, he loves Kellogg. And you know, we all, we like to work with, with, with celebrities, with influencers who believe in what we believe in. So that was number one. William Shatner really believes in the importance of fiber. He loves Kellogg, he loves Raisin Bran. And then, you know, creatively, you know, we're working with the Vayner Agency and they're, they're excellent, they're very creative people. And so the notion of using William Shatner, who loves us, and then the play on words with his name helps us tell the fiber story in a funny, fun and funny and fun way. And so, you know, Will Shat as the shorthand for William Shatner kind of really works as a play on words, you know, in our spots.

[Daniel Murray]

Yeah, because I think, I mean, people who don't get enough fiber are not going to do what the play on words are talking about. So, exactly. So, exactly. And, and that's like 95% like you said, Americans are dealing with it issue, which is good to be the brand that is getting ahead of a trend instead of like, so how do you, how do you think about that? Like, how do you think about, okay, what goes into making that educated guess of okay, fiber is the next big that we think we're going to double down on.

[Doug Vandevelde]

You know, we obviously do a lot of our own consumer research, you know, so we're constantly talking with consumers, you know, doing research with consumers to say, you know, what are they trying to get more of in their diet. And last year we saw that for the first time there were the same percent of people that were trying to get more fiber in their diet as there were people trying to get more protein in their diet, which is a huge deal. Fiber had been going like that for a number of years. Then you look on, you know, you look at culture, something like Instagram searches for high fiber foods is up 159%, you know, on Instagram. So those are signals that like, hey, there's something happening here. People are getting more and more interested. You know, there's more and more kind of fancy high price solutions for Fiverr in your feed if you're interested in that stuff in Instagram. And what we see is like, hey, cereal is there. It's been there the whole time. And it's the easiest, tastiest, best way to get more fiber in your diet. So it kind of, it's a message that just naturally fits with what people are looking for. You don't have to tell them what cereal is. They've all heard of it. They know what Raisin Bran is. And so it's just a reminder that it's the way to get fiber into your diet. Yeah.

[Daniel Murray]

And I think, I mean, I know that, I mean the Vayner Group and then Gary Vee is very big on super bowl as being like the underpriced attention and if he would do anything, do a Super bowl ad. But I want to go into now the super bowl is going to happen. What is success look like? Is it more searches of fiber going up? Is more brands starting to double down on fiber? And obviously serial sales is probably a big one. But what does that look like as success metrics?

[Doug Vandevelde]

So I think the first thing is we want to get engagement. So again, the super bowl these days, it's an ecosystem of screens. It's not just one spot on the day, it's the whole week, 10 day lead in lot Happens on social media. We've been doing a lot on social media over the last 10 days and we've gotten a lot of engagement, great engagement, you know and I think that's the first KPI, you know, are you getting engagement? And we've definitely seen that. We've seen a tremendous reaction to what we've been doing in social. Then you, then you say, are you changing sentiment? Do more people go oh yeah, I do need more fiber in my diet and yeah, I am going to consider Raisin Bran. So we call that sentiment. You know, you change the sentiment and then ultimately the ultimate goal is sell more cereal. And that, that's obviously our, our goal and our ultimate KPI and something that we're driving for. This is, you know, the super bowl is the kickoff to a year long push on fiber. You know, it isn't the end, it's the start. And so we've got a whole year's plan. We go right from the super bowl right into the Olympics. We'll have our spots on the Olympics and a full year of, of supporting the fiber message. So yeah, so it's, it's, it's kind of a journey and our, our journey just starts. Starts now.

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[Daniel Murray]

Yeah, it's good to be the brand that's vocal on something that is actually super important to diet that actually and be if you're the first mover it looks way better than being the person who caters on but also it's good because I mean it's not like the solution has been around for 25 years. Just people aren't having the eyes open and raisin brand is very nostalgic cereal.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Definitely. Definitely.

[Daniel Murray]

I know in your career you are big at using mascots as like a big proponent on your. So how do you think about using Sunny as like a big proponent of this raisin brand journey?

[Doug Vandevelde]

Yeah, no, that's great. Yeah, we love, we love our mascots. Obviously we got Tony the Tiger. He's the OG he's the main guy and he does the good in the world. And so Tony and Frosted Flakes is a big thing. Toucan Sam, Froot Loops. But you know, Sunny as the mascot for Raisin Bran, you know, the, the brings a sense of optimism, a sense of joy. Things that are kind of elusive in today's world. You know, I mean people want more optimism. They want more reason to be optimistic. And Sunny kind of brings that. It's funny, we've never really had a, a Sunny costume, you know, the way we'll have a Tony the Tiger costume. And Tony's always out in the world. We had never had a Sunny costume until now. And Sunny is actually in our spot, you know, as you know. And Sunny will be a lot more kind of out in the world. And I think that just brings the whole notion of optimism. I mean the thing about fiber is the science really shows that it not only is good for your gut health, but more and more it affects your energy level, your mood and all these things that the optimistic Sunny can really, can really have an impact on.

[Daniel Murray]

Yeah, I like that. And I also think that brands don't do this often of making this bot more of educational moment than a selling moment. I think educational content is super important to just get that aha moment. Even if it gets someone that day to be like, wait, have I ate enough fiber today? Versus someone who's starting their whole new journey of having more fiber. And then you said that you're doing this like throughout the year. What, what does that look like when you're planning, okay, I want fiber to be the focus. Raisin Bran is probably the best cereal to do that with. What, how long ahead do you plan that? What is the planning look like to, to make this all happen? That it goes a year long?

[Doug Vandevelde]

I mean it's at least a six month in advance plan. You know, you don't have everything all nailed down, but you start working on this six months in advance. But we really, you know, we with Vayner really started working on this in earnest probably three months ago. And the thing that's, the thing that's great is Raisin Bran is in the super bowl. But then starting the day after in the Olympics, we'll have our other high fiber cereals on as well. So Mini Wheats and all Bran will also have a William Shatner spot, 15 second spot that will play along with the raisin brand for the rest of the year. So it's, it's three brands that are really going to kind of lead this fiber, fiber movement.

[Daniel Murray]

I mean that's good. I mean it's good to, I think for any brand to showcase because some people I know, for example, like my wife's not a big raisin person, so.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Yeah, right, exactly.

[Daniel Murray]

She might not, she might not want that cereal. So if you. Showcasing other ways. Ways that through your collection of cereals of how to get.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Exactly.

[Daniel Murray]

But Loki, there is a. I'm going to just bring this randomly. There's at Publix, they make this Raisin Bran. I don't know if it's with the raisin bread muffin. It's the best thing in the world. It's the best thing in the world.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Definitely. We have all brand muffin recipes. Raisin Bran muffin recipes. Again, just a way to use cereal to get. Simply to get fiber into your diet. Yeah, muffins are a great way to do it.

[Daniel Murray]

For people who haven't run a Superboy ad, like, how does it, how does one decide what slot they want and where they should be in the Super Bowl? Because I know a lot of people have different slots and they. It's a big decision where to go because you're spending a good amount of money to do this. How does one decide where we're going to plug ourselves?

[Doug Vandevelde]

So we have a really good media agency, Starcom, that works on this with NBC, you know, and you, you work out, you know what, where you want to be in the game. Is your message relevant to any different part of the game? You know, one of the things we've done this year is we've also bought the streaming. So we bought the peacock streams, the Super Bowl. So we're in the streaming as well. So we bought linear TV through the biggest markets and we bought the streaming. And so you can have different placements and different. Depends on the different buy, you know, in the streaming service. We're going to be right before halftime. You know, that's a time where, you know, everybody's still watching the game. Shouldn't be out of hand by then. And so we think that's. That's a good play. But. But yeah, it depends on your negotiation with NBC. And, and you know, if you, if you get lucky and it's a really close game and you're in the fourth quarter. That's fantastic. It can go the other way too though. So, yeah, so we're. We're in the second quarter. We like that position.

[Daniel Murray]

And then also, I mean, it's good linear because you could buy with the Olympics, which is also on amazing.

[Doug Vandevelde]

So you have.

[Daniel Murray]

So you can have that. You could have structure the deal to Be. Hey, we want to be here. We want to be here. We're going to be all year. So just let us know what to package that up for.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Daniel Murray]

I want to also ask, I know this thought is a big slot, but what is one of your other favorite Kellogg campaigns that you worked on in the past?

[Doug Vandevelde]

Yeah, I have to say, a few years ago, we were in the official sponsors of the Olympics Summer Olympics in Lond. Remember that 2012, fantastic, iconic Olympics in London. And we were the proud sponsors of the start. So our kind of premise was that, hey, the finish gets all the glory, the finish gets all the credit, but it all happens at the start. And so we had a swimmer who was swimming forward, and then all of a sudden she started swimming backward, and it ended with Kellogg's the start. See you at breakfast. So the start of the day, the start of the race, the start of the Olympics. We. We were on the opening ceremonies and it was. We were the proud sponsors of the start. So really, another epic campaign, an epic time. I mean, the London Olympics were phenomenal. And. Yeah. And we really drove Kellogg's and the brand equity around Kellogg's as the best start to the day.

[Daniel Murray]

And I mean, athletes are very good role models to be able to push this. I mean, they're doing for forever. But I wanted to ask you, the cereal, the cereal category has evolved a lot over the. The last 10 years. But what, what do you see revolving the next decade and what excites you the most about, like, the future of cereal?

[Doug Vandevelde]

Yeah, honestly, I think cereal is ready for resurgence. I think it's ready to get squarely on trend because it offers the combination of taste, health and value. And people need all those things. You know, I mean, the everyday people need value, products that are both tasty and healthy. And cereals right at the center of that. I mean, we've got a whole campaign going on right now that talks about how cereals are actually more simple than you think. Like, a lot of our cereals only have four ingredients, four natural ingredients. Corn, salt, sugar, and malt. All. That's it. Like a Frosted Flake. That's all. Frosted Flake has four ingredients. And people when they hear that, they're like, yeah, because they're looking for clean labels, no chemicals, you know, and so that simplicity message really plays well. Obviously, the fiber, when fiber becomes the next big health trend, that's going to be a big driver, a big driver of cereal. We have Kashi is one of our brands, which is a great product for people who are looking for kind of the modern way to. To manage their weight. And then there's just basic fun. Tony the Tiger Toucan Sam bring people joy. Joy again, very elusive in our society today. And so a little bit of joy from a, from a bowl of Frosted Flakes and Tony the Tiger, I think is value to consumers. So I think cereal is ready for a big resurgence.

[Daniel Murray]

Yeah, especially, I mean, we're talking to. This is a lot of a millennial audience. And a lot of our millennials grew up with Tony the Tiger grew up with, yes. The major mascots all the time. And most of us could probably know all the slogans of all of all these great. But there's been so much noise in the category and in the health industry over the last year. So re educating on going back to the basics of okay, there's enough talking about protein. Everything's adding protein now. The most random things now have protein, like protein water and stuff like that. Let's talk about something else that is. Will go good with having a protein which is exactly. With this fiber, which.

[Doug Vandevelde]

That's a great point that you make, you know, like the combination of protein and fiber, especially when you think about a bowl of Raisin Bran and then the milk that you eat it with, which brings a lot of protein and vitamin D along. Like, that's like a magic combination, cereal and milk. And we're doing a lot more marketing in that area as well that, you know, the combination of cereal milk brings the protein and the fiber that you need and those two things work in a synergistic way for your health.

[Daniel Murray]

I also want to ask you, what is the role of a chief growth officer look like at Kellogg's? Like, what does your day to day look like? What decisions are you making? Because obviously there's so many moving pieces. Like Vayner is running this. You have Starcom running buys. You have a whole team to manage. So what does it look like day to day for a chief growth officer at.

[Doug Vandevelde]

That's a great question. A lot of companies have gone to chief growth officers because it integrates several very important things and tries to get that all moving in the same direction. So in my world, it's marketing. It's the E commerce and Omni marketing. It's R and D and product development and then it's insights and analytics. And the idea is to bring all those groups together so everyone's moving in the same direction to really drive ideas and drive growth. So I spent a lot of time working at the intersection of products and Ideas and insights and the team, you know, we work together to try and find ways to really break through. So whereas before companies would have chief marketing officers who would only focus on marketing, a chief growth officer really tries to be a more integrated role across those dimensions. I just mentioned.

[Daniel Murray]

Yeah. Because I feel like one of the most important parts of marketing is distribution. And if you're not part of the, the distribution, the making of a product, how are you going able to market? You're just getting a product and then you have to come up with.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Right.

[Daniel Murray]

A campaign to do it. You need to be part of. Distribution is probably the most important part of a product going to market. And if you're not part of the beginning stages of how it's made, packaging what is the major parts and you're not in the, in the room at least as a marketer. You're, you're, you're losing so much insight to be able to go to market effectively.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Yeah, no, that's a fantastic point. I think in today's world you've got to figure out what do you want to ultimately end up with in terms of claims and what you want to say. I mean we have a great example. We just restaged our Kashi go lineup where the marketing and the R D team work together to come up with what the consumer would really want, which is a 10 gram of protein, 10 gram of fiber, single digit sugar product that tasted great. So the R D team and the marketing team decided that together in the beginning and then they worked together all along to kind of restage that part of the brand and it's gone fantastic. Because we ended up with a product that the consumer ultimately really wanted.

[Daniel Murray]

Yeah. I mean even this like wool shot spot, I mean, yeah, the, the, the number one problem that you are people are having is that they can't go to the bathroom. Like that's right. That's, that's like the number one issue that you're solving. You're trying to solve an issue of. So many people I know are leaning on supplementation instead of food to be able to do this where food is a way better option than supplementation. So, so you lean on the problem. You just do it in a creative way. You educate that this, your product could do it. But it takes a lot of market, I mean it takes market research to know that, okay, let's lean on the number one problem of and how to solve it as fiber. And we have fiber that solves it. So let's tell everybody our product in a funny way.

[Doug Vandevelde]

So and Especially, you know, after the super bowl, there's a lot of people that, you know, don't eat 100 healthy the day of the Super Bowl. Maybe a few too many drinks. And so the Monday after is the perfect day to be like, hey, I need to reset my gut health routine because I do not feel good today. You know, and so that's the day, that's the day to go, okay, I'm going to start eating more fiber, I'm going to improve my gut health, that's going to improve my energy overall. And so, yeah, so just the super bowl works for us in so many ways.

[Daniel Murray]

And then one question I ask everybody on this podcast is, what is a marketing kill you would die on?

[Doug Vandevelde]

I think transparency. Transparency and truth. You know, there's so much fake in the world today that if you're a brand that is transparent and you're real and you're human and you're fact based, I think that wins the race in the long term. You know, there's such, such a temptation to be all sizzly, you know what I mean? And, but at the end of the day, the marketing hill for me is transparency, truth, humanity, all the things that win over the long term.

[Daniel Murray]

And what is something that people, if they missed, missed the super bowl, that they, they, they're missing if they didn't see the ad during the Super Bowl?

[Doug Vandevelde]

I mean, they need to go back and look at Will Shat. I mean, you know, Will Shad has been everywhere and the response has been amazing. I mean, you know, you've seen it in the, in the social. People think William Shatner and Raisin Bran are both national treasures. I just love that so much, you know, so I think he just spans so many audiences. People remember him for so many roles that he did. And again, he's super credible and super authentic. I mean, he's 94 years old, so fiber must be really good for you if you look and act like he does when you're 94 years old. A lot of people are saying that to us. So. So, yeah, I think it's not just the spots, but it's like people's reaction to the spots. I get so much out of that just reading the comments on Instagram or whatever. I think that's, that's part of the super bowl these days.

[Daniel Murray]

And I love that. Social is part of the strategy too. I think a lot of threads, a lot of brands, like, forget, okay, like you have a spot, but how do I make the spot go on for a long period of time? And Social is like one of the best ways to do that.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Agree 100%.

[Daniel Murray]

I know you have a hard stop and I want to thank you for coming on and I'm excited to see all the reactions on Social after this goes live. So.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Okay. Daniel, fantastic. Great to meet you. Great to be on your on your podcast here.

[Daniel Murray]

Thank you so much.

[Doug Vandevelde]

Okay, have a good day.

[Marketing Millennials Host]

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