KRAFT foods has an array of relations to the community including about ten media outlets for community relations and support.  It is important that KRAFT foods stays updated on what their consumers want and need. 

  First is the recipe exchange on the company’s website.  Anyone can search recipes submitted from others by both category and type as well as add recipes of their own.  I think this is such a great idea because I cannot even count the number of times I have been in the kitchen and thought…what should I make today or how can I make this recipe more fun?  Oh, and I would most definitely be posting my favorite recipe I created- Brownies with my secret ingredient.  Okay I’ll tell you it’s a half teaspoon of cinnamon and trust me once you put it into a brownie mix, you will never make plain old brownies again! 

Do you have a favorite recipe or want to find one?

KRAFT foods also has its own channel through: YOUTUBE

The second way that KRAFT foods is involved with the community is through message boards with different categories.  These include Cooking and Recipes, Meal Planning & Budgeting, Entertaining, Healthy Living, Feed Your Soul, Baking, General Discussions about KRAFT foods, and Miscellaneous.  I think it is important that KRAFT foods stays in touch and updated with their community.  By having these message boards, discussions about the products and the company help people connect with each other.

If you are looking for some quick ideas and tips, this is the place you want to make sure to click on!

            Another way KRAFT foods interacts with the community is through photo submissions.  Members can post photos among several different categories which makes it easier to find which categories your photos belong in.  KRAFT foods has Member Recipe Photos, Member Bunny Cake Photos, Birthday Treats, Halloween Cupcakes, Fun with Food and Family, Year-Round Holiday Delights, Healthy Living, Comfort Foods, Sweet Sensations, Entertaining Bites, and Delicious Ideas of the Month.  Just viewing these photos is making me want to jump into the kitchen and whip up something!

Take a look at some of these mouth-watering ideas!

            Along with these great community relations, KRAFT foods also has social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter and Google Plus where friends and followers can express their opinions, comments, and concerns with the KRAFT foods company. 

            In addition to these outlets, KRAFT foods does have a single focus- making a delicious difference in communities.  KRAFT foods has donated over $770 million in cash and food over the past 25 years to make differences among communities.  They have made programs such as Make A Delicious Difference, Planting Seeds for Better Health in Brazil, Mobile Pantries that Help Feed Hungry Families, and Salsa Sabor y Salud.  These programs are geared toward feeding people and helping people get on track with a healthier lifestyle.  LEARN MORE!

                These different community relations programs support the mission of KRAFT foods, which is to make every day delicious by beginning with consumers.  KRAFT foods listens, watches, and learns through these different relations with consumers to help understand their joys and challenges.  I like that KRAFT foods states that they are consumers too because it shows they understand what consumers want.   In the community section on the KRAFT foods website, KRAFT foods welcomes consumers to their community and encourages them to share their ideas, make friends, and be inspired- which are all positive and welcoming actions.

            This is great public relations for the company because all outlets are EXTREMELY active.  Consumers are posting daily on every media outlet and KRAFT foods is being interactive as well.  If KRAFT foods’ outlets such as message boards, photo galleries, recipe sharing, Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus and were not being maintained, updated, and used for feedback to the consumers, then consumers would be less likely to interact on the sites.  However, KRAFT foods does a great job with responsiveness.  This make me love the company even more! 

            One main suggestion I have is for KRAFT to do maybe a raffle or giveaway basket on their Facebook page maybe once a month.  While interning at a Cosmetics Company, I created raffle and giveaway pages all of the time and consumers really seemed to enjoy that.  And with KRAFT foods, what consumer would not want to win a giant gift basket of OREOS! I mean, KRAFT’s great products!

KRAFT foods, like any other well-known corporate company is active on many social media outlets- the main ones being Facebook and Twitter.  The KRAFT foods Facebook page has just over 35,000 followers and the Twitter page has just over 30,000 followers.  This is probably because more people have Facebook than Twitter but the numbers are still pretty close.    

Social media has become a legitimate revolution and more than just a source of information.  It has become a way of life for fans of many different companies, products, and brands.  PR people live and breathe social media constantly receiving updates about the experiences and updates (both good and bad) of companies and people.

KRAFT foods is doing a fantastic job of utilizing social media outlets.  KRAFT foods has two main Facebook pages.  One is KRAFT foods- Corporate and the other is KRAFT foods- Recipes and Tips.  Here are the links, check them both out!

KRAFT-y Facebook Corporate

KRAFT-y Facebook Recipes and Tips! (YUMMMMMM!)

In addition, they also have a corporate Twitter page.

KRAFT-y Twitter!

What I found really funny and shocking was that KRAFT mac and cheese has its own Twitter page with over 4,000 followers as well as Oreo Cookies (made by KRAFT foods) with over 21,000 followers!  These two products combined from KRAFT foods have more followers than some low-end celebrities.  And I thought having 71 followers was a big deal and an achievement…maybe I should turn into a KRAFT foods product instead!!!

Twitter for MAC N CHEESE PLEASE!!!!!

Twitter for America's FAVORITE cookie...OREOS!

I really like the consistency KRAFT foods is doing here.  Having a uniformity (in relation to the corporation) on Facebook and Twitter shows that they utilize both outlets for two similar purposes- yet have the ability to reach different outlets of people (for example, maybe someone only has a Facebook account and not a Twitter account or vice versa).  As a Marketing minor, I often view purchases from the consumer’s perspective.  Some things I like to focus on are quality of products, reputation of the brand name, and how responsive the company is to consumer’s needs.  By having both a Facebook and Twitter page, I feel as though KRAFT foods allow consumers to voice their opinions and share their experiences of using their products.  This is especially great if consumer’s have suggestions or issues with KRAFT foods’ products because if KRAFT foods was unaware of suggestions or issues, consumer’s may be more likely to stray away from their loyalty to the brand. 

I like how the KRAFT foods Corporate Facebook page has different side tabs about who they are as a company, who their team is, and what their responsibility is.  It shows a professional side of the company that made me feel as though they are a strong brand.  In addition, I love how their Twitter page consists of tweets responding to what consumers are saying about their products or issues.  It is great to see a company that is responsive to its valued consumers.

The main suggestion I have for KRAFT foods is to be more active on Youtube.  Yeah, people can read updates and statuses on Facebook and Twitter but people are more engaged when they are watching something.

This is the KRAFT foods Youtube homepage…
If YOU can TUBE, you can cook!

It has close to 16,000 followers (the least among other media outlets) and mainly consists of just tips and recipes.  I think it would be beneficial if they gave more of a background about the corporate aspects in a few short Youtube videos that are informative and interesting to watch!

If I were the PR person for KRAFT foods, I would create a few Youtube videos that go behind the scenes of KRAFT foods manufacturing warehouses and see just how the products are created and packaged.  As a lover of the Food Network show “Unwrapped” they unwrap how certain products are made and I think if consumer’s were able to go behind the scenes of how their favorite American foods (such as mac n cheese and Oreos) are made they would even be more interested and excited about the products.

Also, I would do more live tweeting sessions where consumers could tweet questions for a half hour and have immediate responses.  This could be every Sunday night at 7 creating and driving more traffic to the KRAFT foods Twitter page and an increased number of followers. 

The company I have selected to blog about is Kraft Foods.  My blog is Krafted (pun intended) to help learn more about the overall mission of the company.  Since it is ranked number 49 on the Fortune 500 list, my main focus is to gain a better understanding of the company and its brand image.  I’m interested in finding out how the company uses social media and if they use any other new forms of media to help reach their target audiences.  In addition, I am also interested in learning more about how KRAFT Foods gives back to the communities of people that know, trust, and love the company. 

As a Public Relations major and Marketing minor (as well as an avid lover of the Food Channel) I thought KRAFT Foods would be a great company to further explore. As a Marketing minor, my mind is morphed to immediately look at how companies brand, package, label, and image themselves (similar to the view I have from a Public Relations background).  While living at college, I always seem to be the one roommate in the house who is doing all of the cooking or getting asked, “what are you making for dinner tonight?”  I think this is not only because of my Italian background  but also because of my love of food.  

As one of the leading food companies, did I mention all of the products KRAFT is currently known for? 

  Food is a universal language.  Everyone knows what it is, everyone consumes it, and everyone has a favorite.  KRAFT has entered the homes of people everywhere and has been a main source of happiness and conversation at every family party, special event/occasion, or dining situation, whether consumers realize it or not.  While KRAFT does not have one specific target audience, they do try to reach all different communities around the world.  I think this is important for a food company especially because everyone eats food, so why not target, well... everyone?   

            KRAFT Foods has several implemented strategies which add to the overall success of the company.  These strategies are to delight global snack consumers, unleash the power of their iconic heritage brands, and create a performance-driven and values-led organization.  In order for these strategies to be successful, KRAFT Foods learns from their main audience of consumers.  They want to learn from their consumers as much as they can in order to make sure they are fully satisfied.  I find that often times this idea slips away from companies who get too caught up in the industry and forget what the purpose of their brand and products are- which is, to create something that benefits and satisfies their consumers. 

            KRAFT Macaroni and cheese isn’t the only thing that is sticky around KRAFT Foods….

One of the main issues that stands out regarding their reputation is that KRAFT Foods is splitting into North American Grocery division and the Global snacks division later this year.  In addition they are about $30 billion in debt!! How does that look for such a well-known company?! 

This article dated from January 10^th, 2012 discusses just how KRAFT Foods is planning to deal with the situation....

KRAFT in Debt? That's not cheesy...

In order to keep consumers updated and informed about the company, KRAFT Foods has a very well designed website.  While KRAFT Foods is a company I am very familiar with, I felt like I learned SO much more just by going on their website for a few minutes!  They emphasize (in relation to food and cooking) tips of the day, new recipes for upcoming holidays, community relations, social media relations, and tons of photos.  KRAFT Foods emphasizes the positive by being positive.  They discuss their brands, new products, contests and promotions, FAQs, career site, and corporate site.  To minimize the negative, their 127,000 employees focus on trust, keeping it simple, discussing, deciding, and (most of all) delivering to their consumers!  Talk about a consumer-driven company.  I’m starting to like KRAFT Foods even more as I type this.  Not to mention, I could go for a cold glass of milk and a sleeve of Oreos...

            Due to the reputable brand image KRAFT Foods has, there is a lot of potential and opportunities for the company to expand.  One of the main ways KRAFT Foods is growing is through their sustainable efforts of strengthening their high performing organization, driving down costs but keeping the same great quality (a total PLUS!) and reframing their different categories.  No matter what company, there is always room to grow and improve whether it is through staff, products, or company image.  KRAFT Foods is doing a great job with reaching out to communities and consumers.  Their website really shocked me.  I have never been on it but if I ever needed to know something about KRAFT Foods, boy would I be able to find it on there.  I think KRAFT Foods has the ability to completely vamp up their market strategy by creating new, fresh advertisements that really connect consumers to their products!