Some combinations are cleverly done and can revive ho-hum products to drive volume. A few successful 80’s throwback combinations for you: Playtex bras added comfort gel found in shoe inserts into shoulder straps and Reebok added air pumps to sneakers. Keurig (spelling “Keurig” makes my head pulsate) and Campbell’s may have forged a worthy partnership with their to-be-released Soup K-cup packs.
Soup K-Cup packs?!?! Kah-ka-ka-Crazy!
Soup + Coffee quickly yields utter confusion in my tiny brain that makes thick mucus build up in the back of my throat. I’m not sure I want those two consumables marinating together in any way. Once this minor psychologically negative gastronomic reaction is out of the way, Campbell’s Keurig K-cups do make some practical sense.
I have a Keurig at my office and I love it. It’s quick, easy, and brews a great single cup of the “nectar of the (caffeine) gods” in a few minutes. I love soup; it’s a quick and healthy low-calorie snack. So why not Campbells + Keurig?
At its core, we are talking about pre-portioned hot, flavored liquid, right? So why not use the same machine for coffee and for soup? Unlike other incredibly weak and stupid brand partnerships I’ve sounded off on here, (which only mirror Triassic-era suckerfish in their sophistication), the Campbell’s/Keurig partnership is symbiotic. Campbell’s breathes new life into soup with a truly new packaging and usage option (isn’t that just what modern humankind really needs??). And the Keurig now becomes useful for an entirely new category: food. If successful, this could mean more volume for Campbell’s with incremental distribution….coming soon to keurig.com, starbucks.com, coffeeforless.com!!! OMG, dear marketer, watch your blood pressure – the excitement, I know, is overwhelming.
But what if we can’t stomach the cacophonous sound of percolating….soup…from a…Keurig…? We just need to be as imaginative and open-minded as the product development folks that came up with this partnership in the first place. They can do it, the question is…can we?
the marketing lunch 