Curator Project
INTRODUCTION:Marketing strategy for yeast
In the 1900s, yeast manufactures purported that yeast had numerous health benefits apart from its use as a baking agent. They leveraged the fabricated medical importance of yeast as a tactic to engage clients. The manufacturers suggested that the yeast had therapeutic purposes and could ease gastrointestinal discomforts such as constipation and other stomach complications. They leveraged stomach conditions since it was the most common health issue that was not severe. Among the most prominent yeast manufacturers was the Fleischmann brothers, who were large-scale producers of yeast products in the 1900s. Compared to its large-scale availability and easy costly production, the consumption rate was low; therefore, the brothers had to adopt better strategies to sell their products to a broader customer base and widen their profit margins. They opted for better marketing strategies since other business processes constituting the value chain of the company were in order.
Before 1900, homemakers used to make bread at home and purchased yeast for such purposes before the availability of ready-made bread in grocery stores. Bread availability in 1910 caused a drop-in yeast sales since most people started consuming bread and abandoned yeast, which they were used to. Home-made bread became a bygone as society embraced commercial bread makers. The busy lifestyle could not allow Americans to make bread from scratch. In light of these challenges in the market, the Fleischmann brothers opted for the strategic advertisement of their products to gain customers. They marketed yeast products as health food to get customers to buy again. The brothers claimed that yeast was an essential source of vital nutrients that the body needed for proper functioning.
The brothers claimed that health professionals discovered that yeast was a source of vitamin B. They also claimed that these professionals found other uses of yeast products such as curing acne, boils, bad breath, constipation, and could detoxify and cleanse the body’s system. The most common recommendation was to take a half-ounce of yeast with water three times a day to reduce the above mentioned health complications. The engagement of outrageous adverts with unsupported claims enabled the brothers to increase sales significantly. The Federal Trade Commission stepped in and questioned the brothers’ claims asking why none of the doctors backed their claims. Before resorting to a credible advertisement, the “Yeast for Health” campaign had made the brothers a lot of profit.
The advertisements were important ways the brothers could address a broader market base. The leverage of health was a strategy to appeal to the emotions of the consumers encouraging them to buy more yeast products. The use of health initiatives and scientific claims, even though they were outrageous and supported by pseudoscience, was strategic to enable the company to tighten its grip in the competitive markets considering that bread was saturating the markets and yeast manufacturers were losing money. The exhibit is a common example of the 1900s advertisement that the brothers engaged in boosting their sales—the exhibition details how the brothers created the demand for their products by making outrageous claims. For instance, its substitution for cathartics and cure for constipation in toddlers and adults enabled the company to move product. Additionally, the leverage of expert statements increased the credibility of the advertisements making more people comfortable with adopting the claims and attracting more people to buy the product. This is evident in the exhibition where advertisements included statements from famous doctors.
EXHIBIT 1:MARKETING YEAST
The advertisement is typed on a magazine page with the headline “Tired out, run down persons become completely changed.” It contains a picture of a physician, a girl, and her mother beside the benefits of yeast descriptions typed beside the image. In the 1930s, Standard Brands Inc. produced this particular advice to market Fleischmann’s yeast product to families in Germany. The company was motivated by the fact that they wanted to improve the sales of the yeast product by communicating its benefits to the appropriate audience. Therefore leveraging the advertisement using credible sources-doctors. The target audience was mothers with toddlers since the information reveals that the company published the Ladies’ Home Journal advertisement. The periodical was for the general public since the company intended to sell numerous products. What is interesting about the product is its depiction of American capitalism, where companies capitalize on the health needs of individuals to market a product.
EXHIBIT 2:YEAST FOR HEALTH CAMPAIGN
This advertisement is typed on a paper detailing staff meeting minutes. It contains some hand-written information before the title.The meeting started at 9:35 on July 18, 1928. It also outlines the members who participated in the meeting, the topics discussed, and the dialogue among the members. J. Walter Thompson Company produced this advertisement to detail the Yeast campaign, yeast sale statistics of the company and efforts to obtain medical certification. The information inside the advertisement indicates that the company intended the message to reach the staff members to educate them on the history of accounts and sales of yeast. Therefore, the advertisement is a private communication with the intention of circulation among the company’s staff. The advertisement indicates a conversation between the members present; it is surprising how one of the members states how bread consumption has reduced, illustrating the concept of American capitalism.
EXHIBIT 3:NEED FOR YEAST
This advertisement is typed on paper detailing the dangers of cathartics to create an opportunity to market a product. The advertisement is strategically organized by headlining the effects of cathartics to develop a need for yeast. The recommendation and benefits follow. In the 1933s, Standard Brands Inc produced the advertisement to market yeast products by educating the consumers about its benefits and its substitute for harmful substances. An advertisement is a marketing approach therefore intended for the general public. The information is intended for individuals who struggle with constipation or for any individual who wants to gain insights into mitigating constipation. It is interesting how the advertisement takes a strategic organization to create a gap in the market. It is an exemplary depiction of American capitalism, where individuals demand their products to hike sales.
Works Cited
Standard Brands, Inc. “‘Tired out, Run down Persons Become Completely Changed’ / Medicine and Madison Avenue / Duke Digital Repository.” Duke Digital Collections, Ladies’ Home Journal, 1930, https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r47s7jf9m
J. Walter Thompson Company. “Yeast for Health Campaign / Medicine and Madison Avenue / Duke Digital Repository.” Duke Digital Collections, JWT Staff Meeting Minutes, 18 July 1928, https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r44f1n66m
Standard Brands, Inc. “‘Cathartics Should Be Used Only as a Last Resort…” / Medicine and Madison Avenue / Duke Digital Repository.” Duke Digital Collections, McCall’s, 1933, https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4416tn68