Weight-loss company Atkins Nutritionals relaunched an integrated marketing campaign on January 1 featuring national TV, print and online messaging.
Atkins worked with LeeReedy Agency on the effort. The companies, which are both Denver, CO-based, have worked together for about three years.
The campaign, a relaunched version of Atkins’ 2010 effort, is focused on a free “Weight Loss Kit” that introduces consumers to the Atkins diet and lifestyle approach. The kit includes a quick-start guide, a chef recipe booklet, a sample two-week induction meal plan, pocket carbohydrate counter, a book rebate for the bestselling The New Atkins for a New You, and three free Atkins bars. The advertisements urge consumers to call an Atkins hotline or visit Atkins.com to register for the free kit.
“The no. 1 goal for our campaigns is always to bring people to Atkins.com,” said Lisa Wells, brand manager at Atkins. “Then our focus is to get them on a diet or to try and make Atkins their lifestyle.”
Atkins will collect customer information for its database when consumers register online or call the Atkins 1-800 number to request a kit. The company will also use Google Analytics to evaluate customer behavior on its corporate website.
Wells said this year’s campaign will be more consumer-friendly than past editions. The 2011 version of the kit will feature more customer success stories, a CliffsNotes-like quick-start guide and coupons.
Wells said the campaign is running nationally and doesn’t specifically target any demographic or region.
The TV ads feature actress Courtney Thorne-Smith, a recurring guest star on Two and a Half Men. The company will also upgrade Atkins.com by adding interactive tools to help consumers track the progress of their diets and plan weekly meals. Consumers can also interact with nutritionists and experts for motivation, questions and support needs.
Wells added that a challenge in marketing Atkins is to dispel “the myth about Atkins being the bacon, egg and cheese diet.”
“You can eat any type of cuisine on Atkins,” she said. “We’re also showing consumers that Atkins can be budget friendly.”
To attract new consumers, five leading professional chefs will also offer culinary expertise on the company’s Web site in its marketing materials and on the dedicated www.AtkinsChefRecipes.com site.
The campaign will run throughout the year, with increased ad volume in Q1 for consumers trying to shed holiday pounds. Similar surges will take place in May, when consumers start wanting a “swimsuit ready-body for the summer,” Wells said, and in September when the summer ends and customers get back into their normal routine.
