Whatever the positioning, it can’t be communicated in “one big shot,” she said. Rather it needs to be a “multichannel campaign with a heavy creator strategy, knowing that 50% of Americans use social influencers as their main food and nutrition source.”
Shed the tech-bro image
Andrea Learned, climate influencer, podcaster and corporate consultant, said the campaign should be created by and targeted at moms and other gatekeepers. “The existing brands feel tech bro-y and masculine. They’re not speaking effectively to women. Hire a really smart female-led ad agency that understands this space, and they’ll crush it.”
Give us inspo
Pete Speranza, a 23-year veteran of General Mills who’s now CEO at Wicked Kitchen: “The message should be inspirational and talk about how plants have been a solution forever. Maybe there’s a tie to regenerative agriculture. But the point would be to counter the misperception that you can only get protein from animals and to show people how to get plants in their diet in every daypart.”
Don’t preach to the choir
Ross Mackay, Daring Foods CEO, stressed an inclusive approach: “The narrative shouldn’t insist on adopting a stringent vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. Instead, it should underscore the significant impact that small, everyday changes can help. At Daring, we’ve never advocated for forcing carnivores into veganism. Instead, we believe in small swaps that drive forward collective benefits.”
Keep it light
John Bonnell, co-founder of Wholly Veggie, wonders if a self-serious tenor is the best plan, considering next year’s presidential race and the media onslaught that will surround it. “We don’t want to be pedantic or talk down to people, especially coming into an election cycle when they’ll be hit over the head” with constant political rhetoric. “It should be fun and lighthearted—humor is something people can get behind.”
Avoid the culture wars
Jonathan Schoenberg, executive creative director at TDA Boulder, the agency behind non-dairy brand Daiya’s homage to film noir and other unconventional ads, said there’s an obvious temptation to talk about climate change. The message might cut through—drawing connections between the plate and the planet—after a summer of unprecedented natural disasters.