Everything you wanted to know about - INGREDIENT MARKETING

Ingredient - branding is creating a brand for an ingredient or component of a product, to project the high quality or performance of the ingredient. Ingredient-branding takes a special position in marketing, as it cannot be clearly allocated to either industrial or consumer goods

marketing as per Wikipedia. There are several companies whose only specialty is to assist their clients or play a key role in creating a better product with which they partner. Brands like ABS by BOSCH, Teflon, Intel and many others play a key role in the final overall product offered to the buyer. In short, an “ingredient” brand is used by a “host/mother” brand to partner or help established brand equity of the host brand.  To keep it simple “Ingredient brand is a brand within a brand”.

Buyers trust products which are transparent (showcase what ingredients have been used to make or manufacture them). Means it is no longer enough for ingredient brand to market itself just to product/brand manufacturers. But now needs to reach out to more and more consumers and establish themselves as key INGREDIENTS. It is much more important when consumers start ensuring the host product to sell along with the preferred ingredient. This lays importance to talk directly to the consumer through the power of ingredient branding

Brands who have used ingredient marketing - Dupont’s Teflon, Intel’s Intel Inside, Lycra for clothes by Rayon, ABS by Bosch Mobility, Dolby Stereo systems, etc.

"Intel Inside" was the first, and arguably the best, "ingredient" branding, let’s understand how this strategy helped a microprocessor brand. This campaign was targeted by B2B Company to B2C community, directly to buyers/consumers.

Before we understand the strategy, let’s first and foremost understand more about the company products. Intel makes an ingredient, MICROPROCESSORS or silicon chips for the computer industry. It doesn’t make the main dish, means computers. Consumers aren’t interested in ingredients like vanilla flavoring brand in ice cream or pastry, they are concerned about the final product. Intel doesn’t make or sell these products or chips directly to consumers. They make semiconductors, microprocessors chips found inside popular consumer electronic devices.

Microprocessor chips were an unknown component of PC for the end consumers. Intel was a market leader in microprocessor brand in the 1980s with the launch of microprocessor 286, 386 and 486. Soon competitors were catching up with Intel and it was getting tough to sustain. Intel realized that to remain a leader in business, it needs to enter the mind of Consumer and establish connect which can only be accomplished with emotional branding campaigns.

Based on initial research by INTEL, they identified what people think about the chips in the computers and how they relate to it. The consumers or buyers of PCs were never certain about the quality or reliability of the microprocessor chip which was a critical component. They were just interested in computers. Except for gamers, programmers, hardware specialists, scientists, and technology enthusiasts, hardly anyone was aware of the microprocessor, the computer was a mystery for rest.  Intel felt that microprocessor being a critical component of PC had an opportunity here to enter the consumer’s mind.

This led to the launching of the campaign “Intel Inside” they initiated tie – up with existing OEMs to partner. OEM partners were happy as whoever partnered received a 10% premium for “Intel Inside” products from end-consumers plus advertising support.

With this campaign ‘Intel’ logo started appearing at the end of the ad with a piece of specific music. That music became synonymous with Intel. The first thing everyone would remember from an event is the “Ending” part. The Intel music provides that pleasant sensation. Everyone could remember the Intel Logo and the sound.

With the launch of this campaign, other key market leaders from B2B product and service industry initiated similar fashion campaigns to establish INGREDIENT products. We saw TEFLON campaign for non – stick cookware, ABS by Bosch for automobiles, Dolby stereo for cinema halls and music industry.

What we learned?

1. The person who buys your product may not be the person who uses or benefits from your product. Think about marketing to the end user.
2. Don’t be ashamed of being an ingredient or a small part of a larger product. In fact, use it to your advantage!
3. Technology can be complicated. Keep the message simple. Intel makes your device faster! Focus your marketing on the benefits of your product not the features of your product.