Milk cartons latest advertising opportunity

A growing number of national brands are reaching children at school and shoppers by placing ads on milk cartons, reports the October 2009 California Dairy Review. The ads on the half-pints that are distributed through school lunch programs are aimed at children, while the larger containers, like gallon jugs, are intended to reach the adults who do the shopping for their households. Here are some examples:

Recently, General Mills promoted Cheerios with stickers on gallon jugs, and Kraft targeted shoppers with ads for Honey Maid graham crackers. In stores in some major American markets this summer, stickers appeared promoting Duncan Hines with a photo of brownies and the text: “Cold Milk, Warm Brownies, mmmmmmmm.”

Even with the availability of television and the internet, the milk jug is still a medium that reaches the masses. Gary Hemphill, of the Beverage Marketing Corporation, says milk is unique in that it is a bottled drink and also an ingredient for baking and cereal. “It finds its way into most refrigerators in the homes of Americans,” he said.

BoxTop Media hired the research company Knowledge Networks to find out whether these ads were effective, using data from loyalty card programs like the Safeway Club Card. Al Halkuff, a senior vice-president of Knowledge Networks, said that for the 25 to 30 campaigns he had studied, there was a “significant improvement in sales.” For a large brand, he said a significant increase could be 4 to 6 percent, and, for a new or smaller brand, sales could double.

"Our program which places ads on milk packages is as much about promoting milk usage and consumption as it is about the advertised products," says Tony Perrotta of Box Top Media."