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Chicken of the Sea International
The Jessica Simpson Spokesperson Decision
Teaching Note
Case Overview
This case examines Chicken of the Sea International (COSI), one of the major competitors in the
canned/packaged tuna and seafood industry, and the decision facing the company’s senior vice president
of marketing as to whether the he should hire pop star Jessica Simpson as a spokesperson. COSI received
a tremendous amount of publicity in the Fall of 2003 and early 2004 following the famous fish faux pas
that Simpson made on the MTV reality show The Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica. While eating a can of
Chicken of the Sea tuna Simpson turned to her co-star husband and asked the whether the product inside
is chicken or tuna. Simpson’s gaffe became the target of jokes and a myriad of media stories that resulted
in a great deal of publicity for Chicken of the Sea. The company took advantage of the incident by having
her make a surprise visit to its annual sales meeting in October 2003.
The case focuses on whether COSI should try to capitalize on the publicity and hire Simpson as a
spokesperson. There are a number of factors that Don George, the senior vice president of marketing
must consider in making this decision including whether the company can afford to hire her, how her
image will fit with the brand, and how 25-54 old women who comprise the company’s core target market
might react to her as a spokesperson for the brand. It can be used with Chapter 6, Source, Message and
Channel Factors, as it focuses on the use of a celebrity as a spokesperson and issues to consider in
selecting an endorser. The case provides students the opportunity to evaluate Q scores for Jessica
Simpson and see how they vary among different demographic groups. This case can also be used with
Chapter 16 on Sales Promotion as COSI is a company that allocates most of its marketing budget to
consumer and trade promotion.
A decision to use Simpson will mean more emphasis on media
advertising which will take monies away from the sales promotion budget.
This case should be of great interest to students since many of them will be familiar with Jessica
Simpson and are probably aware of her famous fish or tuna faux pas. Many will feel that COSI should
take advantage of her gaffe and hire her as an endorser. However, the case be used to show that the
decision to hire a celebrity endorser requires the consideration of a number of factors. Classroom
discussion of this case can be enhanced by showing the video case on Chicken of the Sea that is part of
the supplements package that accompanies the text. The video case can be found on tape or CD ROM 5
and provides an excellent overview of Chicken of the Sea, the competitive situation in the tuna industry,
the company’s new branding initiative, the various types of consumer and trade and promotions used by
the company and the role the company’s web site plays in its IMC program.
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Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the consumer decision making process for a product such as canned tuna and the
response hierarchy model that is most likely to applicable in the purchase of this product.
Canned tuna is a very good example of a product that is a low involvement purchase decision for most
consumers. Tuna is essentially a commodity product with very little differentiation among the various
brands. While the three major brands (StarKist, Chicken of the Sea, and StarKist) all claim to have
superior taste, most consumers do not perceive significant differences in taste and quality among them.
Moreover, many consumers recognize that private label brands are produced by the same companies that
process and can the national brands and find them acceptable substitutes. The lack of perceived
differentiation among the competing brands means that canned tuna is often purchased on the basis of
price. Marketers of canned tuna must keep their shelf prices competitive with the other national brands as
well as the private label brands offered by the various retailers. Sales promotion plays a very important
role as consumers are usually looking for brands that are on sale or for which they might have a coupon.
The low involvement response hierarchy is likely to be applicable in the processing of
information and purchase of canned tuna. As discussed in Chapter 5, this hierarchy views the consumers
as engaging in passive learning and random information catching rather than active information seeking.
Consumers are likely to engage in peripheral processing of advertising messages and may focus more on
elements such as music, characters, symbols, and slogans or jingles than actual message content. These
peripheral cues become salient when the consumer is actually in the store and making a purchase decision
among the various brands. All three of the major tuna brands appear to be marketed with the low
involvement hierarchy in mind. Advertising for StarKist relies on the personality symbol of the Charlie
the Tuna animated character (see Chapter 9 for a discussion of this execution technique). Chicken of the
Sea relies on its iconic mermaid and the use of a catchy jingle (“Ask any mermaid you happen to
see..What’s the best tuna? Chicken of the Sea.”) while Bumble Bee also uses its Bee character and a
jingle as well (“Yum, yum Bumble Bee, Bumble Bee tuna”). A classic Bumble Bee commercial can be
found on the company’s web site (www.bumblebee.com) under products.
In discussing the consumer purchasing process for canned tuna it is important that you do not lead
students to conclude that this product has become totally commoditized and no brand differentiation is
possible. There are several key points you might want to make to students who try to draw this
conclusion. First of all, the three national brands (StarKist, Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea) account
for 82 percent of the market share in the tuna category. If tuna was indeed a commodity, one might
expect that private label brands would have a greater share of the market. A second important point is
that there is strong brand loyalty in the canned tuna category. Figure 4.5 of the text shows that 44 percent
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of consumers indicate that they are loyal to one brand of tuna. Moreover, brand preference for tuna is
also somewhat regional as Bumble Bee does very well in the Northeast and Florida while StarKist and
Chicken of the Sea are stronger in the North Central and West regions of the country. While there is a
strong level of brand loyalty for the various brands, it is important to note that many consumers remain
loyal to a brand only if it is priced competitively. Thus, marketers of the three national brands recognize
that it is important that they maintain shelf prices that are the same or within a few cents of their
competitors as well as the store brands. This means they will rely heavily on price oriented types of sales
promotion such as trade and promotional allowances. One area where the tuna marketers have been able
to break away from the heavy emphasis on price and promotion is with new pouch products such as the
tuna salad kits and Lunch To-Go.
2. Discuss the role integrated marketing communications plays in the marketing of
canned/packaged tuna for a company such as Chicken of the Sea. How might the company use
the various IMC tools as part of its marketing program?
Integrated marketing communications plays a very important role in the marketing of canned/tuna as the
various companies use all of the IMC tools, although to different degrees. Media advertising is used to
create and maintain brand awareness and to help differentiate a brand. The major product attributes that
are emphasized in media advertising are taste and quality. As noted in question 1, given the low
involvement decision making process for tuna, the companies use peripheral cues in their ads such as
catchy slogans and jingles as well as personality characters and symbols. Media advertising is also
important in the introduction of new types of tuna products. As discussed in the case, there have been
several important product innovations in the category in recent years such as tuna in a pouch, tuna salad
kits, flavored tuna, and Lunch To-Go products. StarKist and Chicken of the Sea have used media
advertising to introduce these product innovations to consumers. It is important to note that the level of
media advertising in the tuna category is really very low as most of the promotional budgets of the three
major competitors are being allocated to sales promotion. StarKist spends the most on television
advertising for ads featuring its Charlie the Tuna personality character. Chicken of the Sea spends nearly
its entire media budget on radio, print ads and floor signage ads. Bumble Bee has not been running any
media advertising for several years, choosing to focus its attention on consumer and trade promotion.
The primary IMC tool used by the marketers in the canned/packaged tuna category is sales
promotion. As discussed in the case, price competition as well the significant market share of private
label brands have shifted the power from the marketers to the retailers who demand, and usually get, trade
and promotional allowances from the manufacturers. The three competitors also rely heavily on consumer
promotions in the form of national FSIs, check out coupons, point-of-purchase displays, premium offer,
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price-off deals, and contests and sweepstakes. You might ask students to examine Exhibit 16-26 of the
text which contains a promotional calendar showing the various promotions Chicken of the Sea uses for
its products over the course of a year. Chicken of the Sea International has also recently implemented the
Mermaid Club which is a consumer loyalty program that is designed to encourage repeat purchase and get
consumers more involved with the brand. The heavy emphasis on sales promotion in the tuna industry is a
very good example of a promotional trap which is discussed in Chapter 16 and shown in Exhibit 16-8. It
will be very difficult for the competitors to break out of this trap unless they agree to cut back
promotional spending. However, they are afraid to do so because of a fear of losing market share to other
national brands and/or private label brands offered by the retailers.
While sales promotion and media advertising are the IMC tools used the most by the marketers of
canned/packaged tuna, they also used direct marketing, the Internet, publicity/public relations and
personal selling. Direct marketing is used by periodically sending target direct mail pieces that contain
coupons or premium offers to consumers. COSI is also beginning to do direct marketing through email to
consumers who join its Mermaid Club. Publicity/public relations is also an important part of the IMC
program of the various companies. Each company regularly issues new releases dealing with health and
nutritional issues related to tuna and other products. For example, the industry recently has had to deal
with negative publicity concerning the mercury content in tuna and its potential impact on pregnant
women.
Each company as well as the industry’s major trade association, the United States Tuna
Foundation, have ongoing public relations efforts that address major issues facing the industry. Each
company also works to generate publicity for its products and marketing efforts. As noted in the case,
Chicken of the Sea’s public relations firm issued video news releases to generate publicity over Jessica
Simpson’s visit to the company. StarKist and COSI often issues news releases regarding their upcoming
advertising campaigns to advertising and marketing publications such as Advertising Age, AdWeek and
Brand Week as well trade publications such as Progressive Grocer, Grocery Headquarters and Food
Engineering. Another type of public relations activity that is used by the competitors in the tuna category
is event sponsorship. For example, Chicken of the Sea sponsored the U.S. Synchronized Swim team that
competed in the 2000 Olympics and used its sponsorship to offer a sweepstakes whereby consumers
could win a trip to games in Sydney, Australia.
The Internet has also become an important IMC tool for the tuna companies as they all maintain
web sites that contain company information, product information, recipes, health and nutritional
information, new releases and examples of their advertising. As discussed in the video, Chicken of the
Sea’s web site is an important part of their IMC program. The site contains an easy-to-use recipe
generator, resources on health and nutrition, as well as games and educational content. It also includes
the Mermaid Store, where consumers can shop for everything from T-shirts to watches to sporting goods
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featuring the classic mermaid logo. The web site has become an integral part of Chicken of the Sea’s IMC
program as the company uses other forms of media to drive consumers to the site and engage them in the
brand. COSI uses its web site as the vehicle through which consumers can join their customer loyalty
program called the Mermaid Club.
3. Discuss how Chicken of the Sea’s marketing personnel and advertising agency might evaluate
the appropriateness of using Jessica Simpson as a spokesperson for the company and whether
she is a good fit for the brand.
This question provides the instructor with the opportunity to apply the information in Chapter 6 that
discusses the use of celebrities as endorsers. There are a number of ways Chicken of the Sea International
marketing personnel and ad agency can evaluate how well Jessica Simpson might work as a spokesperson
for the company.
One basic consideration is whether she might overshadow the product and the
advertising message. This is important since consumers might pay attention to Simpson and not notice
that she is promoting the Chicken of the Sea brand. However, since tuna is a low involvement product, it
is likely that any advertising using Simpson will contain a simple message promoting attributes such as
taste or quality. Thus, it should not be difficult to generate strong brand and advertising awareness by
using her. Another consideration is overexposure. Simpson did sign an endorsement deal with Pizza Hut
and appeared in a commercial that premiered on the 2004 Super Bowl. However, at the time of the case
she was not serving as a spokesperson for any other companies or brands so this should not present a
problem to COSI. The company must also consider whether there is any risk associated with using
Simpson as an endorser. In general this should not be a problem since she has a wholesome image and is
not as controversial as other young female pop stars such as Brittany Spears or Christina Aguilera.
However, Simpson has become known for her ditzy behavior and comments on The Newlyweds MTV
show and COSI may have some concern that she might say or do something that would be even more
embarrassing than the fish or chicken gaffe. As with any celebrity, there is a certain amount of risk
associated using her as any inappropriate acts or behaviors she might engage in would be covered heavily
by the media and could reflect negatively on COSI if she was a spokesperson for the company.
One of the most important considerations for COSI regarding Simpson is that of target audience
receptivity. As noted in the case the core target market for Chicken of the Sea is 25 to 54 year old women
and it is unlikely that this group will identify with Simpson and may even have negative opinions toward
her because of her ditzy blonde image. Moreover, the company must consider whether these women
would see her as a credible spokesperson for Chicken of the Sea, particularly considering the fact that she
was not even aware of whether the product was tuna or chicken. Chicken of the Sea’s advertising agency
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will be challenged to develop a campaign using Simpson that will be received favorably by the core target
audience. On the other hand, younger consumers may be more receptive to Simpson as a spokesperson
since she is very attractive and popular celebrity. The information from the Marketing Evaluations/TVQ
study supports this argument as Simpson has a Q score of 23 among 12-17 year olds but only a 9 among
those 18-34 and a 10 among those 25-49. It is also important to note that the percentage of those familiar
with Simpson is very high among the 12-17 year old group (72%) as well as the 18-34 year olds (76%).
However, the familiarity score drops to 49 percent for those in the 35-49 year old age group. Exhibit 1
also show that Simpson’s Q score among the core target market of 25-54 females is an 8 while the
percentage of those familiar with her is 55. Students should be encouraged to analyze the Q scores and
other information provided in Exhibits 1 and 2 for both Simpson as well as other female musical
performers.
Another factor COSI must consider is how well she fits with the company and brand as an
endorser. As discussed in Chapter 6, advertisers must try to match the desired image for the company
and/or brand with the image and characteristics of the celebrity. Students should be encouraged to
consider how McCracken’s meaning transfer model might be applied to Simpson as a spokesperson for
Chicken of the Sea. This requires them to consider the cultural meaning of Jessica Simpson and whether
this is the image that COSI wants to have transferred to the company and/or brand. Students should be
asked to discuss the meaning/image of Simpson and how it was acquired. They are likely to note that her
image originally was that of a young, attractive singer with somewhat of a wholesome image. However,
her meaning changed dramatically as a result of her role on the MTV show Newlyweds as she became
known more as a “ditzy blonde” who often says and/or does dumb things. COSI must consider if they
want their brand associated with this image as it might be a turn off to older women in their core target
market.
Some students may argue that Simpson can be portrayed in a role as the Chicken of the Sea
mermaid since she is a very attractive young woman who bears a resemblance to the latest version of the
well known icon. One way of evaluating this suggestion is to consider how well Simpson image matches
the characteristics COSI tries to portray in the mermaid. The case notes that the attributes of the mermaid
include being trustworthy, magical, attractive, friendly, approachable, contemporary and fitting with the
Chicken of the Sea brand. Simpson’s image actually fits well with most of these attributes although it is
questionable as to whether she would be perceived as trustworthy and as fitting with the Chicken of the
Sea brand.
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4. Discuss the pros and cons of Chicken of the Sea International hiring Jessica Simpson as a
spokesperson for the company. Can the company afford to hire her and spend the money on
TV advertising to use her effectively?
Many of the pros and cons of COSI hiring Simpson as an endorser have been addressed in the answer to
the previous question. However, it still may be helpful to have students make a list of reasons why the
company would benefit from having her as a spokesperson as well as why this would not be a wise
decision. Arguments in favor of hiring her include the opportunity for COSI to build on the favorable
publicity that has resulted from her famous fish or chicken faux pas. Using her as an endorser may be a
particularly effective way to increase awareness and interest in the brand among younger consumers.
Awareness of Simpson is probably even higher in early 2004 than the Q scores results indicate since she
received a tremendous amount of exposure and publicity in late 2003 and early 2004. Moreover, since
tuna is a low involvement product, consumers may be receptive to advertising for Chicken of the Sea
featuring Simpson. One option that the company was considering was to feature her in print ads with the
headline stating “Our mermaid has never looked so good.” It is likely that COSI could generate a great
deal of publicity if the company hired Simpson as a spokesperson which would result in exposure and
attention for the company and brand that would extend well beyond the media time or space that was
actually purchased.
There are, however, a number of arguments that could be made against using Simpson. One of
the primary arguments against using her is that the 25 to 54 year old women in COSI’s core target market
may not respond favorably to Simpson and may even be turned off by seeing her in ads for the brand.
This group purchases most of the tuna and may not be influenced by Simpson because of her ditzy blonde
image and or lack of relevance to the product. Another problem with using Simpson is that COSI really
does not have a large media budget and probably cannot afford to use television on a regular basis. A
celebrity such as Simpson would be more effective in TV commercials than print or radio ads, which is
where COSI spends most of their advertising dollars. The case notes that COSI is planning on spending
approximately $11 million on advertising in 2004. However, Simpson’s endorsement fees would have to
come from this budget as would production costs for commercials. This means there would be less
money available to run ads in media traditionally used by COSI such as radio, print and in-store.
Students might note that COSI is now a $600 million company and the proposed media budget of $11
million is less than two percent of sales. However, the company spends a great deal of money on
consumer and trade promotion so the overall marketing communications budget is a much higher
percentage of sales than two percent.
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5. What would you do if you were Don George? Would you recommend that the company hire
Simpson as a spokesperson? Why or why not?
The ultimate decision Don George and COSI must make is whether to hire Jessica Simpson as a
spokesperson. As noted in the case, COSI will probably have to pay her more than a million dollars which
is a very large sum of money for a company that does not spend much money on media advertising. The
main question George must try to answer is what type of return on investment the company would get if it
were to hire Simpson. While she would probably be effective at increasing advertising and brand
awareness, the ultimate issue is whether using her would help increase sales as well. One way of looking
at this is to consider what the return would be if she helps COSI increase its market share. One market
share point in the canned tuna market (including food service, and warehouse/club stores) represents
approximately $20 million in sales. If COSI’s profit margin is 4 percent, the company would generate
$800,000 in profits for each share point gain. Based on these figures, Simpson would have to help the
company increase its share of the canned tuna market by a little over one point to cover the costs of using
her. However, Simpson could also be used to endorse other COSI canned seafood products so the cost of
using her could be allocated across these items as well. Of course there is no guarantee Simpson will help
the company move the sales needle as increases in advertising and brand awareness do not always result
in sales increases. While it is important for COSI to analyze this decision from a financial and ROI
perspective, there are other considerations that factor into the decision. One of COSI’s goals is to try to
attract new and younger users to the brand and Simpson may be helpful in achieving this. Of course
George must also consider whether there might be some type of backlash among the older women who
comprise the core target audience as they may not like the ditzy blonde image that Simpson has come to
personify.
At the time this case was written (late January 2004), COSI had not entered into an agreement to
hire Simpson. In the authors’ discussion with Don George, he indicated that the company was reluctant
to pay the large amount of money that would be required to retain Simpson and felt that COSI’s limited
media budget would not allow them to use her effectively. Moreover, he felt that COSI was benefiting
from all of the publicity that was generated by the Simpson faux pas and thus she was serving as a type of
quasi endorser but not really costing the company any money. George was also concerned as to how
retailers might react if COSI retained Simpson as they might view this as evidence that the company had
marketing funds available and thus put more pressure on them to provide more trade promotion dollars.
Instructors should keep updated regarding developments involving Simpson and whether COSI ultimately
decides to hire her as a spokesperson or in some other capacity.
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